| Project
Title: |
Pilot
project on extension and communication with Asian non-English speaking
background (NESB) vegetable growers for the adoption of best practices |
| RIRDC
Project No: |
DAV-176A |
| Researcher: |
Wendy
Morgan |
| Organisation: |
Institute
for Horticultural Development
Private Bag 15
Ferntree Gully VIC 3176. |
| Phone: |
(03)
9210 9222 |
| Fax: |
(03)
9800 3521 |
| Email: |
Wendy.morgan@nre.vic.gov.au |
| Objectives |
· Facilitated information
flow to NESB vegetable growers to ensure best practice and profitability
· Increased understanding
and use of best agronomic and postharvest handling practices in vegetable
production by NESB growers to maximise quality and storage life and reduce
risks of contaminants by human pathogens.
· Correct use of chemicals
including chemical application, use of approved chemicals only and minimised
risk of infringing maximum residue limits.
· Introduction of
principals of HACPP analysis and quality assurance systems (QA) to NESB
growers.
· Evaluation of the
strategies used in, and the impact of the project, to identify general
approaches for communicating with NESB growers on adoption of best practices.
|
| Background |
There
are currently about 1400 Asian NESB vegetable growers in Australia and
the issues they face, in addition to language, cultural and social barriers,
are the same as all growers. There have been no projects aimed specifically
at testing if two way communication with these growers improves information
flow. One easy communication strategy which can be tested is speaking the
same language. This is easier to achieve than addressing issues of social
or cultural barriers to communication. |
| Research |
A
simple model proposed employing a person who spoke the same language as
the growers as well as English, to improve two-way communication and extension
activities and lead to adoption of best practice. |
| Outcomes |
Two-way
communication was improved with both growers and information providers
reporting that the language barriers and the mistrust between both groups
had greatly improved. Grower skills have increased and their market out-turns,
chemical use practices and understanding of HACCP analysis has improved. |
| Implications |
This
project has shown that communicating with Asian NESB vegetable growers
in their own language can lead to identification of grower needs and issues
(which also met government priorities) and their adoption of practices
that improve their business. |
| Publications |
Morgan,
W. and Bui, K. (2002). Communication with Asian NESB vegetable growers
for adoption of best practice. In Proceedings of Bi$Link national Workshop.
Sydney, August 15-16, 2002 |
| Project
Title: |
Consolidating
the Asian vegetable industry, building on past achievements and action
for the future |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
UCQ-10A |
| Researcher: |
Prof.
David Midmore |
| Organisation: |
Central
Queensland University |
| Phone: |
(07)
4930 9770 |
| Fax: |
(07)
4930 9255 |
| Email: |
d.midmore@cqu.edu.au |
| Objectives |
· To establish a
country-wide production strategy, based upon cost benefit analyses and
regional complementarity, for the supply of export markets with Chinese
cabbage, Chinese broccoli, flowering cabbage, daikon, burdock, vegetable
soybean, kabocha, bok choi, chives and other leafy vegetables with viable
economic returns. General co-ordination will also be undertaken for other
commodities with year-round production potential and already funded by
RIRDC, eg. bamboo shoots, Chinese waterchestnuts and lotus.
· To develop field
and post harvest management practices for these commodities that lead to
produce demanded by domestic and export markets (accessed from sustainable
production systems).
· To co-ordinate the
co-operative effort amongst researchers, producers and market specialists
to maximise the export opportunities into Asia for these and, later, other
commodities.
· It is envisaged
that an add-to (ie. loose-leaf) book will be developed through the life
of the project, starting off with literature reviews and that details all
production (ie. varietal, climatic, external input, cultural) and post
harvest (ie. temperature, RH and gaseous conditions, films, etc) requirements,
including current market specifications to enable newcomers to Asian vegetables
to be able to determine their comparative advantages before entering production.
|
| Background |
Research
and development for the Asian Vegetable Industry has been disparate across
states and territories in the past. This project was set up to bring together
the major players in the industry, to cooperate on commodity research across
the country, and to extend the results from the many series of experiments. |
| Research |
Numerous
trials on a number of species were conducted from as far apart as Tasmania
to the Northern Territory, to determine the optimum timing for production
in relation to demand. |
| Outcomes |
In
2002/3 the final versions of the summaries of the experimental outcomes
were published by RIRDC. No field work was undertaken in this year. The
first was on Bitter Melon, followed by Chinese Broccoli (kailaan) Japanese
Pumpkin (Kabocha) and Daikon. The cooperative meetings between researchers,
growers and others involved in the industry initiated through this project
will continue to be funded by RIRDC as a separate project.
A series of short articles
relating to the salient points on each crop researched in the project is
underway, some of which have been published by RIRDC.
CQU continues to receive
numerous requests for information and contacts for a range of Asian vegetables.
Information is provided on a 'whole demand chain' basis, including general
information on genetic, production, post-harvest, disease, quality, and
status of domestic and international markets. Details of a number of crops
are to be found at the following www site: http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/info/science/psg/AsianVeg/AsianVeg.html,
and have been supplemented by additional information on the parallel Asian
Root Crop project (UCQ-13A) funded by RIRDC. |
| Implications |
The
research has highlighted the benefits of formal cooperation between researchers
of different states working on the same commodities, and full gratitude
is given to the openness of the researchers involved in this endeavour. |
| Publications |
Morgan,
W. and Midmore, D. (2002). Bitter Melon in Australia. RIRDC Report 02/134.
29pp.
Morgan, W. and Midmore, D.
(2003). Chinese broccoli (Kailaan) in southern Australia. RIRDC Report
02/161. 238pp.
Morgan, W. and Midmore, D.
(2003). Morgan, W. and Midmore, D. (2003). Kabocha and Japanese pumpkin
in Australia. RIRDC Report 02/167. 67pp.
Morgan, W. and Midmore, D.
(2003). Morgan, W. and Midmore, D. (2003). Daikon in Australia. RIRDC Report
03/091. |
| Project
Title: |
Supply
chain management, strategy and industry development for the commercial
bamboo industry
|
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
UQ-87A |
| Researcher: |
Dr.
Ray Collins |
| Organisation: |
The
University of Queensland |
| Phone: |
(07)
5460 1328 |
| Fax: |
(07)
5460 1324 |
| Email: |
rcollins@uqg.uq.edu.au |
| Objectives |
The
primary purpose of this research is to study how supply chain management
principles can contribute to the development of a successful fresh bamboo
shoot industry in Australia. |
| Background |
Bamboo
shoots could become an important contributor to Australia’s minor vegetable
production and an important export commodity. The last decade has seen
strongly increasing interest in the growing of bamboo in Australia. Several
industry pioneers have researched and obtained bamboos from around the
world and an industry group, the ACBC (Australian Commercial Bamboo Corporation),
has been founded through the work of these pioneers.
Supply chain management has
been highlighted as a means of improving competitiveness, but there is
a lack of understanding of how the application of its principles to new
industries can contribute to improving competitiveness. |
| Research |
This
study presents research into the contemporary development of the bamboo
shoot industry in Australia. It details strategic intervention in the development
of the Australian Commercial Bamboo Corporation between May 1999 and June
2002. The objective of this intervention was to work with a core group
of participants, using supply chain management principles, to address limitations
to the group’s development. Through supply chain management principles
this intervention influenced the group’s structure and culture and led
to the empowerment of the ACBC to take responsibility for managing its
own activities and gave the group’s members influence over their collective
future. The motivation behind this approach was to have the ACBC become
a role model for the wider bamboo industry.
The intervention process
was grounded in a framework for action based on the need to concurrently
manage three areas of new industry development: the development of a consumer
orientation, the development of cooperative relationships and the development
of effective information and communication systems. This framework, built
on theoretical and empirical perspectives, delivered supply chain principles
to these three areas of new industry development. Such a framework has
never before been reported in literature on developing new and emerging
agricultural industries.
The results from the application
of this framework to the ACBC demonstrate that the development of supply
chain management principles allowed three risks to new industry development
to be addressed: lack of accurate information, lack of a market orientation
and lack of strategic action and collective vision.
Strategic intervention combined
with action learning provided a vehicle for the application of the framework
and when taken as a conceptual package, the supply chain management framework
applied in this way represents an important advance in better understanding
the strategic and operational dimensions of new industry development.
Participatory observation
and action learning were the core research techniques. They were used to
develop a case study in which information pertaining to this strategic
intervention in the development of the Australian bamboo industry could
be collected, analysed and documented. The primary data source used in
the study was the fellow participants in the process. |
| Outcomes |
In
1998 a core group of industry members started this process by forming the
ACBC and then obtaining the funding for this project. The ACBC is now Australia’s
largest bamboo grower group comprising more than 90 members who between
them command more than three quarters of the industry’s plantings. For
three years the ACBC has been engaged in developing both domestic and export
markets for bamboo shoots. Through its domestic brand, ‘Cockatoo Bamboo’,
it is now responsible for the majority of domestic trade in high quality
fresh bamboo shoots. The ACBC now has an established, grower regulated
HACCP based quality system and is in a position to supply its export brand,
‘Kangaroo Bamboo’, to international markets. The ACBC has investigated
the potential of five major export markets and is continuing to search
for other markets.
The ACBC is in a position
where it is capable of taking control of its own future and if it continues
on the course that has been set for it, the industry will also continue
to develop as it attempts to meet the benchmarks set for it by the ACBC. |
| Implications |
The
findings of this study impact on theory, policy and practice involving
new horticultural industries. This study of the Australian bamboo shoot
industry during its formative years demonstrates that supply chain management
principles can provide an integrative framework for new industry development.
This is a single case, so caution must accompany the interpretation of
its results. Despite this limitation the case contains valuable lessons
for other industries by providing theoretical insights into the phenomenon
of new industry development.
Growers and investors in
the Australian bamboo industry can benefit from the study through the use
of its findings to assess their decision to grow bamboo species. Members
and managers of other emerging horticultural industries may also benefit
from the lessons the bamboo industry can provide. Lessons about the importance
of reliable information, marketing orientation, supply chain and group
relationships and action learning could all provide guidance for other
new crop industries.
There are also implications
for public sector managers. The volume and complexity of work that needs
to be done over the first years of new industry development requires intervention
of the type practised in this research to be implemented over a longer
time frame than three years. |
| Publications |
X
PhD Submitted; others planned
but not yet published |
| Project
Title: |
Asian
vegetable industry situation |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
HAS-10A |
| Researcher: |
Mr.
Michael Clarke |
| Organisation: |
Hassall
& Associates Pty Ltd |
| Phone: |
(02)
9241 5655 |
| Fax: |
(02)
9241 5684 |
| Email: |
mclarke@hassall.com.au |
| Objectives |
This
research will provide an assessment of the Asian Vegetable industry in
Australia. The output will assess the future directions of the industry
and highlight the changes which have taken place since the initial industry
audit in 1995 and answer the question of whether industry is meeting market
requirements. The main outcomes of the project, presented in handbook form,
will be:
· A detailed summary
of currently available literature relating to the diversity and composition
of the Australian Asian Vegetable industry;
· An analysis of the
key characteristics the Asian Vegetable industry, including its structure,
population, production value and cost, national and
· Regional distribution,
market situation, domestic and international demand, strengths, weaknesses,
risks and opportunities;
· An understanding
of the issues impacting on the supply of produce of a marketable quality;
· An assessment of
the uptake of research outcomes and factors contributing to successful
uptake;
· An assessment of
the capability of the Australian Asian Vegetable industry to meet the current
and future demands of the market; and
· A database of key
references and contacts suitable for consultation by current and prospective
industry stakeholders.
|
| Background |
This
study follows up the earlier Audit of the Australian Asian Vegetables
Industry undertaken for RIRDC in 1995. |
| Research |
The
project analyses the current situation in the Australian Asian vegetable
industry, highlights changes since the original audit report and assesses
the industry’s future directions. It provides:
· an analysis of
the key characteristics of the Asian Vegetable industry;
· a summary of currently
available literature relating to the Australian Asian vegetable industry;
· an understanding
of the supply chain and the issues impacting on the supply of produce of
a marketable quality;
· an assessment of
the uptake of research outcomes and factors contributing to successful
uptake;
· a database of key
references and contacts suitable for consultation by current and prospective
industry stakeholders; and
· conclusions on the
capability of the Australian Asian vegetable industry to meet the current
and future requirements of the market.
In addition, the report made
recommendations for further strengthening the Australian Asian vegetable
industry. |
| Outcomes |
The
domestic market accommodates more than 80 Asian vegetable types. But most
demand centres around a limited number of major lines — leafy vegetables
such as bok choi (white cabbage), kai laan (Chinese broccoli), choy sum
(Chinese flowering cabbage) and bor choi (Chinese spinach) as well as Chinese
cabbage, spring onion/shallot, taro, daikon, kabocha and herbs such as
coriander and Chinese chives. Industry wholesale value is estimated at
$135.8 million, up from $50.4 million in 1993/94. Grower numbers are 1,675
up from 679 in the same period.
Half the industry is located
in NSW but it has a presence in all Australian states and territories.
As a general rule small-scale market gardens operate within the metropolitan
area (group one) while larger commercial holdings operate in the regions
(group two). Among key changes since the mid-1990s, is the superior organisation
of the industry and its increasing sophistication, especially among group
two growers. Since 1995, the domestic consumption of Asian vegetables has
increased and the product range, quality and availability have substantially
improved. Exports have also grown, but at a slower rate. |
| Implications |
Study
recommendations are made in relation to research. The most important of
which relate to export market field studies for grower representatives,
functional food quality investigation and consistent nomenclature for retail. |
| Publications |
Hassall
and Associates 2003 Asian Vegetable Industry, Situation Assessment,
RIRDC,
Publication No. 02/168 |
| Project
Title: |
1-MCP
for improved quality of leafy Asian vegetables and herbs |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
DAV-189A |
| Researcher: |
Mr.
Graeme Thomson |
| Organisation: |
Department
of Primary Industries (Vic) |
| Phone: |
(03)
9210 9222 |
| Fax: |
(03)
9800 3521 |
| Email: |
graeme.thomson@dpi.vic.gov.au |
| Objectives |
ź
Determine 1-methylcyclopropene (= 1-MCP = EthylBloc) fumigation strategy
required to reduce senescence / yellowing of selected leafy Asian vegetables
and herbs.
ź Deliver real, workable
protocols for 1-MCP use on-farm.
ź Increase sales on domestic
and export markets of leafy Asian vegetables and herbs through extended
shelf-life and improved quality.
ź Reduce waste and increase
grower profits. |
| Background |
Ethylene
accelerates the death of leafy produce by contributing to accelerated respiration,
softening, yellowing and leaf loss. Vegetables produce their own ethylene
to varying degrees but they are also exposed to environmental sources of
ethylene that contribute to quality loss. However, a chemical has been
identified called 1-MCP which is applied to harvested produce as a gas
and binds where the ethylene would normally have attached. This means that
ethylene action is effectively eliminated from biochemical pathways that
eventually lead to quality loss. |
| Research |
Trials
investigated 1-MCP as a pre-storage treatment for freshly harvested whole
heads or stems of choy sum (Chinese flowering cabbage), kailaan (Chinese
flowering broccoli), Shanghai buk choy, buk choy, coriander, spearmint
and Thai basil. Strategies for optimising 1-MCP fumigation effects included
varying both the concentration of fumigant and its application time. |
| Outcomes |
Of
the seven crops examined, three responded positively in some way to experimental
fumigation with 1-MCP. Under some circumstances, commercial use of 1-MCP
with choy sum, Shanghai buk choy and spearmint may be justified. 1-MCP
can improve the general visual quality and reduce leaf yellowing of choy
sum and Shanghai buk choy. These effects were partly observable under different
circumstances at both of the tested storage temperatures, ie. 12oC
and 0oC. Choy sum fumigated with 1-MCP also experienced less
leaf loss, a benefit shared with spearmint. However, generally for all
three of these crops, storage at optimum 0oC is preferable and
if 1-MCP has a commercial role, it is perhaps at higher than optimum handling
temperatures (like 12oC). |
| Implications |
Overall,
it appears that 1-MCP does not substitute for appropriate use of optimal,
cool handling and storage temperatures but if these temperatures cannot
be maintained there may be a role for use of 1-MCP in some circumstances,
especially for choy sum, spearmint and Shanghai buk choy. |
| Publications |
Thomson,
G., Winkler, S. & I. Wilkinson (2002) 1-MCP for improved quality of
leafy Asian vegetables and herbs. RIRDC Publication No. 02/153, 19 pp.
Thomson, G., Winkler, S.
& I. Wilkinson (2003) Treatment of leafy Asian vegetables and herbs
with 1-MCP. Access to Asian Foods Newsletter, Feb 2003. |
