ACIAR

I feel that ACIAR achieves what they set out to do in their graduate program, which is to encourage and support more young agriculturalists into a research career.

Hi, I am Bonnie, a young researcher in agriculture for international development, founding member of RAID, and soon to be PhD student and ACIAR graduate program alumnus. This is my valedictory and fond farewell…

My previous jobs, pre ACIAR, included work as a farm hand on several different livestock and cropping properties, a pearl boat deckhand and a casual oat/ wheat breeding employee. For those who haven’t had to harvest oats, on an open cab trial harvester on a 40 degree day, or clean oat samples – this is less than desirable. I must say, it has been nice to get a taste of a job with air conditioning and a comfortable chair.

Just prior to my ACIAR employment, I was lucky enough to work as a crop and livestock project officer in Tibet, for 6 months as part of the Australian volunteer program. In Tibet, I got my first real experience in agricultural research (post honours) when managing a trial on dual-purpose crops. I was hooked and wanted more of this action.

It was also in Tibet, that I met ACIAR CEO Nick Austin and Research Program Manager Peter Horne, and learned about the ACIAR graduate program. I somehow managed to mention, tactfully, that this was the program for me, upon my returned to Australia…

The first day I walked into ACIAR, I understood I was privileged to get a desk and laptop here. Experienced scientists who had important networks and advice to share surrounded me. It took a while to get accustomed to sitting and looking at a screen all day, but accompanying the computer work were amazing opportunities to travel and visit international projects.

During my time with ACIAR, I worked with banana and soil scientists to develop a project proposal for banana production in the Philippines. Originally from sheep/ wheat farm in the Mallee South Australia, my experience in tropical agriculture was somewhat limited. The furthest north I had been was Brisbane and heaven forbid I should know how to grow bananas! However, 14 months later I can now really empathise with Australian and Philippine banana growers and the threat they face from the destructive disease Fusarium Wilt.

The other major task in which I have been involved, is talking with Australian scientists who work on ACIAR projects – discussing the importance of international research work for Australian industry and Australian scientists. This was a highlight of my graduate program. I observed what their job entailed, and could witness their passion and job satisfaction. Ultimately, this is what aided my decision to take the plunge, and embark upon my PhD in agronomy and farming systems – so that I too will have a career doing interesting, rewarding and important work.

Finally, my association with ACIAR enabled me to work with my peers to establish a network called Researchers in Agriculture for International Development (RAID). The network aims to connect, engage and support early to mid career research scientists, and importantly share the knowledge and opportunities available in this sphere.

The RAID core group have been busy! Last week, we launched our new website, had our annual meeting, attended the Crawford Fund Conference and hosted our first official RAID networking event. It has been a productive week, and we are proud that our hard work over the past few months has paid off.

It is also a great note to finish my graduate role with ACIAR, before going on to pursue my PhD. As I walk out the door of ACIAR, my feeling is that the future is bright for young, enthusiastic agriculturalists seeking a satisfying job in agricultural research!

On landing in Perth one sentiment was common amongst our group: are we really still in the same country? Flying 4–5 hours in most of our group’s home countries would involve passing over at least more than one country.

We were in Perth as part of ACIAR’s annual meeting of the Policy Advisory Council (PAC), a group made up of representatives from the developing countries ACIAR works with. The meeting consists of 2 days in Canberra , followed by a short field trip somewhere in Australia to meet with key research partners, policymakers, farmers and agribusinesses. This year I had the pleasure of organising the meeting and the field trip to Western Australia.

the Hon. Julie Bishop and members of ACIAR's PAC and Commission

After a busy 2 days in Canberra, meeting with ACIAR’s Commission for International Agricultural Research and the Foreign Minister, the Hon. Julie Bishop, we had landed safely in Perth and were looking forward to the 3-day tour ahead.

Day 1 – Perth

University of Western Australia

PAC members with UWA researchers and chickpeas

First up was the University of Western Australia (UWA) with researchers from the UWA Institute of Agriculture. It was a beautiful sunny day and the historic campus was showing off its best side. The group discussed common global issues for universities including research priorities, funding and how to attract students to agriculture. It was clear that everyone was passionate about agriculture and determined to engage future generations for development and sustainability of the industry.

After a busy start to the week, Dr Bo (Vietnam) was intrigued by the Centre for Sleep Science but especially interested in the Chickpea experiments. The research into water use efficiency and salinity tolerance was of particular interest to our South Asian colleagues.

CSIRO – Floreat

We spent the afternoon with the CSIRO team at their Floreat facility. Our group was taken through the soil science basics in a demonstration of how CSIRO engages with farmers through training and field days.

Dr Bo demonstrated his soil science background by taking and examining a soil core from the CSIRO lawn

We were also shown a sheep nutrition study into the effect of diet on methane production and productivity, a new saltbush variety, and productivity testing of new lupin accessions recently collected from the Fertile Crescent region.

Day 2 – Bunbury

Department of Agriculture and Food

Day 2 was a bus tour with Western Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA). We visited a seed potato farm, a dairy farm and a vegetable packaging facility. The group gained a lot from interacting with the farmers and learning about the industry from their perspective.

Wearing biosecure and fashionable plastic shoe covers to inspect the seed potato crop

At the DAFWA office we learned about the wine industry (even tasting a couple of new varieties) and a fledgling jujube(Chinese red date) industry. Some PAC members wondered why they weren’t exporting jujube to Australia at those prices!

Day 3 – Perth

Crawford Fund
We started the final day with a breakfast hosted by the Western Australian committee of the Crawford Fund. PAC members were very interested in the potential collaboration and training opportunities for their researchers back home.

Ruth Oniang'o (Kenya) and Leah Buendia (Philippines) show off their fluoro vests

Australian Grains Centre and Murdoch University

Next we headed off on the bus for a tour of the impressive Australian Grains Centre at the CBH bulk grain storage and handling facility, and a visit to Murdoch University.

In an example of projects delivering benefits to both Australia and our developing-partner countries, we were shown an experiment focused on improving legume productivity through development of the rhizobia (nitrogen-fixing bacteria). Legume species collected from South Africa were being tested for their potential in improving Western Australian grazing systems. Ruth Oniang’o (Kenya) was particularly impressed with the African focus of the Murdoch team and was interested in further engagement with the researchers.

Kings Park and Botanic Garden

Mr Xaypladeth from Laos taking a selfie with Perth in the background

We finished the day with a visit to Kings Park and Botanic Garden, and were fortunate enough to be guided by our enthusiastic, former botanist, bus driver Laurie. After a couple of quick snaps overlooking Perth and at the end of a very busy week, there was still some time for exploring the city and shopping! The tradition of gift-giving remains strong amongst our Councillors and they welcomed the opportunity to buy some Australian souvenirs to present to colleagues back home.

It was a very productive, interesting, funny and exhausting week. Everyone seemed to have confidence in my calm exterior and trusted I had everything in control. Underneath though I was extremely relieved each day as we arrived and departed on time, didn’t get lost and, most importantly, didn’t lose anyone along the way.

Rebecca McBride, Communications Officer

Some of the naturally dyed yarns produced by the village women.

In Indonesia, hand-woven and dyed textiles play an important role in the spiritual, social and economic aspects of life. These textiles are worn in ceremonies, traded, bartered and given as wedding gifts. They are made by women, with the traditions passed down through generations. Increasingly these textiles are produced using synthetic dyes. However, new research is encouraging women to revive their natural dye-making traditions, and increase their incomes in the process.

An ACIAR-funded project in eastern Indonesia is supporting the development of integrated agroforestry and non-timber forest product systems. The project partners include government researchers and non-government organisations, including a Bali-based fair-trade organisation—Threads of Life—that uses culture and conservation to alleviate poverty in rural Indonesia.

William Ingram, founder of Threads of Life, discussing dying with Halena Kase at Bosen.

Threads of Life works directly with over 1,000 women in more than 35 cooperative groups on islands from Kalimantan to Timor.The proceeds from sales of the textiles help weavers establish cooperatives, manage their resources sustainably, train younger generations, and keep their traditions alive while alleviating poverty. Threads of Life staff also teach the members of the cooperatives simple business skills, as well as how to manage and protect the plants used in dye making.

Under the ACIAR project, with the support of Threads of Life and the project researchers, women in the village of Bosen, East Nusa Tenggara, are reviving their ancient traditions of making natural dyes for use in weaving to enhance their livelihoods. Since the project started a year ago, the local researchers introduced the Threads of Life staff to the potential opportunities around the Bosen village study site. Women in this village were practising weaving but they had made the transition to using synthetic dyes. Only the older women in the village could remember which local plants had been used to make dyes and what the traditional practices were.

Margarita Liukae reducing indigo dye.

When we visited Bosen during the project’s annual workshop in August 2014, the local women were making a purple dye from the plant Indigofera—a plant that’s been traded around the world for centuries. Interestingly the genus Indigofera is widely distributed with local species occurring in Indonesia and Australia. However, the most commonly planted species in Indonesia is Indigofera tinctoria, which originated in India and was brought to Indonesia in the 19^thCentury.

The plants, which are nitrogen fixing, are grown in the village gardens and the leaves are then used to make the indigo dye. Following soaking and partial fermentation, lime is added to reduce the indigo and make it more colour fast.

Halena Kase using the indigo to dye threads for weaving.

By reviving and adopting the traditional dye-making processes, and then using these dyes in their textile weaving, the women of Bosen are receiving up to four times as much for the textiles as they did when they used synthetic dyes. The project staff are supporting these activities and researching how the natural dyes can be made more uniform and colour fast.

By Tony Bartlett, ACIAR’s Forestry research program manager

More information

ACIAR project FST/2012/039– Development of timber and non-timber forest products’ production and market strategies for improvement of smallholders’ livelihoods in Indonesia, led by World Agroforestry Centre

“Women farmers are vital, in the poverty-ridden Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia”, says Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, of the ANU.

ACIAR, with DFAT, funded a report by Dr Lahiri-Dutt highlighting the ‘feminisation of agriculture’ and the challenges facing women-headed farming households,in the Eastern Gangetic Plains. This is one of the poorest parts of the world – marked by male out-migration and deteriorating livelihoods.

Social and economic factors, and the need for off-farm income, have seen men increasingly move away from rural areas, to the point where up to 70% of South Asia’s agricultural work is done by women.

Dukhni Safi runs a farm of less than a tenth of a hectare in the Madhubani district of Bihar, India.

The farm is now so small it can only provide 4–5 months of the food required yearly for the household.

Women have emerged as the key producers, performing a wide range of tasks related to planning, cropping, managing, processing and marketing, in and around the agricultural fields.

The resulting women-headed farming households are often poor with small landholdings. Thesefamilies and their livelihoods are further constrained by the lower levels of education and training afforded to women, and the discrimination to which they are subjected when accessing agricultural technologies.

Dr Lahiri-Dutt’sreport is based on a detailed survey of the serious constraints being faced by women living in this extremely poor setting. She knows this region and its challenges for women farmers intimately. Dukhni Safi and Sajjan Devi are farming women whose voices can be heard in two short but insightful case studies featured in the report.

Dr Lahiri-Dutt canvasses the opinion of these women – of their perception of obstacles and constraints, and of possible local solutions.

Dr Lahiri-Dutt recommends a series of strategies, that are gender sensitive, to improve education for women-headed farming households – for example, introducing women to more productive agricultural methods and extension services.

The burden of work on women is exemplified by the case of 30-year-old Sajjan Devi, a widow, pictured here with two of her three young children.

She also sees knowledge sharing among peers, and in group situations, as a necessity. Dr Lahiri-Dutt suggests that these informal and safe peer groups could evolve into cooperatives, aimed at securing training and improving access to money, resources and equipment.

In the Eastern Gangetic Plains region gender roles have significantly shifted in the past 50 years. Feminisation holds implications for agricultural productivity, food security and gender equity issues. It’s of interest as much for agricultural scientists as it is for development agencies.

Ultimately, Dr Lahiri-Dutt’s report adds substantially to the field of agricultural knowledge by incorporating the voices of women. It will assist agricultural scientists and development agencies alike, in ensuring their programs and project activities are in tune with the actual needs expressed by women.

To reiterate, and as Dr Lahiri-Dutt says, the need to empower these women in their farming households is vital.

By Mr David Skinner (ACIAR Program Support Officer) and Dr John Dixon (ACIAR Principal Adviser)

More information and further reading

ACIAR publication TR083 - Experiencing and coping with change: women-headed farming households in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Dancing with the River: People and Life on the Chars of South Asia by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Gopa Samanta (Yale University Press, 2013)

Improved wheat varieties are contributing to Afghanistan’s food security and economic growth. Australia has been a major supporter of wheat varietal improvement, working in partnership with Afganistan government agencies for well over a decade.

This program of improving wheat yields is implemented through an ACIAR brokered partnership between ARIA (the research institute of the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock - MAIL) and CIMMYT (the CGIAR centre dedicated to wheat and maize improvement, ACIAR project CIM/2011/026).

Wheat is the staple commodity in Afghanistan – in excess of 20 million rural people (or about 7 million households) depend directly on the crop. On average about 1.17 million ha of irrigated wheat is grown each year, while up to 1.38 million ha is planted and not irrigated,or rainfed, depending on the season. Rainfed systems are the most challenging to improve because of the associated risk and their very low productivity.

Afghanistan’s wheat yields face significant challenges – low yields from both irrigated and rainfed crops have been further challenged by susceptibility to disease. Of concern are the common strains of yellow rust and the looming regional threat from the aggressive UG99 strain of stem rust.

A ten year partnership ARIA/MAIL, CIMMYT & ACIAR

Research progress has been slow but solid, broadening the range and quality of the wheat varieties available for field trials. On a recent visit to Afghanistan, it was very impressive to visit the Darulaman Research Station, as a guest of ARIA Director General Mr Obaidi and of CIMMYT. The MAIL/ARIA team took the lead in describing all of the work undertaken – it was clear that they have full ownership of the wheat trials.

The MAIL/ARIA team led by Director General Obaidi (second on left) at Darulaman Research Station in Kabul

In 2013, Australian sponsored research resulted in the release of 7 improved wheat varieties. The wheat lines released included irrigated varieties with the potential to produce over 6t/ha, and rainfed varieties with the potential to produce 3.8t/ha.

These yields are about 10% better than any current variety and are more than double the current average yields of 2-3t/ha for irrigated wheat and 1-1.5t/ha for non irrigated wheat.

Assisting adoption of new varieties

The MAIL/ARIA program is managing trials in 10 locations representing 4 major agro-climatic zones of Afghanistan. To accelerate adoption of the new varieties, the project has established 4 technical support hubs where the varieties and appropriate wheat growing methods are tested on farmer’s fields and demonstrated to farmers.

Rainfed wheat production in Char Kent, Balkh Province

Adoption of new varieties is, however, very slow. It is constrained by factors such as – seed availability and quality, timeliness of distribution, cost of seed, and localised agro-climatic requirements.

ACIAR estimates that adoption could reach up to 20% of the planted area in the medium to long term. If this occurs then up to 1.5 million households will benefit.

David Swete Kelly undertakes Monitoring and Evaluation on behalf of ACIAR for the Afghanistan Research for Development Program.

This week the JAFs are in town. Short for John Allwright Fellows, JAFs are postgraduate (PhD and Masters) scholars supported by ACIAR’s John Allwright Fellowship scheme, which aims to enhance research capacity in ACIAR’s partner-country institutions.

Every year around September the new awardees gather in Canberra to meet each other and ACIAR staff, and to take part in a workshop on communicating research.

Nascimento Nhantumbo (Mozambique) and Khamtan Phonetip (Lao PDR)

This year there are five women and 17 men from 12 different countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mozambique, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The research topics are diverse. For example, Ms Risa Antari (Indonesia) is studying the effect of nutrition on bone growth in cattle at the University of Queensland. Mr Muneer Rehman (Pakistan) is investigating plant hormones to control citrus colouring at Curtin University. While Mr Khamtan Phonetip (Laos) is at the University of Melbourne to research the best way to dry plantation eucalypt wood using a solar kiln.

Ritika Chowdary (India) and Muneer Rehman (Pakistan)

They’ve had a jam-packed week so far. Day 1 was spent at ACIAR house, where they spent most of the day in the main conference room, meeting the research program managers and learning about ACIAR’s communications and impact assessment programs.

They also received insights and learnt of some of the challenges associated with completing a JAF from Muhammad Sohail Mazhar from Pakistan. Sohail is in his fourth and final year of his JAF-sponsored PhD on avocado bruising at the University of Queensland.

Ratih Damayanti and Dwiko Budi Permadi (Indonesia)

The next 3 days are spent offsite at a scientific writing workshop, run by Drs Margaret Cargill and Kate Cadman from the University of Adelaide. This is an intensive course where the students learn how to write scientific papers and deliver engaging presentations about their work.

Finally, on Day 5, the students will reward ACIAR staff with the presentations they have been preparing during the week.

JAF Week 2014 participants with ACIAR CEO Nick Austin.

But it’s not all work. There is plenty of time to play as well. Last night the students and ACIAR staff enjoyed a noisy and delicious dinner in Kingston. And after the presentations on Friday the students will be taken on a tour of Canberra. Then it’s back ‘home’ – to their Australian tertiary institutions – to get stuck into their studies.

By Georgina Hickey, ACIAR

More information:

John Allwright Fellowship Scheme is part of the Australia Awards program.

If you have ever searched for locally-made, high-quality jewellery in Fiji, chances are you were pretty disappointed. The truth is most available luxury items have been produced en masse outside of the South Pacific. And, given the items aren’t local, the sale of these imported products has limited livelihood benefits for Fiji people.

However, the ACIAR/Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative (PARDI) project, ‘Assessing potential for developing the mother-of-pearl (MOP) handicraft sector in Fiji: Empowering women’s’ groups and livelihood development in Fiji’ has tackled this issue and is turning it around.

The newly released, Fiji-made MOP jewellery is professionally presented with the Ba Women’s group’s story about hand-made, local merchandise printed on the inside cover.

New MOP jewellery handcrafted by members of Fiji’s *Ba Women’s Group, was launched at an event staged in Suva in September at the well-known Tappoo ‘Market Place’ retail outlet. The jewellery range encompasses 20 variations of fashion wear and 14 variations of everyday wear items. For the first time since the PARDI research project began in 2013, fashion connoisseurs and retail representatives had the opportunity to view and purchase the jewellery, and discuss being part of the new venture.

Traditional and modern artistry are integrated into the new jewellery designs with dominant use of the MOP shell. Products are made from local materials to enhance ‘Fiji-made’ accreditation. The uniqueness and quality of these products position them in the premium value of +FJ$100 for the fashion range and +FJ$50 for everyday wear.

Vani Saurara BWF (trainee) and model Kirsten

The Suva launch means this range of jewellery items is now available for purchase by the general public. Interest is such that, in addition to the original stockists, Tappoo, other retail outlets would like to stock the jewellery and well-known cruise ships are happy for Ba Women to sell products to tourists visiting Fiji.

How do these developments translate in terms of potential opportunities for the local economy? The ACIAR/PARDI project has identified an annual market value of around FJ$4 million for Fiji’s MOP handicrafts and pearl sector, of which currently only around 10% is met by local production.

Prior to the MOP launch, the project involved a rolling series of workshops on MOP jewellery product development. Local women’s group, The Ba Women’s Forum (BWF), and the local Ba Town Council have worked closely with PARDI, jewellery designer Marie Erl, and Fiji-based fashion designer Robert Kennedy.

BWF team from left: Ms Marie Erl, Dr Maria Doton (Chair of BWF), Vani Saurara (trainee) and Theo Simos (project manager, University of Adelaide). Attendees at the recent jewellery launch see merchandise first hand.

This project is providing an excellent opportunity to empower mature-aged, unemployed women and men. Trainees have achieved a basic level of capability, and will participate in further training to expand their jewellery-making skills and to develop their business and marketing capacity.

The long-term future of the MOP project will depend on further research funding to train interested locals and value-chain representatives towards the establishment of business models, and their own jewellery-making companies for sustainable and profitable livelihood benefits.

‘Assessing potential for developing the mother-of-pearl (MOP) handicraft sector in Fiji: Empowering women’s’ groups and livelihood development in Fiji’ is led by James Cook University’s Professor Paul Southgate and Adelaide University’s Research Associate Theo Simos. It builds on work undertaken by the University of the South Pacific’s Dr Anand Chand and his project team.

* Ba is a town in Fiji, 37 kilometres from Lautoka and 62 kilometres from Nadi, inland from the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.

For more information contact:
Research Associate, Theo Simos – M: 0417816160 or theosimos@bigpond.com
PARDI Communications, Julie Lloyd – M: 0415 799 890

Links for further information:
The ACIAR/PARDI handicrafts project is part of a suite of pearl projects led by James Cook University. More information can be found in ‘Fisheries Profiles 2014’

Associated stories and YouTube link are listed below:
PARDI news articles on mother-of-pearl (MOP) handicraft and jewellery training in Fiji
ACIAR blog on opening up industry opportunities
PARDI YouTube supporting the role of Pacific women

A year in Vanuatu as an Australian Volunteer for International Development (AVID) is a great opportunity to learn more about food security issues in the Pacific, meet unforgettable people, learn Bislama and climb many volcanoes.

I had the privilege of working with several NGOs, most notably Care International in Vanuatu and Adventist Development and Relief Agency Vanuatu, on food security projects across four islands—Araki, Efate, Futuna and Malakula.

Fitu, a gardener and weaver from Mission Bay, Futuna, presented me with a beautiful basket that she made as a farewell gift. Photo: Bronnie Anderson-Smith

In Araki and Malakula, I helped write and run nutrition training—learning a lot about the three food groups in the Pacific and also some insight into their language—givim poawa (carbohydrates), bildimap bodi (protein) and blokim sik (fruits and vegetables).

The workshops were attended by people of all ages, all eager to learn more about food and nutrition. We mapped out the incredible diversity of food available in the coastal and island communities, including food from the sea, river, forest, bush garden, home garden and the small store.

Even rural communities are seeing an influx of store food. Junk food, lollies, rice and noodles are contributing to the rise in non-communicable diseases. Participants were surprised to learn that these new ‘Western’ foods were less nutritious options than the food they farm, hunt or gather.

Farmers with produce from their home gardens used in the cooking classes. Photo: Bronnie Anderson-Smith

The hands-on cooking classes were especially popular. Dishes included chicken and fish soups and stir fries. People were keen to learn how to use some of the new vegetables they were now growing, such as carrots.
Vanuatu has three national languages, Bislama, English and French as well as over 110 Indigenous languages. Getting a handle on Bislama gave me the opportunity to work more effectively with colleagues, run trainings and develop resources.

I developed a ‘Climate Smart Agriculture Handbook’ for the Climate Change Adaptation Project in Futuna. The project is helping Futunese communities increase their resilience to climate change by working with them to improve their food security. The project includes climate smart agriculture, nutrition training and food preservation (using traditional techniques and solar food driers). The manual I developed focused on soil fertility strategies, organic pest and disease management, and planting and saving seed. Saving seed is a new skill required to grow the annual vegetables that have been introduced to diversify diets (propagation of traditional crops is mostly vegetative).

Ladies in Futuna with the recipe book I compiled. Photo: Bronnie Anderson-Smith

I also worked with a local NGO, Wan Smol Bag, to put together a recipe book with key messages on nutrition. These resources will continue to be used in Futuna and, as the project expands, to other islands in Tafea province.
Both resources were a hit, and it was fantastic to see people using them at the Agriclimaptation (Agriculture Climate Change Adaptation) Festival—the highlight of my year away.

Some of the weavers and judges from the weaving competition. Futuna is famous in Vanuatu for producing some of the finest weaving. Photo: Bronnie Anderson-Smith

The festival was the culmination of Care International in Vanuatu's climate change adaptation work on Futuna. It brought together all the communities on the island as well as guests from the provincial and national governments, NGOs and representatives from nearby islands. It was an incredible week celebrating local produce, custom dancing and music, garden tours, weaving and fishing as well as art, poetry and essays from the island’s students. Guests also ran several workshops on food preservation, seed saving, managing the crown-of-thorns starfish and much more.

Seeing the communities put the sustainable agriculture, food preservation and nutrition training into practice, with real pride and ownership of their new-found knowledge, was incredibly rewarding.

I played a very small part in these projects but I’m very grateful for the openness of my colleagues and the communities I had the privilege to work with, and for everything they taught me.

By Bronnie Anderson-Smith, recently returned Executive Officer for the Australian International Food Security Research Centre, ACIAR.

Resources:

Care International in Vanuatu

Adventist Development and Relief Agency Vanuatu

Australian Volunteers for International Development

ACIAR is funding innovative research and training to help Fijian scientists conduct research on how to produce high-quality veneer products from ‘senile’ coconut stems. On this International Day of Rural Women we would like to highlight this important project that is building the capacity of Fijian women and enhancing livelihoods in the South Pacific. In many Pacific Island countries there are vast areas of coconut palms that are too old to produce fruit, which provide little use to farmers. However with ACIAR’s help, Fijian locals are developing a better understanding of how to turn unused resources into a higher value, profitable product.

Eric Littee (QDAFF) , with Sainiana (measuring veneer), Temo and Elenoa from Fiji Department of Forestry.

Photo: Tony Bartlett.

In August this year, Australian researchers began training Fijian project staff on how to use new spindle-less lathes and are now conducting research trials on how to produce high-quality cocowood veneer. ACIAR supported the acquisition of a spindle-less lathe for the Fijian Department of Forestry’s Timber Utilisation Division complex at Nasinu. Australian researchers from the Univeristy ofTasmania and Queensland’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry worked together to identify, purchase and modify the equipment needed for research. Lathes purchased from Malaysia were modified to include safety features that complied with Australian requirements.

A spindle-less lathe works on the basis that the log is rotated against a peeling knife. Pressure is applied by multiple rollers positioned against the log surface. The aim is to produce veneers of consistent thickness with a smooth surface. This is relatively straight forward when working with small diameter, eucalypt logs which have a more uniform density. Challenges arise when working with coconut stems as these have very different anatomical properties to trees, and are very dense on the outside but are less dense in the centre.

The Fijian co-ordinator Ms Moana Masau pulling coconut veneer sheets from the clipping machine.

Photo: Tony Bartlett.

Fiji’s Conservator of Forests, Mr Samuela Lagataki, says that these days about half of recruits coming into the Department of Forestry are women. When ACIAR visited the Timber Utilisation Division’s facilities to watch some of the first processing of coconut veneer, the local women were very interested and active in the research. As soon as the veneer sheets started to come off the lathe, the women enthusiastically lined up to learn how to measure and record the thickness of the sheets.

Project team with the new Spindle-less lathe and trial peeling of coconut stems.

Photo: Greg Nolan, UTas.

The project’s co-ordinator in Fiji is Ms Moana Masau, who is employed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). With the support of ACIAR, Moana is now half way through a Graduate Certificate in Timber Processing and Building, conducted by distance education with the University of Tasmania. Moana has an active role in trialling the first veneer processing using the new spindleless lathe.

This ACIAR project has another 2 years to run and there is still plenty more research to be done in the area of cocoveneer production. Over the next 2 years these young Fijian women and the rest of the project team will play a leading role in developing an innovative high-value product that will enhance livelihoods and options for landowners to revitialise the land occupied by these senile coconut plantations.

Producing coconut veneer on spindle-less lathe. Photo: Tony Bartlett.

Senile coconut plantation. Photo: Tony Bartlett.

For further information please visit www.cocowood.net and see a related story from a 2010-11 issue of ACIAR's Partners magazine.

By Tony Bartlett, ACIAR Research Program Manager for Forestry

Today is World Food Day. While we acknowledge the number of people worldwide who go hungry everyday, we should not lose sight of the fact that the only acceptable number of hungry people is zero.

Food is one of humankind’s most fundamental needs — and is a basic human right. Yet in spite of its importance, a staggering one in nine people worldwide go to bed every night hungry and chronically undernourished. The costs of hunger and undernourishment fall heavily on the most vulnerable.

60% of the hungry in the world are women
Almost 5 million children under the age of 5 die of malnutrition-related causes every year
4 in 10 children in poor countries are malnourished damaging their bodies and brains

It is possible to end hunger in our lifetime. The world produces enough food to feed every person on the planet. New figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) recently released 2014 State of Food Insecurity in the World indicate that global hunger is reducing – down by more than 100 million people over the last decade.

We are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015.

Small oily fish, such as these herrings from Lombok, Indonesia, are nutritionally important as they contain highly unsaturated fatty acids and other micronutrients. Photo: Paul Jones

We congratulate the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate, the eminent plant scientist Dr Sanjaya Rajaram. He is being honoured for his scientific research that led to a prodigious increase in world wheat production – by more than 200 million tons – building upon the successes of the Green Revolution.

This year’s World Food Day’s theme is Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth. There are 570 million farms globally, of which 85% are family owned and have the huge responsibility of producing half the world’s agricultural production.

Family farming has a crucial role to play in eradicating hunger and poverty through providing food and nutrition security. Family farms also contribute to improving livelihoods, sustainably managing natural resources, and stimulating economic development through interacting with a range of input, market and processing activities that rely on agriculture, especially in rural areas.

The FACASI project is introducing two-wheel tractors to reduce drudgery (particularly for women) and help farmers sustainably intensify their farms in eastern and southern Africa. Photo: Frédéric Baudron/CIMMYT

While we focus on farming families, we should not lose sight of the fact that globally, women farmers provide 43% of agricultural labour, with percentages as high as 60% in some African countries and 70% in South Asia. They are on the front lines of ensuring food security for their families. Yet women farmers are greatly disadvantaged in this role. Key constraints faced by women farmers are insecure rights to land, poor access to inputs such as water, seeds, fertilizer, machinery and credit, and lack of access to extension services.

Empowering women farmers will generate significant food security gains. If women had the same access to resources as men, they could significantly increase yields on their farms and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million.

Today, on World Food Day, the Alliance for Agricultural R&D for Food Securityannounced its first project. It aims to ensure that new crop varieties better meet the needs of African smallholders and their customers. The official launch took place at the World Food Prize event in Iowa, USA.

The initiative brings together the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) in the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) and the Crawford Fund.

Speaking in connection with the launch, SFSA Director Dr Marco Ferroni emphasised: “Progressing research and breeding results through to millions of smallholder farmers is essential. Today, plant science often fails to create impact at scale. However, solutions are within reach, and the private sector plays a central role.”

ACIAR is focused on agricultural research to support family farmers, particularly women, around the world. ACIAR works across the whole value chain with research focused on developing better crop varieties (such as Seeds of Life in East Timor), sustainable intensification of agriculture and strengthening market opportunities.

Thanks to Seeds of Life, farmers in Timor-Leste have access to new varieties of staple crops such as maize. Photo: Sarah Vandermark/ACIAR

In Laos partnerships have helped build vegetable research and extension capacity through activities such as farmer training and support for government extension services.

Women buying and selling vegetables at a market place in Laos. Photo: Tony Bartlett/ACIAR

So on this World Food Day, let us celebrate the critical work done by family farmers, both men and women, in feeding the world. Let us also celebrate and be inspired by the current and past World Food Prize Laureates – and strive to improve the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. And let us not lose sight of achieving zero hunger in our lifetime.

By Mellissa Wood and Bronnie Anderson-Smith, Australian International Food Security Centre, ACIAR

At ACIAR, we broker research partnerships between Australia and developing countries. These partnerships deliver benefits not only to the developing countries where we work, but also to Australia – such as strengthened biosecurity, access to germplasm for improved crop varieties, and capacity building for farmers and researchers alike.

As a sponsor of the 2014 National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Congress, Nick Austin, CEO of ACIAR, welcomed the opportunity to talk to delegates about ACIAR.

“It is sometimes commented that ACIAR is better known overseas than in Australia, so the opportunity to sponsor the congress is one step towards raising our profile domestically,” he said.

Day one of the Congress was also first day on the job for NFF CEO, Simon Talbot. Congratulating Simon on his recent appointment, Nick said he is looking forward to continuing a close working relationship under his stewardship.

ACIAR CEO Nick Austin and NFF CEO Simon Talbot (Photo: ACIAR)

Addressing the NFF congress at large, Nick reviewed ACIAR's role as part of Australia’s aid program, which has six core priority areas, including agriculture.

"ACIAR ’s mission is to increase the productivity and sustainability of agriculture for the benefit of developing countries and Australia."

Benefits for Australia from ACIAR's partnerships:

Nick's address highlighted that one of the most important benefits to Australia revolves around biosecurity. Work with our counterparts in Indonesia, for example, on a national surveillance system for early detection of foot-and-mouth disease is extremely important. Keeping Indonesia free of the disease reduces the risk of the disease entering Australia.

Our work with mite pests of honey bees allowed better focusing of quarantine efforts, lowering the probability of destructive mites entering Australia.

Incidentally, the Minister for Agriculture, The Hon. Barnaby Joyce said at the Congress, “Make sure we keep biosecurity strong, otherwise we won’t have a honey industry”.

Keeping mite pests of honey bees out of Australia is essential for healthy honey and horticultural industries. (Photo: Saul Cunningham, CSIRO)

Nick talked about ACIAR’s work with biocontrol of banana skipper butterfly in Papua New Guinea. Here, the butterfly was controlled by a small parasitic wasp. Without biocontrol, the butterfly could have crossed Torres Strait into Australia, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to Australia’s banana industry.

Improved plant genetic material, though ACIAR’s investment in the International Agricultural Research Centres, helps keep Australian farmers competitive in world markets.

There are many examples where internationally sourced genetic plant material has been adapted to Australian conditions. Mung beans grown across much of northern Australia derive from the World Vegetable Center’s breeding program. Improved chickpea varieties from ICRISAT in India; disease-resistant barley from ICARDA in Syria; high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat varieties from CIMMYT in Mexico—these are all grown in Australia.

In closing, Nick noted that ACIAR's international relationships provide opportunities for Australia to be part of the global network sustaining agricultural innovation. ACIAR is a small player but will strive to deliver for farmers in Australia and overseas.

By Georgina Hickey, ACIAR

Resources:

National Farmers’ Federation 2014 National Congress

Partners Magazine November 2013—issue on ACIAR in Australia

ACIAR Impact Assessment Series Report No. 39—Benefits to Australia from ACIAR-funded research

Doing well by doing good– Crawford Fund Task Force 2013

Australia’s aid program

Judges son and father, Josh and Mark Bahen, cocoa grower Dennis Nambith and cocoa buyer
Basille Malily enjoy chocolate over the water in Port Vila at the end of the competition

First Annual Vanuatu Chocolate Competition Salon Culinaire 2014

The joy that is chocolate, the desire to source flavoursome cocoa beans, and the opportunity to improve livelihoods for Vanuatu cocoa growers – could these ingredients be a recipe for success?

Two years ago, Australian chololatiers ‘Bahen & Co’ from the Margaret River, WA, visited Vanuatu. They collected and took home single-origin cocoa beans from local communities. They made chocolate and returned to Vanuatu for the growers to taste. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste good!

Enter a program of agricultural research covering pest and disease management and new pruning practices for cocoa plantations, in addition to quality control measures for fermentation and drying of harvested beans.

Now, two years later, it’s time for another taste test!

Seven judges are in Port Vila for the inaugural Annual Vanuatu Chocolate Competition Salon Culinaire. The outcome of this competition will mark whether there could be a viable, high-quality, boutique chocolate industry for Vanuatu. Such an industry offers a promising pathway to improve the livelihoods of Ni-Vanuatu families.

Cocoa beans and flavour assessment sheets; chocolate ready for judging

The Chocolate

As part of a related research project, Haigh’s Chocolates, from South Australia, hosted two Vanuatu locals: Sandrine Wallez from the Association for Alternative Trade in Vanuatu (ACTIV), along with Basile Malili from the Cocoa Growers’ Alliance.

While at Haigh’s Sandrine was schooled in the fine art of making chocolate.

ACTIV founder and manager Sandrine Wallez stands outside their building in Port Vila

Sandrine is utilising her skills as ‘chocolatier’ for the inaugural competition. Ten growers from three different islands of Vanuatu have submitted their beans. Sandrine is making the chocolate, using identical techniques for each batch of beans entered in the competition.

The Judging

Among the seven judges are Ben Kolly, Haigh’s, and father and son, Mark and Josh Bahen, Bahen & Co. Josh has just returned from the US, where he met 100 other chocolatiers keen to locate fine-quality beans. While head judge Mark is optimistic about the Pacific’s appeal for Australian chocolatiers, geographic proximity and the romance of the Pacific tells a marketable story.

One of the judges Mark Bahen smells a set of cocoa beans before tasting a chocolate in the blind tasting

Judging is a serious closed-door affair. Smelling reveals 75% of the flavour, followed by the tasting, waiting, thinking and talking. The judges cleanse their pallets with apple and water. Colourful flavour wheels provide a vocabulary for judges. Score sheets are filled in, providing constructive comments for the cocoa growers.

The Results

The formal presentation begins. Basile opens with a prayer, followed by an address by Jeremy Bruer, Australian Head of Mission. Each judge makes specific comments about the flavour and other qualities of the chocolate. Ben talks about the unique flavours of the local beans: the fruitiness and the complexity are exciting, but the smokiness needs further work to be reduced.

The placings are listed on the board. The tasting has been anonymous. No-one knows which farmer is which number. Sandrine reveals their identities. The young farmer our filmmaker has been following is first! It’s Denis from Rory Village, Malekula Island, followed by Fredy from Bisa Village also on Malekula, and third is Joseph from Epi.

Josh is relieved. Flying into Vanuatu he was worried that the simple agricultural interventions introduced during the past 2 years, may not have made a difference. With these results, Josh and Ben believe the Vanuatu heirloom tree stock can produce a high-quality, complex-flavoured chocolate. These beans will be highly sought after.

The Future

A group of us are also here to workshop the next stage of the ACIAR cocoa livelihoods project. The competition has confirmed that Vanuatu has a promising future in the global cocoa market. However, further research is needed: continuing the basics of pruning, and pest and disease management; not to mention postharvest work on the fermenting and drying of beans to reduce the undesirable smoky flavour.

Litamat Benua, is a farmer from Bremway village on Malakula Island, Vanuatu

The new focus will be to identify and distribute the best possible genetic resources – trees that will have higher productivity but still give us the highly desirable fine flavours that our tasters have identified in Vanuatu cocoa.

Farmer training in improved agricultural practices and implementation of quality-control practices by leading growers such as Deni, Fredy and Joseph; cocoa buyers such as Basile; and researchers such as Dr Marie Melteras (Vanuatu Agricultural Research and Technical Centre, VARTC) - they are all leading the way.

In the excitement, I forgot to bring home any chocolate... Maybe next year!

By Joy Hardman

Crops Cluster Support Officer

First Vanuatu Chocolate Competition Salon Culinaire 2014 was an outcome of the Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative (PARDI) Activity Facilitating Improved livelihoods for Pacific Cocoa Producer Networks Through Premium Market Access. HORT/2008/046Rehabilitating cocoa for improving livelihoods in the South Pacificperforms the agricultural research supporting the cocoa improvement.

Pacific region cocoa projects include HORT/2008/046, AGB/2008/044,HORT/2012/026, HORT/2013/032, ASEM/2012/072.

A new approach to communication for development will help low-literate farmers adopt improved agronomic practices in Timor-Leste.

Farmers who adopt new maize varieties developed by the Seeds of Life (SoL) program and Ministry of Agriculture (MAF) can expect significant yield increases if they use traditional cultivation methods. If they also apply appropriate agronomic practices (such as planting in lines, weeding, drying and storing seed in airtight containers etc.), even higher yield increases are achievable. But how do you teach these practices to farmers?

Farmers at a maize field day: a traditional form of communication for development

The low level of literacy among Timorese adults, particularly in remote parts of the country, and their often limited exposure to television and radio, presents a significant challenge when it comes to delivering new information.

To overcome this barrier, the SoL–MAF team is trialling an animation presenting guidelines for growing maize.The animation was prepared by final year students in the Bachelor of Animation degree program at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Wagga Wagga. A large component of the professional development in this course involves students undertaking pro bono work for not-for-profit organisations.

Animation has advantages over static images (such as on leaflets and banners) because viewers can be better directed to key information and are less likely to misinterpret what they see. The technique also has advantages over conventional video presentations, as animations can be made off-shore using established production facilities, and avoid the cost of hiring actors and crews.

In development: testing the opening scene and characters

Working under the direction of Chris McGillion, a senior lecturer in journalism at CSU who is also undertaking a PhD examining SoL's communication techniques through the Australian National University, the students were briefed on the physical and cultural characteristics of subsistence farming in Timor-Leste and provided with 12 key agronomic messages to present. These messages were condensed from a 34-page Maize Guidelines document prepared by SoL–MAFfor use among extension officers.

Fully developed scene and characters

In developing the animation, several editorial decisions were considered crucial. First, the 'characters' had to be presented in a way that was respectful of Timorese and mindful of the role women play in Timorese farming. Second, the animation had to be engaging: directly relevant to farmers' experience, fast-paced, and containing elements of humour. Third, attention had to be focused on the action (which contained the messages) rather than on dialogue (talking about the action), with the overall effect of a 'story' that was simple to follow and understand.

Using anatomical measures for easy to understand guides

The animation is roughly divided into four one-minute sequences. In the first, a young male farmer is shown wondering why his maize crop is not as productive as that of a female neighbour. The woman then demonstrates appropriate spacing between rows and plants, and seeding and weeding techniques. She does this by turning data (e.g. 70 cm) into easily remembered anatomical measures (from shoulder to finger tip). In the second sequence, the two farmers work cooperatively to cultivate the crop, after which (in the third sequence) the male farmer is shown drying and storing the harvest appropriately. The last sequence presents each of the 12 key messages in Tetun (the local language) so that literate viewers (extension officers, children of farmers) have a convenient summary of the information presented.

SoL–MAFwill screen the animation at district film nights run by the local organisation Cinema Lorosa'e. They will also share it with farming families with video-capable mobiles, and use it as an extension tool. If the animation proves successful in raising awareness of good agricultural practices for maize, similar animations for peanuts, sweetpotato, rice and cassava may also be created.

By Chris McGillion (Charles Sturt University) and Kate Bevitt (Seeds of Life)

More information:

Maize animation

ACIAR project CIM/2009/049 Seeds of Life 3

Seeds of Life website

Charles Sturt University

Every few years, it seems, a scare goes around threatening the end of the global commercial banana industry—and usually the focus of the scare-stories is Panama disease, caused by the fungus ‘Foc’ (short for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense).

The variety that made banana the ‘world’s favourite fruit’ was Gros Michel, but it was knocked out as a commercial crop in the 1950s and 1960s by Panama disease, specifically a form that we now call ‘Foc Race 1’. The banana that took its place was Cavendish, a variety found to be resistant to that form of Panama disease and subsequently distributed around the world. It currently dominates the global trade in bananas. But now the Cavendish banana has met its nemesis in the form of Tropical Race 4 of Panama disease—Foc-TR4. The new form of the disease has just about wiped out commercial Cavendish production in Malaysia and Indonesia (despite the best efforts of ACIAR’s previous Panama disease project in Indonesia), and this year there have been outbreaks, for the first time, in Africa and the Middle East.

A banana plantation devastated by Panama disease (Tropical Race 4). Photo: Richard Markham/ACIAR

The front line in ACIAR’s battle with Foc-TR4 has now shifted to the southern Philippines, where ACIAR has recently launched a new project. There, some of the key players who were involved in the Indonesian project—Bioversity International and Queensland’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry—have taken on board the lessons learned and are now trying to apply them to managing the disease, in collaboration with Filipino research organisations and commercial industry partners.

While the Indonesian project looked at specific antagonists to Foc, especially other fungi living in the soil that could compete with and control it, the Philippines project is focusing on encouraging farmers to grow groundcovers between the banana plants. Groundcovers can provide a favourable environment for a range of these antagonists to develop naturally. They also provide additional benefits, such as reducing soil erosion and surface water flow that can carry the fungus from plot to plot, as well as reducing the risk of farm workers carrying the disease in contaminated soil on their shoes.

Tony Pattison discusses with a banana plantation manager which of a range of local groundcover species might work best. Photo: Richard Markham/ACIAR

In a recent visit to Davao, the hub of the Philippines’ banana industry, Queensland groundcover-advocate Tony Pattison engaged directly with some of the farmers to see what plant species might be acceptable within their production system. He also met with local researchers to see which species could be sourced locally and rapidly propagated. In addition the team discussed with the farmers how they liked the Foc-TR4-tolerant variants of Cavendish, selected in Taiwan and made available to other countries including the Philippines, through Bioversity International’s BAPNET.

The take-home message from our exploratory visit was that the banana industry is extremely competitive and, while producers are anxious to try our new combination of groundcovers and disease-tolerant varieties, the new technology will have to deliver high productivity quickly if it is going to save the local industry.

Mobile devices are increasingly being used in the battle against Panama disease. Photo: Richard Markham/ACIAR

There are benefits to Australia too from this research. For example, Australian researchers and industry partners are evaluating and gaining experience in the use of groundcovers to manage Foc Race 1, which attacks Australia’s Lady Finger bananas. It will also serve as something of a ‘dress rehearsal’, in case Foc-TR4 should ever threaten the heart of Australia’s commercial banana industry—the Cavendish plantations in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

By Richard Markham, ACIAR Research Program Manager for Horticulture

More information:

ACIAR project HORT/2012/097—Integrated management of Fusarium wilt of bananas in the Philippines and Australia

ACIAR project HORT/2004/034—Diagnosis and management of wilt diseases of banana in Indonesia

ACIAR project HORT/2005/136—Mitigating the threat of banana Fusarium wilt: understanding the agroecological distribution of pathogenic forms and developing disease management strategies

Me go long Solomon Islands lookem wat now one fella projek long ACIAR doem. In other words, in October 2014, I travelled to Solomon Islands to participate in an end-of-project review of an ACIAR forestry project on teak production. While I may not have picked up the local lingo in 5 days, I certainly learnt a lot about forestry in the Pacific.

Before setting off, my supervisor mentioned that I would be visiting some beautiful sites. I certainly was not disappointed. From the air, spectacular coral reefs and blue lagoons stretched for miles, interspersed by lush green islands and mountain ranges. From our boat we could see tropical fish darting between coral as we passed villages on stilts by the shore. They send me on all the tough assignments!

Village by the water (Photo: Jack Koci/ACIAR).

The beautiful scenery was one thing, the humidity was another. Stepping off the boat in Munda in Western Province, I was immediately struck by the intense heat and humidity. Originally from far northern Queensland, I thought I would be used to the so-called ‘balmy conditions.’ I was wrong. Within minutes I was dripping with sweat. It seemed the one year I had spent in Canberra had turned me into a dreaded southerner.

Travelling to field sites on Kolombangara Island (left) and seeking shelter from the storm 2 minutes later (right) (Photo: Jack Koci/ACIAR).

In Solomon Islands, individuals and communities have been establishing high-value timber (predominantly teak) plantings over the past 15–20 years. Like many other tree species, teak should first be planted at a high density, to ensure the stems grow straight and tall. As competition for nutrients, water and light increases; the plantings should gradually be thinned (removed) to allow the best performing trees to ‘fatten up’ and reach full market potential. Unfortunately, many growers have been reluctant to thin, believing that they will lose money as each tree has a potentially high value. As a result, the plantings have become overstocked, with growth reduced to a minimum and poor market potential.

Smallholder teak plantation on Rendova Island (Photo: Jack Koci/ACIAR).

The project we were reviewing sought to find a planting system that would allow growers to plant high-value timbers, such as teak, in a way that would encourage thinning and that would also lead to better management of the land. This in turn, would allow for income generation throughout the life of the plantation. This was achieved by alternately planting teak with flueggea (Flueggea flexuosa), a species that is widely used for housing and construction. Growers can profit from thinning flueggea, while the teak is left to grow out. Food and cash crops can be grown between the trees, ensuring the land is productive throughout the 20–25 year rotation.

Inner (left – with author) and outer (right) parts of a Nelder wheel, Kolambangera Island. The Nelder wheel is an experimental layout in which trees are planted where linear spokes intersect with the concentric arcs in a wheel design. Using this system it is possible to plant trees at many different densities (Photo: Jack Koci/ACIAR).

A particular strength of the project has been the capacity it has built. People who will benefit in the medium to long term include: Vaeno Vigulu, John Allwright Fellow, who is soon to complete his PhD at Griffith University; Rural Training Centre staff using the agroforestry booklet and demonstration trials in teaching; the local growers making inventories of their plantations; andthe forestry officers involved in extension and dissemination.

I left Solomon Islands with a serious case of teak fever and an ever-increasing interest in the forestry sector. Forestry, when performed sustainably and managed appropriately, isn’t the devastating extractive industry it’s often made out to be. Rather, it plays a critical role in supporting rural livelihoods and provides considerable ecosystem services. ACIAR might make a forester out of me yet!

By Jack Koci, Research Officer, ACIAR.

More information about ACIAR forestry projects in Solomon Islands:
•Enhancing economic opportunities offered by community and smallholder forestry in Solomon Islands

•Development of market mechanism for teak and other high-value timber in the Western Province of Solomon Islands

Did you know that 95% of our food comes from soil? And that there are more organisms in one tablespoon of healthy soil than there are people on Earth?

Despite soil being all around us, we often fail to realise how much we need it for food, water and most importantly, life! Today marks World Soil Day, a day for celebration and recognition of the importance of soil as a critical component of natural systems and a vital contributor to human wellbeing. The day is celebrated by the global community of 60,000 soil scientists charged with responsibility of generating and communicating soil knowledge for the common good.

Soil hosts a quarter of our planet’s diversity. It is so valuable that the UN General Assembly has declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils. The aim of the International Year of Soils is to be a platform for raising awareness of the importance of soils for food security and essential ecosystem functions.

Source: Freeimages.com

OK, so soil is important. What is ACIAR doing?

ACIAR recognises that maintaining and improving soil condition is fundamental for successful and sustainable farming. Our Soil Management and Crop Nutrition (SMCN) program focuses on increasing the productivity and sustainability of smallholder cropping and farming systems throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific region. The program aims to enhance food security and smallholder livelihoods through interventions in soil and water management, nutrient management and crop rotations. ACIAR’s projects include: improving soil and water management and crop productivity of dryland agricultural systems of Aceh and NSW; integrating water, soil and nutrient management for sustainable farming systems in south central coastal Vietnam and Australia; and increasing productivity of legume-based farming systems in the central dry zone of Burma. A comprehensive list of all of ACIAR’s soil projects can be found on ACIAR’s SMCN website.

Source: Freeimages.com

What’s being done in Australia?

On 23–27 November, Soil Science Australia hosted the National Soil Science Conference in Melbourne. The theme of the conference was ‘Securing Australia’s soils—for profitable industries and healthy landscapes’. The conference brought together over 400 delegates from throughout Australasia including researchers, analysts, educators, advisers, extension agents, land managers and policymakers. ACIAR is pleased to have been a Bronze Sponsor of the conference, with several papers showcasing Australia’s research for development effort (these can be read in the conference proceedings). ACIAR research officer Jack Koci, who attended the conference, noted, “A number of keynote speakers highlighted the need to change public perception of soils and agriculture. People have largely lost touch with where and how food is produced and the science that goes into its production”.

As part of the conference, participants went on a field trip to the Gippsland region to learn about the famous Giant Gippsland Earthworm (which can grow up to 3 metres!) and its role in improving soil structures. Jack Koci wrote a piece about this curious creature on the Cosmos Magazine blogsite!

The Giant Gippsland Earthworm. Source: The Giant Earthworm project

So as you can see, soil is much more exciting than just brown dirt that clumps to the bottom of your shoes. Don’t take soil for granted, as it leads an important, but often underappreciated role in ensuring a sustainable food future and healthy ecosystem for all organisms to live. Happy Soil Day!

By Elise Crabb, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, ACIAR

Farmers in the Mekong region could remain poor if they grow rice alone. This is one of the messages that have come out of a recent meeting of policymakers and agricultural researchers in Cambodia.

Ideas on policy measures for improving rice-based farming systems in the Mekong region are outlined in a conference proceedings just released by the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR).

Cambodian smallholder farmers in rice fields. Photo: ACIAR.

The report, A policy dialogue on rice futures: rice-based farming systems research in the Mekong region, marks the conclusion of a AU$14.8 million ACIAR program on farm productivity and policy-focused research in the region.

The meeting brought together 60 senior policymakers and agricultural researchers, primarily from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Australia. The resulting report comprises 25 edited papers, including five synopses of panel and audience deliberations.

ACIAR’s convener of the event, Dr Mike Nunn, said that the policy dialogue challenged the participants to elicit important messages arising from research to inform policymaking and implementation in the region.

“The forum emphasised that farmers in the Mekong region will remain poor if they grow rice alone. In Cambodia, for example, an individual farmer would need to grow 3 hectares of rice to earn an income equivalent to working in the city at US$100/month. It’s easier and less risky for them to choose the latter.”

Participants identified and discussed a plethora of policy responses with the potential to change the fortunes of the region and its farming communities.

According to Dr Nunn, “Policy settings and research investments need to be about much, much more than just increasing production. Although there are opportunities to improve rice-growing practices, there is also a need to manage infrastructure, value-add, diversify and integrate other components into the farming system to increase farmers’ incomes”.

For more policy ideas and insights on the future of the Mekong region’s rice-based farming systems download the proceedings.

ACIAR works closely with policymakers in our partner countries to optimise the impact of its research-for-development investments. The Rice-based Systems Research program is one of four programs developed by ACIAR under the Australian Government’s Food Security through Rural Development initiative (2009–14).

For more information contact:

Dr Mike Nunn, ACIAR Research Program Manager for Animal Health, +61 2 6217 0540, mike.nunn@aciar.gov.au

Tiny wasps were the subject of the first meeting for partners in the ACIAR project ‘Biological control of galling insect pests of eucalypts’ held in Vientiane, Lao PDR in July 2014. Delegates from Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR outlined the eucalypt pest situation in the Mekong region, where large-scale reforestation projects are in train.

The project aims to develop effective biocontrol measures to manage the gall wasp (Leptocybe invasa), which attacks eucalypts in the Mekong region. It involves gathering international expertise to apply biocontrol that will enable the Mekong region to respond rapidly and effectively to future threats from these invasive pests. The project will benefit plantation managers, nursery and smallholder growers, as well as local communities.

Participants at the inception meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

The wasps cause plant galls, which are the lumpy growths on leaves and stems that plants produce around eggs laid by some insects known as galling insects. The feeding larvae and the energy used in producing galls suppress plant growth and can cause economic damage to tree nurseries and plantations.

Damage to growth in young eucalypts caused by the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa.

The gall wasp is regarded as one of the most severe, invasive eucalypt pests affecting plantation forestry worldwide. In recent years the wasps have become a huge impediment to new eucalypt plantations and reforestation programs in the Mekong region.

The researchers are looking at ways to identify and release suitable biocontrol agents, including parasitoid wasps, already in the region. They will also test and release appropriate parasitoids from other regions. Partner countries will collaborate in research, surveys and training to learn about the pests and their biocontrol agents, develop forest health surveillance, share information, and screen, release and evaluate effective control agents.

The parasitoid wasps seek out and lay their eggs on or inside the gall wasp larvae living in the galls. The hatched parasitoids consume the immature gall wasps before they can leave the gall as adults, so preventing them from attacking new plants.

The project’s inception meeting for partners was hosted this year by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) in Vientiane. Project leader, Dr Simon Lawson discussed the project’s objectives; showing how it would generate more knowledge about the gall wasps, their genetic variation, the damage they cause and the parasitoids that are likely biocontrol agents. He also discussed the important redistribution and introductions of biocontrol agents as well as training for forest operatives in the Mekong region.

Dr Simon Lawson shows damage symptoms caused by gall wasps in eucalypts.

The first day of the meeting was spent planning surveillance programs for gall wasps and their known parasitoids in all partner countries, and discussing systems for screening and releasing new parasitoids. On the second day, the delegates travelled to a nursery, plantations and a sawmill, to look at pest symptoms and discuss methods for collecting, rearing and testing insects. The third day of the meeting was spent planning specifically for NAFRI’s role in the project.

The project is expected to also include the Forest Research and Development Bureau, the Royal Forest Department, Thailand.

Participants visiting a nursery near Vientiane.

More information:

ACIAR project: Biological control of galling insect pests of eucalypt plantations in the Mekong region

Project contact: Dr Simon Lawson: slawson@usc.edu.au

Project partners:

• Dr Linkham Douangsavanh, Deputy Director General of NAFRI
• Dr Simon Lawson, Project Leader, University of the Sunshine Coast and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Queensland Australia
• Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research
Representatives of collaborating organisations include:
• Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Forestry Administration
• Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences
• Birla Lao Pulp and Plantation Company Limited
• Burapha Agroforestry Company Limited
• Oji Lao Plantation Forest Company Limited
• Stora Enso Lao Company Limited
• Sun Paper Holding Lao Company Limited

Sustainable management of agricultural and forestry systems is one of the most important challenges facing people all over the world. As we strive to feed, house and provide for a rapidly growing and increasingly affluent global population, we need to produce more. At the same time we need to make sure that the production systems we use don’t diminish our ability to produce in the future.

Much of the public commentary about the sustainability of plantation forestry has not been informed by good science. A new ACIAR Technical Report (Sustainable plantation forestry in South-East Asia) has changed the debate. This report is the first comprehensive scientific study on the sustainability of fast-grown plantations of eucalypts and acacia trees.
Eucalypts and acacias have been planted in Asia for over 60 years. They were first introduced to help address shortages of fuelwood and timber. Their suitability to a wide range of environments and good growth rates make them ideal for planting by smallholders and plantation companies.

Over the past 30 years, ACIAR has helped ensure that the use of these trees in Asia is based on good science. Working collaboratively with partner-country colleagues, Australian forestry scientists have helped Asia develop the techniques to grow eucalypts and acacias as short-rotation plantations to produce wood for pulp mills. The area of eucalypt and acacia plantations grown with rotations of 5-8 years in Asia has now grown to more than 7 million hectares.

Since the 1980s, there have been critics of the use of these trees in plantation forestry or social forestry schemes. They have been blamed for negative environmental effects such as reduction in water yield and depletion of soil nutrients. In addition, the critics consider the practice of repeated planting of short-rotation plantations of exotic trees to be unsustainable.

In forestry, sustainability is a complex issue, with both technical and time dimensions. One of the most important dimensions is whether or not the productivity of the site is maintained over time. If the yield of wood products declines from one rotation of trees to the next, then the practices used are not sustainable.

Dr Nuyen Hoang Nghia and Mr Stephen Midgley, who have collaborated for 25 years on ACIAR projects in Vietnam, inspect a plantation of Acacia auriculiformis near Hue in central Vietnam. (Photo: Tony Bartlett/ACIAR).

The new report, written by former CSIRO forestry scientists Drs Chris Harwood and Sadanandan Nambiar, includes reviews of actual inventory data from successive rotations of fast-grown plantations in five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Thailand.

The purpose was to see how the final yields from these plantation crops vary over time. The researchers found that, in most situations, the mean yields are actually increasing over time, rather than decreasing. However, as pointed out clearly in the report, there are a range of other issues that, if not addressed, will impact on plantation yields in the future. These include the way the sites are managed between and during rotations, and the increasing incidence of disease.

The report emphasises that sustainability is not a destination but a journey, and that further research and creative partnerships are required for successful progress.

By Tony Bartlett, ACIAR Research Program Manager for Forestry

More information:

Sustainable plantation forestry in South-East Asia (2014), ed. C.E. Harwood and E.K.S. Nambiar. ACIAR Monograph No. 84, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Minister Bishop at BbP library about to read 'Maria's family goes to market'. Photo Eva Kuson/DFAT

It was a blissfully cool and clear day as the sun came out from behind the clouds amidst the pine tree tops. Dr Lalen Simeon and I were delighted to be part of the team that travelled up to Goroka to meet the Foreign Affairs Minister; Hon. Julie Bishop, for the launching of the “Maria’s Family” books at Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP) Library, at the University of Goroka campus.

Although school was out for holidays and it was only 7 days to Christmas, that did not deter the pikininis (children) from gathering as they huddled together to welcome the Minister with a song. It was a feeling of pride and accomplishment for the kids as well as for Lalen, who on behalf of the ACIAR team presented the series of Maria Family books to the Minister. The Minister then presented these beautiful books to Gavin Edwards, the national coordinator for Buk bilong Pikinini.

Minister Bishop greeting pikininis at University of Goroka campus. Photo Eva Kuson/DFAT

The Minister was then led by the BbP team into the library to read from the big Maria Family book to the children. The children were ecstatic to have a misis meri (expatriate female) read to them as they sat quietly in their little chairs and paid full attention. I should say they were well mannered and followed all instructions vey well. As I later found out, children as small as 3 years old attended the library and were taught at kindy level to primary level to Australian standards.

Minister reading 'Maria saves her kina' at the Buk bilong Pikinini library Goroka. Photo Eva Kuson/DFAT

Buk bilong Pikinini was started by Anne-Sophie Herman (wife of the past Australian High Commissioner to PNG, Chris Moraitis) in 2007 and has now over ten libraries, of which two are Goroka-based. It was a unique experience for the kids and the university on which the library was situated. Also, to my surprise, the volunteer who was engaged to help with the library from Scope Global was the Minister’s niece.

The Minister when giving her remarks highlighted the work of ACIAR, through its partners Canberra University, NARI, PAU, BUPNG and ENBWIY, in carrying out research and identifying ways to help women farm sustainably, and to be able to market their produce to sustain themselves and their families through the monies received. She also said that due to the high illiteracy rate, women were incapable of making decisions on how much they earned and how to budget their monies. As a result, Maria’s Family books were produced to highlight not only farming and marketing issues but also to show how women can manage time and resources. She said the books were aimed at empowering women and children but is a valuable resource where men could also learn from as well.

Dr Lalen Simeon presents Minister Bishop with the 'Maria's Books' series at Goroka's BbP library. Photo Eva Kuson/DFAT

Lalen was up next and thanked the Minister and welcomed the dignitaries. She was at first very nervous about the idea of speaking. But after going through her thoughts and actually doing the presentation, she said it was a great learning experience for her and a boost to her morale – and it gives her great pleasure to be involved in ACIAR projects. Through this project, she has met a lot of people, made lots of friends, and the benefits of sharing her knowledge and learning from local women has been tremendous. She now confidently says she can do this again, anytime!

As soon as it started, it ended and we were on the next flight out of Goroka.

In acknowledgement, I would like to thank the ACIAR project team ‘Examining women's business acumen in Papua New Guinea: Working with women smallholders in horticulture (ASEM/2010/052) for their tireless effort in making the Maria’s Family book series a success. Special thanks to Professor Barbara Pamphilon and Associate Professor Katja Mikhailovich, both from the University of Canberra, for leading this project. And congratulations to Friedah Wantum of the Baptist Union PNG, who as part of this project has been awarded an ACIAR John Dillon Fellowhip which she will take up in Australia, in February 2015.

By Rebecca Bogosia, Assistant Country Manager ACIAR, PNG.

The suite of Maria’s Family books can be downloaded from the ACIAR website.

Maria’s family goes to market (Western Highlands edition)

Maria’s family goes to market (East New Britain edition)

Maria’s family saves their kina

Leaving on a high

PAC to Perth

Helping women revive natural dye-making traditions

Voicing the needs of women farmers

Building on a decade long partnership — Afghanistan government agencies lead wheat trials

The JAFs are in town

First official Ba Women’s luxury jewellery launched in Suva

Volunteering in Vanuatu

Fijian women take the lead on cocoveneer

Family farming feeding the world: World Food Day 2014

ACIAR benefits Australian farmers

Vanuatu Chocolate - it's all in the smell

Animation: a new approach to communication for development

Battling Panama disease in Philippines' bananas

Teak fever in Solomon Islands

ACIAR celebrates World Soil Day - 5 December 2014

OK, so soil is important. What is ACIAR doing?

What’s being done in Australia?

Rice futures in the Mekong region

Tiny wasps to safeguard forest plantations in the Mekong region

Is short-rotation plantation forestry in Asia sustainable?

Launching of the Maria Family Books by Foreign Minister Hon. Julie Bishop in Goroka 18 December 2014