Tender: National Coordinator for Barley Net Blotch Coordination and Capacity Development

About

GRDC is seeking a suitably qualified consultant or coordinator to deliver Program C of a five-year, nationally focused Barley Net Blotch Initiative that will drive collaboration, information sharing and alignment across pathogen surveillance, host and pathogen genetics, and integrated disease management programs. The investment responds to an escalating net blotch threat that costs the Australian barley industry an estimated $122 million each year through yield losses, downgraded grain quality and higher fungicide costs, and is driven by widespread planting of susceptible varieties, continuous barley-on-barley cropping and over-reliance on fungicides. The coordinator will help align research priorities with breeder and industry needs from the outset, connect BNBI with cross-crop initiatives including the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM), Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP), the Disease Management Extension Network (DMEN) and existing net blotch investments, and strengthen capacity and collaborative networks to sustain Australia’s cereal pathology capability. Tenderers may apply for the BNBI Coordinator role and may also submit applications for one or more of Programs 1, 2 and 3; GRDC will assess each application on its merits and may fund the Coordinator role independently of, or in conjunction with, one or more program contracts.