A small Victorian Indigenous social enterprise is preparing a 'roadmap' for the widespread introduction of native grains and grasses into mainstream crop production.
Black Duck Foods, Mallacoota, general manager Chris Andrew has told a Farmers for Climate Action webinar the company intended to move the 'native grain story' forward.
"We are working on an industry roadmap for the native grains sector which will plan the next five years of research, development and extension work, which means in taking this 60,000 year story into a contemporary industry," Mr Andrew said.
He said the eventual aim was to see five per cent of all Australian flour containing native grains
"We can then channel investment in reinvigorating this native grain sector," he said.
"We can make it consumer-led - that pulls us along and in that way we normalise food systems that have existed for thousands of years.
"We bring these native grains into the dinner table; we don't do it through a marginalised, superfood language, we do it through putting it on the shelf at our favourite food stores."
The process would normalise 60,000 years of native food history.
"What we are looking at is culinary reconciliation.
"How do we drive truth in food, how do we understand our history, through what we are going to eat?"
Black Duck was now preparing a 'roadmap' to present to the AgriFutures Institute.
It was aimed to have native grains and grasses occupy the equivalent of 5pc of the value of the Australian wheat sector.
"If we have 5pc of the wheat market, that's a $300 million industry
"But this is not about taking away from wheat, it's about saying there is 5pc of your property that you are not maximising, or using, because it's too degraded.
"Let's start returning some health back to that land that is not being used."
Grain belt
Black Duck lead researcher Jacob Birch said in the 1970's' anthropologist Norman Tindale had mapped a pre-colonisation 'grain belt,' which stretched in an arc through mid-NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.
"My focus is on the transcontinental grain economy that sustained the majority of inland Australia before colonisation," Mr Birch said.
"My passion is in reestablishing this ancient grain belt."
He said 30 per cent of the diet of first nations people came from grains.
The long-lived, perennial grasses and grains could yield for up to four decades, sequestered carbon and encouraged biodiversity.
"You can harvest a yield of grain off these grasses, without ever having to plant a field," he said.
It was important the development of the commercial use of native grasses and grains was 'governed and owned' by First Nation's people.
"We don't acknowledge the role first nations people played in the early agricultural industry and we don't want this to become like every other bush food, in Australia."
He said the perennial grasses both held the soil together and could be used for grazing.
Nutritional benefits
There were also very important nutritional benefits.
An analysis comparing seven different species in comparison with Australian-grown brown rice, the grains showed they were very low in carbohydrates and had 37pc protein 'that's higher than chicken breast' and were high in antioxidants and phenolics.
They were also high in polyunsaturated fats, minerals, iron and zinc.
"None of this research has ever been done before, if nutritional benefits can be found that's a selling point for this industry," he said.
"One of the species had more calcium than full cream cow's milk, per serving, and better ratios of magnesium and phosphorus.
"Even though these plants are growing on marginal land, they are still managing to pull so much more minerals and nutrients from the soil than a conventional crop could and that's without fertiliser or irrigation.
"They don't require fertiliser, they don't require pesticide, they don't require irrigation, all these things are a cost to farmers."
Mr Andrew said there was also the potential to harvest grains from Crown land, such as national parks or areas owned by statutory authorities, such as Melbourne Water.
"There is lots of state-owned land that have native grasses on it - but we don't have farming systems for non farm assets," he said.