Securing agricultural productivity in the Varroa era

Australia’s agricultural productivity is facing its most serious biological challenge in decades. The establishment of Varroa destructor has permanently altered the national risk landscape for European honeybees a non-native species upon which a significant proportion of Australia’s crop pollination currently depends.

This is not a temporary disruption. Varroa introduces ongoing biological fragility into pollination systems that underpin food security, regional economies, and agricultural exports. Chemical treatment, biosecurity controls, and hive management may slow impacts, but they cannot eliminate the underlying biological vulnerability.

The Nomia Project represents a nationally significant, forward-looking response: a purpose-built, science-led program to establish, scale, and deploy Varroa resilient native Australian pollinators as critical agricultural infrastructure.

Rather than attempting to preserve a system that is now structurally compromised, the program builds a parallel, sovereign pollination capability using species that evolved in Australian conditions and are biologically incompatible with Varroa.

A Program Designed for National Outcomes

The Nomia Project integrates ecological science with infrastructure discipline. It is designed to move beyond research trials into repeatable, deployable capability that delivers measurable outcomes on Australian farmland.

• The program brings together:
• Large scale native bee breeding and management infrastructure
• Applied entomology, habitat engineering, and population control systems
• Biosecure, auditable operating models suitable for multi-site rollout
• Immediate relevance to high-value and pollination-dependent cropping systems

Built to Government and Industry Standards

From inception, the Nomia Project has been structured to meet the expectations of Treasury, Cabinet, CSIRO, and private co-funders.

Governance, assurance, reporting, and risk management frameworks are embedded at the program level, ensuring transparency, accountability, and confidence for public and private capital alike.