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CRDC & Hort Innovation: Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Detection and Treatment Technologies

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Opportunity for

  • Innovators, researchers, and solution providers to submit advanced technologies that support the early detection, monitoring, and treatment of Red Imported Fire Ants in horticultural production systems and the broader Australian landscape.

Opportunity description

Industry challenge

Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) are a serious biosecurity threat to Australian agriculture, the environment and communities. They are highly invasive, difficult to detect in early stages, and costly to eradicate once established. Current detection and treatment approaches can be labour‑intensive, slow to scale, or limited in their effectiveness across different landscapes and infestation levels.
There is a strong need for practical, scalable technologies that can improve how RIFA are detected, monitored and treated—particularly solutions that can support early detection, increase treatment accuracy, reduce costs, or be deployed safely across agricultural and peri‑urban settings.

In response, Hort Innovation in partnership with Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) are scanning for advanced technologies that can support the early detection, monitoring, and treatment of RIFA in horticultural and broadacre systems and across the broader Australian landscape.

Current opportunity 

This opportunity is seeking collaboration partners with ideas, technologies or research capability that could contribute to better RIFA detection or treatment. Partners may include technology developers, research organisations, startups or industry groups with relevant expertise.
Successful expressions of interest may have the opportunity to:

  • Explore collaboration with industry and research stakeholders
  • Test or validate technologies in real‑world conditions
  • Access pathways to further development, trials or commercialisation

The focus is on practical solutions that can make a measurable difference to RIFA management in Australia.

Submissions should address one or both of the following areas:

1. Early Detection and Monitoring of RIFA

Technologies that improve early detection and surveillance across wide areas and production environments, including:

  • Sensor-based or smart detection systems
  • Imaging, remote sensing, or autonomous surveillance tools
  • Novel trapping, attractants, or detection platforms
  • Data-driven monitoring, analytics, or decision-support systems

Priority will be given to solutions that improve detection sensitivity while reducing reliance on labour-intensive monitoring methods.

2. RIFA Treatment Solutions (Including Organic-Compatible Options)

We are seeking scalable treatment solutions that offer one or more of the following:

  • Improved operational efficiency (faster application, reduced labour, simplified logistics)
  • Compatibility with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles
  • High specificity to RIFA with minimal impact on beneficial insects or surrounding ecosystems
  • Little to no residue in crop produce
  • Compatibility with organic certification or low-residue systems

Solutions may include chemical, biological, mechanical, or physical control methods, or innovative delivery systems that enhance the effectiveness, safety, or scalability of treatments.

To find out more and apply, visit the LEO website here by June 10 2026. 

Opportunity background

This opportunity is being supported through an industry‑led initiative focused on sourcing innovative solutions to priority challenges in horticulture and agriculture. The aim is to connect problem owners with capable solution providers and accelerate the development or adoption of new technologies.
The Red Imported Fire Ant challenge specifically targets solutions that can strengthen Australia’s biosecurity response by improving how infestations are found, treated and managed over time. Collaboration is central to this approach, bringing together industry needs with technical and research capability.

Potential other applications

  • Technologies developed through this opportunity may also be applicable to:
  • Other invasive insect or pest species
  • Broader biosecurity surveillance and monitoring
  • Agricultural pest management and environmental protection programs

 

 

"RDC"

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