By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Fortune Agribusiness is planning to invest A$150 million (US$115 million) to develop a high-value, 3,500-hectare (8,649-acre) irrigated fruit and vegetable farming operation at its 294,000-hectare (726,490-acre) Singleton Station in the Western Davenport region of Australia’s Northern Territory. 

Made up of a small group of investors, Fortune acquired Singleton Station in 2016 with intentions already in place to pursue this development project, according to ABC.

The “Singleton Horticulture Project” will be developed over the course of the coming eight-year period. It will be carried out on nine blocks of 400 hectares (988 acres) each, which will be developed in sequence.

Fortune stated that the site has favorable climate, with a mean temperature range from 32 degrees Celsius in the summer to 17 degrees Celsius in the winter with negligible frost risk.  A key advantage to the location is low pest and disease presence, which positions the site for possible organic production, and which Fortune plans to maintain through biosecurity measures.

Located in the Western Davenport water control district, Fortune has applied for a 40,000 megaliter annual water license from the NT government – which if granted, will jump start plans to grow a range of crops. An initial list of seven crops, however, has been listed by Fortune to include table grapes, mandarin, dried grapes, onions, avocado, muskmelon, and jujube (Chinese dates).

“In the first year we’d be looking to grow some fairly simple annual crops — we’ve got on our list onions and rockmelons, even hay,” said Peter Wood, chairman, Fortune Agribusiness told ABC.

“But our main focus is on some of the longer-term permanent tree crops, like citrus or grapes, and they’ll take some years to get to maturity.”

Fortune stated that it expects more than 70 percent of what is grown at Singleton to be exported, mostly to Asian markets where the company can tap into growing demand on a year-round basis. 

Upon completion a project of this size would be one of the largest fruit and vegetable operations in the country, necessitating approximately 150 bores to support the irrigation needed since rainfall in the region averages 386 mm, mainly throughout the spring and summer months.

Over the course of a thirty-year period, the water table is expected to fall by 40-50 meters. However, Peter Wood stated that the company has worked with the local government to measure the potential environmental impacts of the project, which Wood believes can be done with sustainability in mind.

“The successful implementation of the horticulture project is dependent on an integrated approach to the protection of the natural environment and the sustainable use of the valuable water resource supporting the project,” stated Fortune on its website. “FortuneAgri is committed to balancing the commercial aspects of the project with these environmental requirements.”

The commercial aspects of the project are extensive, with expectations that it will need significant local infrastructure and services including packing and processing facilities, cold storage sites, workshops and machinery sheds, telecommunication abilities, power supply, and facilities for staff and their families.

But the project will also be a boon to the community, creating 110 permanent and 1,350 seasonal jobs, and generating about A$180 million (US$131.45 million) in annual revenue.

Fortune is not the only group with its eye on the Western Davenport region for development –  and drawing them all is water.

The Western Davenport Water Control District, which sits within the Georgina basin, covers two large aquifers under the central sandplains, along with multiple smaller localized aquifers, which are periodically recharged through rainfall, runoff from the Davenport Ranges, and Taylor’s Creek.

The NT government recently increased its groundwater allocation by nearly 100,000 megaliters per year, and estimates in its latest NT Farmers’ Western Davenport Development Plan that the area could see 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) developed over the next 15 years.
– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.