While the city seeks to be known as Sydney’s third CBD with the “significant” rejuvenation of its city centre, the city has not lost its reason for being.

Founded in 1810 as an agricultural centre, Liverpool, until the 1950s, was a town with an agricultural economy based on poultry farming and market gardening until urban sprawl took its toll.

Once a satellite town, Liverpool then became an outer suburb of metropolitan Sydney with a strong working-class presence and manufacturing facilities, and in recent years a strong and evolving commercial sector.

Today, Liverpool City Council, along with NSW Farmers, is a driving force in the federal government’s Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) furthering its agricultural heritage.

The CRC is helping drive the success of regional and peri-urban food hubs in Liverpool enabling the city’s primary producers to be at the forefront of food production and help future-proof the agriculture industry and create jobs.

Partnership

Council’s partnership work in agribusiness across three tiers of government, researchers, businesses and farmers earned it the Best Cross Sectoral Collaboration Project gong for its entry, Global Jobs for the Future, in the Committee for Sydney’s 2019 Smart City Awards.

The CRC has more than 70 partners including six universities, government organisations, primary producers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Liverpool is the location for one of six food hubs – the only one in metropolitan Sydney – where researchers, growers and manufacturers will work together to find new ways to meet the growing local and international demand for Australia’s high-quality produce.

Council is also working with NSW Department of Primary Industries and The Western City and Aerotropolis Authority, examining what a world-leading agribusiness precinct might look like, and how it can provide local job opportunities for the community.

“We have the perfect opportunity with the development of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and the Aerotropolis to include a new food precinct,” Mayor Waller said.

“High-tech indoor agriculture and food manufacturing has the potential to create new high-value jobs in our region.”

Cr Waller said the CRC would also investigate the best ways to add value to locally-grown produce to make it more attractive to international markets.

Council won a Committee for Sydney Smart City Award in 2017 for Best Local Government Initiative for automating planning certificates and in 2018 for Best Local Government Initiative for council’s Smart Pedestrian Project