Northern Australia Food Futures Conference sees record numbers of attendance

That's how the NT Farmers CEO Paul Burke has described this year's turnout to the Northern Australia Food Futures Conference.

The biennial three day event saw numbers reach the 500-mark with over 35 sponsors and 40 exhibitors also registering attendance.

If the numbers were permitted to climb beyond their restrictions, Mr Burke is confident the conference would have flown further into uncharted territory.

"We certainly could have had more people. We had a significant interest from overseas but we couldn't accommodate so we did put some relevant sessions online to be able to help facilitate conversation," he said.

"We've had steady growth over the previous three events but this was nearly twice the size, it's significant growth.

"It certainly now puts it squarely that Food Futures is the number one agriculture event in Northern Australia, and also says to us that the level of interest in development in the north is extremely high.

"We just now need to capitalise on this interest and deliver this into investment on the ground to support Territory jobs and businesses."

According to Mr Burke, the conference, which was established to promote the development of agriculture across northern Australia, now must deliver on the points identified to further grow the opportunities of the NT.

"The challenge now is for the team at NT Farmers to continue the growth of the conference, and now to deliver the outcomes that we identify within the conference," Mr Burke said.

"There's significant investor interest in precinct development right across the north, particularly in the Northern Territory.

"60 per cent of the people who attend the event came from the private sector, they are farmers and people who want to invest in agriculture."

The Northern Australia Food Futures Conference was held on May 17-20 at the Darwin Convention Centre.

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