Young banana farmer turns to flour
Three years ago Robert Watkins' love of innovation was driving him to find new and better ways to get his lady finger bananas to market.
He developed a prototype for a recyclable carton liner he affectionately dubbed the "banana blankey" and was well on the way to commercialising the product when he was awarded the ABC-Kondinin Group's 2010 Australian Young Farmer of the Year.
"That was a fantastic concept, I think it was far ahead of its time to be honest," he says.
"But that taught me a lot, a heck of a lot.... there was probably a lot of people in the middle having their say and not getting it right through to the point of sale."
Rob Watkins is looking forward to his future even though it won't be as a farmer.
It was a realisation that ultimately led the Far North Queensland banana farmer-cum-entrepreneur to sell the family farm at Walkamin to embark on a new venture to turn bananas into flour.
"It's a powder of such, which is a gluten free product, extremely high in resistant starch and very nutritious. It's not new to the world, any of the banana flour products, Africans have eaten it for thousands of years in some countries."
His plans include building a factory on the Atherton Tableland and adopting innovation that will improve efficiency and help to reduce labour costs.
But is moving into the food manufacturing industry jumping out of the frying pan into the fire?
"I don't think so," Mr Watkins says. "I think I've put a very good and researched a very intensive business model for this."
"This industry, what I'm doing now, I love because it's me and the consumer. I'm going straight to the consumer. I'm dodging all the people in the middle."
Mr Watkins has fond memories of his recent experience as young farmer of the year and has not ruled out having a tilt at the top honour of Australia's 'Farmer of the Year' at some stage in the future.
"It's probably still the most prestigious awards ceremony in the country and what they've done there is bringing people from all different parts of agriculture together and I've always said, for agriculture to survive in Australia we're all going to have to come together because we're all in the same boat.
"For a young man on the land if you love what you do, have a go because you might get the phone call saying you're in the top three."
"Go for it, because you've got nothing to lose.
"And if you get some recognition out of this, it's fantastic and it does make you sit back and think 'where do we go to next'."
Even if it ultimately leads down a path away from the farm?
"I don't know? I've got a few things up my sleeve and I'm never going to stop being a farmer," he says.
"I know how to grow bananas well and now I'm going to work out how to do the other side well."
Source: ABC Rural News, 23 July 2013
