AGRICULTURE —
PRIMED PROJECT
875. Hon DONNA FARAGHER to the Minister for Agriculture and Food:
I refer to the PRIMED project
announced last year by the government.
(1) Has the
government's investment of $5 million, or part thereof, been allocated
to initiatives associated with the project; and, if so, will the minister
provide a breakdown?
(2) Will the
minister list the industry groups and/or organisations that have partnered with
the government to support the delivery of the project?
(3) What level of investment has
been received from the organisations referred to in (2)?
(4) Will the minister list the
initiatives that have been delivered since May last year?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the
question.
(1) The $5.28
million comprises $2.32 million for full-time equivalent positions at the
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to provide project
management support and industry and technical advice for the project; education
$1.41 million for FTEs to support curriculum teacher professional development,
plus $640 000 for lead teacher professional learning program and resource
development; training and workforce development, $794 000 for FTEs from the
Muresk Institute to support the project steering committee and provide industry
feedback and advice to inform the development of resources; $115 000 for agency
operational expenses.
(2)–(3) The PRIMED initiative has looked to partner with
industry to take this innovative project forward. Although discussions
have been held with a number of industry organisations, mechanisms by which to
provide financial support for the project are still being considering. In the
meantime, significant elements of the project have been progressed.
(4) Initiatives that have been delivered since May
last year include an MOU signed with the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia to ensure that the
development of new WA curriculum aligns with national initiatives; the
development of steering and advisory committees representing industry, teachers
and universities; a baseline study to assess
the knowledge and understanding of primary industries by WA students;
delivery of presentations and information at school career days across the
state; provision of agriculture and fisheries–related online curriculum
resources; delivery of new primary industries curriculum to be available for
years 7 to 8 teachers in 2021; and a collaborative pilot program with high
schools and TAFE at DPIRD's Carnarvon Research Facility, expanding to
similar collaborations with the local high schools, TAFEs and DPIRD's
Dryland Research Institute at Merredin; and DPIRD'S Great Southern
Agricultural 
Research Institute in Katanning.