THE WWF-backed reef resuscitation program Project Catalyst has had a further $500,000 injection from the Coca-Cola Foundation but Canegrowers Australia is refusing to back the plan.

Environmental and Natural Resources manager at Canegrowers Matt Kealley said the peak body was cautious about supporting the project due to a lack of information.

"It's great to see involvement from the corporate sector in that space and the investment by Coca-Cola but we're keen to understand where the projects are at - we haven't been briefed on what's actually been done and the results so far," Mr Kealley said.

Also clouding the issue is the involvement of WWF, which frequently highlights farming as a negative influence on reef health, while taking a substantial but undisclosed cash dividend from its involvement in the Coke-funded program.

Starting six years ago, the project aims to reduce the environmental impacts of sugarcane production on the Great Barrier Reef by providing funding for technical expertise, economic analysis and opportunities for learning and networking to innovative farmers in the Queensland region, according to a statement from Coca-Cola last week.

Mr Kealley said he would seek to gain answers about current trials at the upcoming Project Catalyst forum in Townsville next week.

"Hopefully we'll get an update about where the projects are at so we understand how they complement the research and development currently being undertaken by the industry through Sugar Research Australia.

"We want to know, if there are good outcomes from these ideas, how to take them through to proof of concept and then research development and extension so we can have a process to take it through to commercialisation."

Mr Kealley said he fully supported the basis of the project but added there was no point in continuing funding to trials if outcomes weren't being reviewed and taken through the appropriate processes.

"A grower can take an idea and implement it on their farm, no problem, but if you expect the industry to take an idea and uptake that without the appropriate research development, it's not going to fly," he said.

"I'm looking for the opportunity here to fit this in with our industry best practice programs like our Smart Cane BMP.

Engaging 78 Queensland sugarcane growers the project has offered on-ground coordination led by natural resource management groups Reef Catchments, NQ Dry Tropics and Terrain Natural Resource Management and support from the Australian Government and WWF.

"Declining water quality is a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef..."

The total investment by The Coca-Cola Foundation is currently sitting at $3.25 million with previous funding enabling farmers to significantly improve the quality of more than 100 billion litres of water, reduce the level of sediment and chemical run-off from their farms into river catchments that connect to the Great Barrier Reef.

Reef Catchments CEO Robert Cocco said the growers involved in Project Catalyst were innovative producers who were actively seek to do things differently.

"It's our local farmers who are championing this sustainability initiative - investing their time and efforts in finding new ways to improve water quality and preserve the Great Barrier Reef while making their own business more profitable though innovation," Mr Cocco said.

"Declining water quality is a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef, an Australian icon that generates AU$5-6 billion per year from tourism.

"Scientific monitoring and reports confirm that diffuse source pollution from farm run-off via river catchments is a major contributor to declining GBR health and resilience projects like Catalyst are fundamental in helping us showcase that farmers, community, business and government can combine efforts to preserve one of the great seven wonders of the natural world," he said.

"The rise in the number of growers involved is a testament to the passion and commitment of our farmers."

WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman said Project Catalyst used "cutting edge innovation" and was a model he hoped would be replicated with other commodities.

"Project Catalyst is having an impact not only in Australia, but around the world," Mr O'Gorman said.

"Containing more than 10 per cent of the world's total fish species, over 600 species of hard and soft corals, and attracting over two million visitors per year, the reef is an Australian and global treasure which needs to be protected."

The grant also comes at a time when the Australian Government has released its Reef 2050 plan, further emphasising the importance of protecting the Reef.

Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt said run-off had been linked to outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish and Project Catalyst simply complemented the work being undertaken by the Government to support improvements to farming practices.

"The rise in the number of growers involved is a testament to the passion and commitment of our farmers. The project started in the Mackay region and now includes farms all the way to Mosman in the Wet Tropics," Mr Hunt said.

Since the project's inception in 2009 the project area size has increased to manage over 40,000 hectares of farmland, allowing new innovations to be implemented along the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef.