Clarifresh Selected by Hort Innovation Program to Transform Australian Horticulture

Australia’s famously competitive fresh produce industry is in the midst of a major technological shift, and we at Clarifresh are excited to be playing our part in empowering Aussie growers.We are honored to be among the 3 augmented technology providers collaborating with Frontiers, an investment program led by Hort Innovation. This initiative uses targeted R&D funding to transform horticulture in Australia. Berry and table grape growers are specifically designated as beneficiaries who will be connected with high-tech solutions like Clarifresh through the program.

Hort Innovation’s Frontiers: About the Program

Hort Innovation is an Australian grower-owned, not-for-profit organization responsible for investing in research, development, and marketing to benefit the Australian horticultural sector. It is funded through grower levies and government contributions, and its goal is to drive innovation in the horticultural industry to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness.

The organization runs various investment programs, like the Hort Frontiers program. This program aims to solve the industry’s most pressing challenges through technological innovation. This includes the recent $10.4 million program to boost productivity in the berry and table grape sectors through tech innovations, such as AI-powered quality control and augmented reality (AR) training​.

Accelerating AI & AR Development to Empower Growers

This investment will enable us at Clarifresh to more deeply integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) into our quality control processes, giving these growers a way to automate the detection of external fruit quality attributes. 

“Clarifresh is proud to bring the world’s first, AI-powered quality control software for the fresh produce industry to Australian berry and table grape growers,” Mr Mardix said.

“This investment would enable us to fully automate the quality control processes by leveraging AI and AR technologies, accelerating the development of real-time, automatic detection of all external fruit quality attributes with augmented reality for improved quality control״

This is all fully in line with our vision of standardizing fruit quality evaluation across the supply chain, reducing rejections and tackling the fresh produce industry’s burgeoning waste problem.

Why Australia? Boosting Productivity Down Under Benefits the Global Fresh Produce Supply Chain

Australia’s fresh produce industry is a unique node in the global fresh produce market, thanks to its productivity, the variety of its output, and its geographical location. That last one is especially important, because it gives Australia a counter-seasonal trade advantage. While the harvest season for table grapes in the northern hemisphere generally lasts from July to October, southern hemisphere producers like Australia harvest from January to April. This positions well to capitalize on increased northern hemisphere demand in the first part of the year. 

But despite this and other advantages, fresh produce growers contend with labor shortages, climatic challenges, and the ever-present pressure to reduce waste.

Berries & Table Grapes: Obstacles and Opportunities

Table grapes and berries are among the most popular and highly valued crops in global markets, but they come with unique challenges for growers. 

Table Grapes

Table grapes need a long, warm growing season and minimal rainfall during harvest to avoid diseases like mildew and rot. The vines need regular pruning, training, and thinning, and harvesting must be done by hand to preserve fruit quality. They’re also vulnerable to pests, so careful management throughout the growing season is vital.

Berries

Berries are particularly fragile, which makes harvesting and handling a challenge. And with their short shelf life, quick and efficient post-harvest handling is critical to maintaining quality standards. Like table grapes, berries are susceptible to pests and diseases, which calls for integrated pest management to protect yields and ensure top-quality produce.

For these growers, gaining a technological edge can make all the difference between surviving year on year, and actually thriving as a scalable, future-ready business. As the world’s first AI-powered quality control software for the fresh produce industry, we at Clarifresh are excited to work with these businesses and help them to modernize and digitize their quality control infrastructure.

AI-Powered Quality Control Software and the Future of Global Fresh Produce

It’s a great pleasure and privilege to work with Hort Innovations on this groundbreaking initiative, and we look forward to updating you in due course on the results of this collaboration. You can access the full announcement here. 

If you’d like to learn more about how global fresh produce growers are using Clarifresh to streamline quality control and enhance efficiency across the supply chain, contact our team for a friendly chat. Our team is ready to learn more about your business goals and find opportunities to automate with cutting-edge technology.