It seems far-fetched but Australian farmers could soon be producing broccoli and cauliflower pills: one serve of vegetables in a tiny capsule.

The horticulture industry hopes a demand for nutrient-rich powders and supplements will create a new market for vegetables and solve the problem of farm waste in the process.

It's an idea John Said, who grows vegetables on 2,000 hectares across the country, is helping to develop.

"I mean it's a pretty big ask to say to someone, 'Here, just take this pill and it's a broccoli pill', but in the future, who knows?" he said.

"I mean if it's got other vitamins and minerals and perhaps other oils as well and it serves a really good purpose for the body, then by all means let's develop that."

The nutraceutical industry believes new products can be developed from fruit and vegies. ( ABC News )

It's also a chance to make something of the cauliflowers and broccolis that aren't picked at harvest time, with about 15 per cent of his crop left on the ground.

"We've always thought about food waste, we've always thought about yield, but we've never been able to truly get a market or a particular process that addresses that issue," he said.

"So I think we're the closest we've ever been to being able to address an issue like that."

John Said hopes to harvest and sell 100 per cent of his crops in the near future. ( ABC News: Jess Davis )

Broccoli powder

The CSIRO approached Mr Said two years ago and asked if it could turn his waste into powders.

Scientists started with broccoli because it's the most nutritious vegetable.

"It's very high in protein," said project leader Luz Sanguansri.

"Imagine 30 per cent of broccoli is protein on a dry basis, so we thought that's a good start."

It took 18 months to develop a powder that contains nearly all the same nutrients as fresh broccoli.

The team then developed food products with the powder, including broccoli lattes and snacks.

The CSIRO is talking to a number of food companies and hopes to have products on supermarket shelves within a year.

"While you're sipping away your coffee you can have some snack with a [broccoli-infused] dip or a broccoli muffin and altogether you'll increase your vegetable intake by having that," Mrs Sanguansri said.

The CSIRO aims to have broccoli powder on supermarket shelves in the next 12 months. ( ABC News: Jess Davis )

Millions of tonnes wasted

1.5 million tonnes of produce is wasted even before it gets to the supermarket. ( Supplied: CSIRO )

As well as developing food products, the CSIRO carried out a widespread study to find out how many fruit and vegetables go to waste and where.

It found 1.5 million tonnes is lost before reaching supermarket shelves.

"From the national map we have done, we have identified key regions of the losses and the waste Australia is generating," said principal research scientist Pablo Juliano.

"So now the idea is to locate and build facilities for processing where we can turn this waste into ingredients."

Work is already underway on facilities in Gippsland in Victoria and Townsville in Queensland.

Future of regional processors

Kagome has developed a food product out of carrot fibre and sees nutraceutical potential. ( ABC News: Jess Davis )

It's an idea Victorian tomato and carrot processor Kagome is also pursuing.

The company's Echuca factory processes 18,000 tonnes of carrots each year, with up to a quarter of that traditionally going to waste.

"In the carrot process, we're actually extracting the juice. We're separating the fibre from the juice and making a carrot concentrate and then at the moment the fibre is just going as a waste product," said general manager of operations Brad Free.

With many regional food processors under financial strain from rising transport, energy and labour costs, Mr Free said finding a market for the waste had never been more important.

The carrot fibre is already used in meat patties and sausages and the company is developing higher-value products to sell into the nutraceutical market, which specialises in supplements.

Nutraceuticals future

Companies are trialling supplements that combine oils and vegetable powders. ( ABC News: Jess Davis )

For supplements, local nutraceutical companies like Swisse currently import ingredients, including grapes, which often go to waste in Australia.

It sees plenty of potential for local fruit and vegetables to replace some imports and inspire new products.

"All of them have specific areas [where] … we could probably pioneer some great new extracts for the industry," said Justin Howden from Swisse.

Farmer John Said agreed there was huge potential in nutraceuticals.

"We're doing things like encapsulating omega 3 into broccoli powder as we speak, so the market will evolve," he said.

"We're starting to create a new industry for the vegetable farmers of Australia."