Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

 

• Identify strategic market access and investment opportunities based on improved access to international markets and then develop strategies to take advantage of these opportunities.
• Increase productivity of land, labour and capital in rural industries.
• Encourage the investment in and uptake of high quality Australian products.
• Facilitate a competitive Australian export and import replacement sector based on increasing the value from production through increased processing and the delivery of value added production to market.
• Protect and enhance Australia’s natural resource base.

Market Access and Investment Opportunities

Identify strategic market access and investment opportunities based on improved access to international markets and then develop strategies to take advantage of these opportunities:
 
 

Priority identified in Minister’s letter		How RIRDC is addressing the priority
Identify new market opportunities and support strategies to take advantage of the contribution to Federal Government’s 'Supermarket to Asia' strategy		Innovative products associated with new industries Market prospects for emerging plants and crops Export prospects for food and agriculture in a range of Asian markets
Productivity Increase productivity of land, labour and capital in rural industries
Priorities identified in Minister’s letter	How RIRDC is addressing the priorities
Raising the productivity of farming systems in a sustainable manner	Improving animal and plant health Improving animal nutrition Improving on-farm input use  Reducing the impact of pests Improving farmer health and safety
Adoption of technology	Producing industry focused newsletters Developing innovative technology transfer systems
R&D to secure genetic resources in the livestock and cropping sectors	Evaluating plant breeding and varieties
R&D into more efficient use of chemicals, fertilisers, machinery and sustainable farming practices	Improved chemical use  Improved machinery use
Property management planning (integrate business management, risk management, natural resource management, financial planning, control, marketing, personnel and staff management)	Developing financial management support software  Encouraging marketing support systems  Encouraging climate variability and risk management  Encouraging computer use to support farm management  Modelling the benefits of farm forestry
Continual re-assessment of whether information needs of producers are being met	Undertaking R&D strategic planning Industry R&D newsletters Distance learning
Quality Products Encourage the investment in and uptake of high quality Australian products
Priorities identified in Minister’s letter	How RIRDC is addressing the priorities
Removing red tape and simplifying the process of doing business; minimise government decision making at all levels	Trade policy reform  Identifying of impediments to farm forestry development:
Promote new and emerging industry developments	New plant products New animal products
Maintain and improve Australia’s reputation for food quality and safety	Improving food quality
Maintain status of being relatively disease-free and non-polluted	Disease control Chemical residue reduction
Integrated approach to food safety, quality assurance and animal and plant health	Food safety and quality control for plant products  Food safety and quality control for animal products
Co-investment with industry in integrated management programs and quality assurance standards and introduction of ‘through chain’ product certification	Quality assurance for animal products  Quality assurance for plant products
Competitiveness A competitive Australian export and import replacement sector based on increasing the value from production through increased processing and the delivery of value-added production to market
Priorities identified in Minister’s letter	How RIRDC is addressing the priorities
New processing technologies that are efficient, safe and environmentally friendly	Developing new processing technologies for animal products
Value-adding to processing industries and producers (risk of under-investment in this area without research and development corporations)	Value-adding to animal products
Identify limiting factors to value-adding and identify market opportunities for value-added products	Identification of potential Asian food processed products
Investment across entire production – marketing chain including timely delivery, quality and integrity of product	Integrated animal production processes  Integrated plant production processes  Integrated farm forestry and timber processing
Lifting performance of transport, storage and distribution systems (often compare poorly with competitors)	Not specifically covered in the outcomes for 1997–98; however, several ongoing projects cover these issues.
Systems that are innovative, cost-effective and integrated into the production phase	Developing regional communications systems
Natural Resources Protect and enhance Australia’s natural resource base
Priorities identified in Minister’s letter	How RIRDC is addressing the priorities
Accredited sustainable production systems producing clean, quality products to give a marketing edge	Organic produce
Catchment and regional natural resource management plans	Water use by trees
Agrichemical residues, salinity, soil erosion and problems associated with irrigation systems	Overcoming salinity problems  Improved efficiency of water use in rice production  Minimising chemical residues in crops
Co-operative approach by industries, commodities and governments	Rural communities and social issues
Better understanding of the complex interactions between the natural processes controlling sustainability and modern farming practices in different environments	Farm forestry for regional development and more flexible farming systems  Soil borne bacteria and viral insecticides  Integration of agriculture and aquaculture
Develop better baseline information and analytical frameworks and better methods to audit sustainability of practices and systems	This priority was not specifically covered in the outcomes for 1997/98, however, several ongoing projects do address these issues including the development of indicators to assess the Natural Heritage Trust Bushcare and Farm Forestry Programs