RIRDC ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN 2002-2003

Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

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RIRDC ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN 2002-2003

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Government Priorities and Community Benefits

Key Performance Measures

Sustainable management and use of our soil, water, air, vegetation and fauna resources integrated into farming and land
use systems.
A whole of industry approach to production, processing andmarketing to ensure the chain works to its best advantage.
Development of biotechnology, along with sensitive handling to accommodate consumer’s concerns.
Trade and market access negotiations.
Maintenance and enhancement of our clean, green image.
Addressing food safety concerns of consumers.
Cultivating creativity and innovation among our human resources.

- Ministerial letter dated 14 December 1999

On 14 December 1999 the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Warren Truss, MP, advised RIRDC of seven government priorities and asked that each of these priorities be addressed in the research plans of the Corporation. On 11 May 2001, the Parliamentary Secretary, Senator the Honourable Judith Troeth, wrote to the Corporation reiterating the importance of these priorities. Examples of projects that address each of these priority areas are summarised below. These priority areas are also addressed in each of the programs of this Operational Plan.

In addition to the seven priority areas identified by the Minister, the question of broader community benefits from RIRDC-funded programs is also discussed. We note that there is significant overlap between the seven priority areas identified by the Minister and the wider community benefits which are drawn from RIRDC’s broad mandate and have been identified in our Corporate Plan. Both are addressed separately here so that our stakeholders can clearly see how we are addressing each.

Meeting the Government’s Priorities

Sustainable management and use of our soil, water, air, vegetation and fauna resources integrated into farming and land use systems

Communication of JVAP research via the Agroforestry Guideline series including Trees, Water and Salt: An Australian guide to using trees for healthy catchments and productive farms, and Trees for Shelter: A guide to using windbreaks on Australian farms. The Master Tree Growers will continue to be supported as an extension mechanism for the Agroforestry Guideline series.

Develop the fourth publication in the Agroforestry Guideline series on Biodiversity Conservation.

Communication of JVAP research on markets for ecosystem services (including the work embodied in Making Farm Forestry Pay: Selling the Environmental Services of Farm Forestry Research Update No. 3) and extension of this line of research via the project ‘Building regional Australia's capacity to initiate markets for ecosystem services’.

Continuation of the Australian Low Rainfall Tree Improvement Group, with the first batches of improved seed for low rainfall areas becoming available.

Manage research assessing the extent, condition and value of privately owned dry schlerophyll forests

Develop appropriate multi-dimensional cost-benefit analyses of conversion to organic agricultural production.

Development of sustainable weed management for organic herb and vegetable production.

Develop new initiatives on the use of tea tree oil in as an alternative insecticide for agriculture.

Work with industry to evaluate and implement programs to improve the environmental management of Australian meat chicken farms.

Assess the long-term impact to the industry, consumers, the community and the environment of a move away from traditional cage systems and/or to decrease stocking densities in cages.

Develop internationally accepted methods of assessing egg laying hen welfare.

Develop an accepted code of practice for the environmental impact of egg production

Investigation of the effect of fat content of pollens on honeybee longevity.

Investigation of nectar production after logging in forests.

Further enhance the use of rotational weed management practices in rice production to enhance management tools to avoid herbicide resistance and also increase understanding of the biology of major weeds to improve the chance that non-chemical controls can be developed in the future.

Development of an understanding of the ecology and biology of nuisance algae in rice fields which can have an impact on rice crop establishment.

Investigation of sampling devices for better monitoring of chemicals in water for rice production.

Develop research projects that will decrease wastage in the horse industry.

Enter into partnership with seed companies for the final stage of commercial introduction and development of leaf cutter bees to improve lucerne seed pollination.

Supporting the development of new agri-industry systems integrating new technologies and/or new combinations of established technologies.

Converting liabilities into assets, for example, using saline land, inland saline water for aquaculture and sea weed production.

Supporting research to realise private commercial benefits inherent in conservation and environment protection practices

A whole of industry approach to production, processing and marketing to ensure the chain works to its best advantage

In conjunction with Horticulture Australia Ltd continue to develop through chain aspects of the olive industry.

Review the work of the North Australian Cocoa Development Alliance at the end of this period.

Take forward the proposals from both the Culinary Herb and Native Food industries to develop stronger industry organisations.

Quality enhancement of Australian extra-virgin olive oils.

Condiment paprika: breeding, processing and commercialisation.

Develop processing and production benchmarks for the cashmere industry.

Improved preservation and early stage processing of Australian crocodile skins

Assessment of options for adding value along the new animal product supply chain.

Investigate production processes and post harvest storage methods for selected Asian vegetables, including root crops.

Facilitate, coordinate and support research projects investigating potential new industries and services from trees in low rainfall areas, especially those related to oil mallee and phase farming systems. Continue a lead role in co-ordinating selection and development of multipurpose species for large-scale revegetation in the wheat-sheep belt of southern Australia (projects ‘AcaciaSearch’ and ‘FloraSearch’).

Further develop tourist markets for value added velvet antler and venison co-products.

Pilot benchmarking study of leading deer producers.

Further extend the range of essential oils and plant extracts for which information is available on markets, production, harvesting and post harvest handling.

Identify strategies to overcome organic produce supply chain inefficiency, and lack of market information.

Focus on processing research for the rare natural fibre industry.

Appraise the need and opportunity for the marketing of alpaca fibre and value added products by obtaining information on world best processing practices and market intelligence.

Develop processing and product benchmarking for the cashmere industry.

Start new work on tropical flowers and foliages, a new means of clonal propagation, and improving profitability through benchmarking.

Study the value chain of eggs and egg products.

Assist in the identification and development of new value-added egg products including those with non-food applications.

The potential of high power ultrasound for managing candied honey.

Identification of alternative industrial uses for rice husks.

A major effort to develop an agronomic best practice information package to ensure that cereal hay growers can produce high quality product for the export market .

A major effort to expand the objective measurement system for fodder to silage and also to include new measures of animal preference for hay.

an assessment of conditions under which generic versus brand advertising will be beneficial to agricultural industries.

An assessment of the effects of income tax laws on investments in Australian agriculture.

Development of biotechnology, along with sensitive handling to accommodate consumer’s concerns

Development of two reports which consider the issue of the impact of genetic modification of plants and animals on agricultural exports and also domestic consumer attitudes and therefore demand for agricultural products.

Support for several new phases of the rice breeding and quality evaluation program, which will place significant emphasis on improved quality using more advanced quality assessment and breeding technologies, for example, genetic markers.

Investigate the bioactivity of lavender oils and the improvement of lavender varieties.

Continue the tea tree breeding program with increases emphasis on cloning.

Development of synthetic seeds for clonal propagation of Australian wild flowers.

Trade and market access negotiations

A series of trade policy analyses and reports which consider: the implications for Australia from the claims of countries during the Doha meetings; assesses whether FTAs in general have lead to avoiding policy reform; and the implications of trade reforms on bank lending in developing countries.

Resolution of the issue of area of freedom certification for lucerne seed production regions from major diseases and pests to ensure export market access.

Assess the implications of domestic and international economic policy issues on the Australian egg industry.

Improve tools and technologies that will enable the detection and recognition of potential emergency poultry diseases that are currently exotic to Australia.

Develop agricultural chemical guidelines for export herbs.

Maintenance and enhancement of our clean green image

Investigate and benchmark organic system design attributes of successful organic and similar sustainable systems.

Monitor and benchmark soil health for organic production.

Encourage branding of organic products as a basis for increased consumer awareness and demand for Australian products.

Evaluation of alternative antibiotics to control European Foulbrood disease in honeybees.

Support for the development of Environment Management Systems that are operationally effective at minimal cost and avoid duplication of audit and certification procedures.

Evaluate the effects of post harvest handling, storage and processing on functional ingredients in native plant foods

Continue to support nationally coordinated R&D into the use of agroforestry and farm forestry systems for bioenergy production.

Research on the growing of milkweed for its anti-cancer properties.

Supporting non-traditional agricultural systems for food and fibre production, especially those based on multiple use of resources and the use of wild plant and animal resources.

Addressing food safety concerns of consumers

Develop new techniques that will assist in the detection, in chicken flocks or on chicken products, of organisms capable of producing food-borne disease in humans.

Continue the search for alternative approaches to antibiotics for the control of necrotic enteritis and maintenance of high standards of performance in meat chicken flocks.

Improve the food safety of eggs and egg products.

Encourage the adoption of industry Quality Assurance Brand Marks and expand the Quality Assurance program for the deer industry.

Undertake further work on tea tree oil-related efficacy and safety issues in human health.

Cultivating creativity and innovation among our human resources

Support for the Australian Rural Leadership Program through provision of placements by several R&D programs.

Support for a substantial number of postgraduate scholarships both through individual R&D programs and as a separate program.

Continue to focus on development and capacity building in e-commerce and in use of the Internet for rural industry and community development.

Continue and complete commissioned projects and contract new projects for the Cooperative Venture in Human Capacity Building in accordance with the Business Plan.

Initiate key strategies in the new Strategic Plan for Farm Health and Safety.

Implement the communications strategy for Options for change for farming people: Doing things differently.

Develop a Social Atlas for Australia’s rural population and industries.

Working with both the Culinary Herb and Native Food industries to develop stronger industry organisations.

Extend understanding of processes to improve communication with producers of Asian vegetables who have a non-English speaking background (NESB).

Foster networking within the organics industry and between certifying bodies.

Funding for a range of initiatives to implement the recommendations of the recent review of the rice extension program.

Support for improving risk management, enhancing diversity, flexibility and robustness of production systems by integrating enterprises such as agriculture, aquaculture and tourism.

Broader Community Benefits

New products and industries

Wider community benefits are an important potential component of RIRDC’s research into new and emerging industries. In many cases, identification of alternative production possibilities for farming groups can provide the diversity and scope for value-adding that can maintain the critical mass necessary to maintain rural towns and improve their viability.

RIRDC’s research covers areas such as investigating market prospects for newer industries and assessing the feasibility and methods for their competitive production.

Examples of these are:

In conjunction with Horticulture Australia Ltd continue to develop the olive industry and issue a new Olive R&D Plan.

Work towards a New Crops National Conference for 2003 to review progress and policy in this area.

Evaluation of hemp and kenaf breeding lines in tropical and sub-tropical environments.

Evaluation of jojoba germplasm in different environments.

Developing new oilseed options for Australian farmers and industry.

Processing and market assessment for cottonised fibre from linseed stalks.

Myrtus ugni berries: develop production protocols and export market procedures.

Investigation into legumes with pharmaceutical and aquaculture potential.

Laying the groundwork for a new rural industry - Stevia rebaudiana.

Development of stage 2 of the National Olive Variety Assessment Project.

Condiment paprika: breeding, processing and commercialisation.

Evaluation of dairy goat and milking sheep. breeding and development of new directions.

Captive breeding and marketing of turtles.

Crusader - a production system for Australian farmed rabbits.

On-farm research of pelleted feed for crocodiles

Continue the development of technologies and consumer products that will enhance the consumption of Asian vegetables.

Further develop tourist markets for value added velvet antler and venison co-products.

Further extend the range of essential oils and plant extracts for which information is available on markets, production, harvesting and post harvest handling.

Increase reproduction performance in alpaca by further developing AI technologies.

Foster field trials and licensing of promising new wild flowers and foliage

Start new work on tropical flowers and foliages, a new means of clonal propagation, and improving profitability through benchmarking.

Development of seed production technologies for a new legume crop, lotus, which has shown good potential in for hay production and salinity control.

Sustainable resource management

In many of RIRDC’s sub-programs there is a major focus on issues related to more effective use of Australia’s rural resource base so that production minimises its impact on the environment in the longer term. Some examples are highlighted below.

Develop the fourth publication in the Agroforestry Guideline series on Biodiversity Conservation.

Continuation of The Australian Low Rainfall Tree Improvement Group, with the first batches of improved seed for low rainfall areas becoming available.

Manage research assessing the extent, condition and value of privately owned dry schlerophyll forests.

Continue to support nationally coordinated R&D into the use of agroforestry and farm forestry systems for bioenergy production.

Investigate and benchmark organic system design attributes for successful organic and similar sustainable systems.

Monitor and benchmark soil health for organic production.

Development of pest management strategies for organic agriculture.

Development of sustainable weed management for organic herb and vegetable production.

Develop new initiatives on the use of tea tree oil in as an alternative insecticide for agriculture.

Work with industry to evaluate and implement programs to improve the environmental management of Australian meat chicken farms.

Assess the long term impact to the industry, consumers, the community and the environment of a move away from traditional cage systems and/or to decrease stocking densities in cages.

Investigate the influence of rearing strategies on laying hen performance and welfare.

Develop internationally accepted methods of assessing hen welfare.

Develop an accepted code of practice for the environmental impact of egg production.

Investigation of the effect of fat content of pollens on honeybee longevity.

Evaluation of alternative antibiotics to control European Foulbrood disease in honeybees.

Investigation of transmission of American Foulbrood disease through replacement queen bees.

Investigation of nectar production after logging in forests.

Development of an understanding of the ecology and biology of nuisance algae in rice fields which can have an impact on crop establishment.

Increased understanding of physiology and nutritional requirements of the rice plant and their impact on grain quality and therefore improve the chance of improving the efficiency of rice production.

Investigation of sampling devices for better monitoring of chemicals in water for rice production.

Develop research projects that will decrease wastage in the horse industry

Enter into partnership with seed companies for the final stage of commercial introduction and development of leaf cutter bees to improve lucerne seed pollination.

Supporting research to realise private commercial benefits inherent in conservation and environment protection practices

Food safety

Although RIRDC’s established industries programs focus primarily on research that benefits all members of the levy-paying industry, they also have potential to generate significant community wide benefits. Some of these focus specifically on improved food safety, which is an area receiving significant attention by the whole community.

Examples in the current Plan include:

Develop new techniques that will assist in the detection, in chicken flocks or on chicken products, of organisms capable of producing food-borne disease in humans.

Continue the search for alternative approaches to antibiotics for the control of necrotic enteritis and maintenance of high standards of performance in meat chicken flocks.

Undertake further work on tea tree oil-related efficacy and safety issues in human health.

Improve the food safety of eggs and egg products.

Cross-sectoral impacts

RIRDC supports a major research effort in areas that have cross-sectoral impacts. The global competitiveness program provides assessments of impediments to Australian trade and of market prospects for all agricultural production. The impact of this type of research will have ramifications throughout the broader Australian community. Examples include projects that have provided, and will continue to provide, R&D support for negotiators during the next round of WTO trade policy negotiations. Changes in these policies, if they further liberalise world trade, will enhance Australia’s trading potential and, therefore, benefit agriculture and the wider community.

Research on a range of domestic policy impediments to efficient agricultural production will have potential to influence policy changes that will benefit all members of rural communities, not just farmers. An example is the analysis of the provision and pricing of regional infrastructure and detailed analysis of recent trends in rural credit provision.

Many research activities in the resilient agricultural systems program will have potential community-wide benefits. These include research on bioremediation and waste-water management, reduced pesticide risk, implications of climate change for agricultural production and regional resource use and a detailed review of agriculture’s potential to provide pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and industrial products.

In the rice program, research emphasises improved water use, recharge and quality, and the sustainable use of farm chemicals. Better understanding of these areas via this research has the potential to benefit communities along Australia’s major river systems. The Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Rice Production, of which RIRDC is a partner, is significantly expanding our research support in this important area.

Examples of some of these cross-sectoral impacts include:

A series of trade policy analyses and reports which consider: the implications for Australia from the claims of countries during the Doha meetings; assesses whether FTAs in general have led to avoiding policy reform; and the implications of trade reforms on bank lending in developing countries.

Detailed investigation of the applicability of securitisation in agriculture to improve access to finances by the agricultural sector.

An assessment of conditions under which generic versus brand advertising will be beneficial to agricultural industries.

An assessment of the effects of income tax laws on investments in Australian agriculture.

Support for the development of Environment Management Systems that are operationally effective at minimal cost and avoid duplication of audit and certification procedures.

Support for improving risk management, enhancing diversity, flexibility and robustness of production systems by integrating enterprises such as agriculture, aquaculture and tourism.

Supporting the development of new agri-industry systems integrating new technologies and /or new combinations of established technologies.

Supporting non-traditional agricultural systems for food and fibre production, especially those based on multiple use of resources and the use of wild plant and animal resources.

Converting liabilities into assets, for example, using saline land, inland saline water for aquaculture and sea weed production.

Assess the implications of domestic and international economic policy issues on the Australian egg industry.

Production of bioactive phenols from olive processing waste streams.

Investigate the bioactivity of lavender oils and the improvement of lavender varieties.

Research on the growing of milkweed for its anti-cancer properties.

Improve knowledge of the nutritional value of eggs and egg products.

Community safety, training, communications

Under its Human Capital, Communications and Information Systems Program, RIRDC manages and supports a major collaborative research effort that considers many aspects of rural community occupational health and safety. Projects range from development of effective farm safety courses to investigating the causes of traumatic deaths in rural areas.

In addition, RIRDC supports a program of rural leadership training and university scholarships, which focus on building the stock of human capital available to address problems facing the rural sector. This also contains some specific focus on leadership development activities for rural women and youth.

Projects on information technology continue to look at the importance and implications of developments in communications services for rural communities and their effective links with urban areas and the global economy.

More specific examples include:

Continue to focus on development and capacity building in e-commerce and in use of the Internet for rural industry and community development.

Continue and complete commissioned projects and contract new projects for the Cooperative Venture in Human Capacity Building in accordance with the Business Plan.

Initiate key strategies in the new Strategic Plan for Farm Health and Safety.

Implement the communications strategy for Options for change for farming people: Doing things differently.

Develop a Social Atlas for Australia’s rural population and industries.

Working with both the Culinary Herb and Native Food industries to develop stronger industry organisations.

Extend understanding of processes to improve communication with producers of Asian vegetables who have a non-English speaking background (NESB).

Further improve industry networks and promote communication of the outcomes of R&D on Asian Foods.

Liaise with Land and Water Australia and the Murray Darling Basin Commission to produce ‘Integration Series’ booklets that synthesise research supported by all of these agencies.

Pilot benchmarking study of leading deer producers.

Develop appropriate multi-dimensional cost-benefit analyses of conversion to organic agricultural production.

Foster networking within the organics industry and between certifying bodies.

Assist the egg industry in developing and implementing training materials.

Funding for a range of initiatives to implement the recommendations of the recent review of the rice extension program.

Develop linkages with equine veterinarians to promote the outcomes of research and development projects more widely to the horse industry.

Access to up-to-date information and expertise in order to improve industry education and practice.

Epidemiology and risk factor analysis of horse racetrack fatalities.

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