Growing our Agriculture sector

Agri-Food Plan 2023-2026

The City of Whittlesea Agri-Food Plan 2023-2026 provides direction for investment attraction and growth in the agri-food sector within the City of Whittlesea, with the objective of growing and strengthening the sector to increase value-add, innovation, local employment and future readiness.

Download our Agri-Food Plan below.

Agricultural Opportunities in the City of Whittlesea

Expanding agricultural land use and production is critical to creating new job opportunities and providing equal access to locally produced food and products for our diverse and growing community. We have developed a prospectus to assist you to make a well-informed decision to support the success of your agribusiness and your agricultural investment opportunities in the City of Whittlesea.

Regenerative Agriculture and its potential for enhancing climate resilience

The City of Whittlesea has partnered with Deakin University to undertake a project that considers the concept of regenerative agriculture and the potential of it to support transformative change of peri-urban agriculture for greater climate resilience of the cities and regional centres it surrounds.

The project will involve the identification of key characteristics of regenerative agriculture enterprises in Victoria, describe the size of the sector in both area and economic return across the state and objectively assess the potential of regenerative agriculture for building climate resilience and mitigation through soil carbon sequestration

The City of Whittlesea will be using the outcomes from this project to drive change and reinvigorate agriculture in the municipality after many years of urban development, drought, bushfire and other pressures degrading the sector.

A series of case studies have also been developed showcasing 5 different regenerative farmers across a range of industries.

These can be viewed below:

Wollert Community Farm and Whittlesea Food Collective

The City of Whittlesea are supporting Melbourne Polytechnic, Whittlesea Community Connections and Yarra Valley Water, to develop a mixed farming enterprise which will provide food for distribution into the local emergency relief network and volunteering, education and employment opportunities in best practice sustainable agriculture systems for peri-urban areas.

Our vision for the project is to create a vibrant food hub that provides a place for the community to connect, learn and prosper.

The Wollert Community Farm and Whittlesea Food Collective is an integrated model that combines local food and farming, food distribution, sustainable resource use, agricultural education and capability building. Once operational, the collective will:

Provide pathways from hardship to opportunity and employment.
Improve health and wellbeing through access to nutrition and community engagement
Promote local inclusive economic participation through partnerships, procurement and enterprises
Facilitate and provide local education and training in agriculture, horticulture and conservation
Enhance onsite and regional cultural and natural heritage
Demonstrate leading practice in circular economy and sustainable peri-urban environments

This project has successfully received a $1.5 million in funding. The funding is part of a $48.4 million investment in shovel-ready water projects under the State Government’s new $2.7 billion Building.

For more information about our projects or to arrange an on-site visit, contact our Industry Development Officer, Agri-Food on 9217 2170 or at agribusiness@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.