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1. Overview
PROGRAMS 1& 2 New Industries - Prospective and Emerging
PROGRAM 3 Established
IndustriesPROGRAM 4 Future Agricultural Systems
SUB-PROGRAMS
- New Plants
- New Animals
- Asian Foods
- Agroforestry
- Deer
- Essential Oils & Plant Extracts
- Organic Produce
- Rare Natural Animal Fibres
- Tea Tree Oil
- Wildflowers & Native Plants
SUB-PROGRAMS
- Chicken Meat
- Eggs
- Honeybee
- Rice
- Horses
- Fodder Crops
- Pasture Seeds
SUB-PROGRAMS
- Global Competitiveness
- Resilient Agricultural Systems
- Human Capital, Communications & Information Systems
Revenues
Corporation revenues were $23.8 million in 1998/1999 compared with $22.0 million in 1997/1998.
Outlays
Total outlays in 1998/1999 were $22.3 million compared with $20.9 million in 1997/1998. These outlays were:
Outlay Area $m % New & Emerging Industries 7.8 35 Established Industries 7.3 33 Future Agricultural Systems 3.5 16 Research Coordination & Management 1.4 6 Communications 0.8 3 Corporate, Administration 1.5 7
Some Project Examples
At end June 1999, the Corporation had nearly 600 projects under contract across its 20 program areas. More than 200 contracted projects were completed in 1998/1999. Without devaluing the importance of any particular one, some of the more prominent included:
- Cocoa: completed an overseas study of the scope for establishing a viable cocoa industry and then put in place a three to five year research project focused on improved cloned material, mechanical harvesting and mechanical seed separation.
- Olives: a range of projects aimed at establishing the olive industry as a small but profitable alternative for parts of rural Australia.
- Cashews: a refocused cashew breeding program and the release of a manual on cashew production for potential investors and growers.
- Kangaroo: the publication of a manual on kangaroo specifications and selected meat cuts which is now being adopted nationally. A study on a grading system for kangaroo skins is now underway.
- Mushrooms: developed new methods for growing a range of speciality mushrooms in conjunction with Australian pine forests.
- Venison: commenced the development of venison marketing strategies for Europe.
- Mohair: demonstrated that Texan and South African genotypes increased mohair fibre of Australian Angoras by 30 per cent at the first shearing and 50 per cent at the second shearing.
- Tea Tree Oil: demonstrated significantly increased oil yield and quality from selected tea tree lines, with significant sales of improved seed now underway.
- Tea Tree Oil: made a further submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Authority for the registration of tea tree oil as a first aid antiseptic.
- Trees: the development of a National Catchment Framework for Land and River Salinity which will contribute to a better understanding of where to plant trees in a catchment.
- Poultry: released new vaccine strains for incorporation in a commercial vaccine product for the poultry disease coccidiosis.
- Eggs: published an international benchmarking survey on egg production in Australia.
- Eggs: undertook a successful media campaign to promote the results of a study into the benefits and safety of egg yolks in infant diets.
Industry Communication
- Honey: identified Australian honeys with high antimicrobial activity.
- Rice: released a new rice variety Opus (YRK4) that was developed specifically for the high quality Japanese market.
- Fodder: finalised the development of common standards for assessing the metabolisable energy content of fodders.
- Horses: released a major book on research into wastage in the horse industry which received wide media coverage and a workshop into problems associated with the air transport of horsesthat will have a significant impact on horses arriving for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
- Pasture seeds: developed a bacterial wilt test for lucerne seed to ensure that long term export markets are accessible.
- Trade policy: released three reports on the implications of trade policy for Australian agriculture and the broader economy.
- Indirect taxation: produced a report that assessed the impact of indirect taxation on the farm sector and the implications of possible changes.
- Climate change: further developed ‘Rainman’ as an aid to Australian farmers in their management of climate variability.
- Internet: published a series of reports on aspects of the development of Internet services for Australian farm businesses.
- Financial indicators: published a set of financial indicators for new rural industries which added to our comprehensive reference manual on new and emerging industries for Australian agriculture. The indicators publication and the manual are essential 'first step' references and are two of our 'best sellers'.
In both 1997/98 and 1998/99, the Corporation worked hard at improving its links with industry. Expenditure on 'communications' in 1998/99 was up from $658,144 in 1997/98 to $766,975. Our operations are now much more transparent and our products more accessible to industry.
Stakeholder Feedback
Our survey of key stakeholders carried out in May 1999 showed that more than 75 per cent of respondents rated our overall performance as either 'excellent' or 'good'. Between 1995 and 1999 the number of respondents who ranked our performance as 'excellent' doubled to nearly 25 per cent.
High Investment Returns
Our on-going ex-post project evaluation carried out in 1998/99 on Program 3 - Established Industries demonstrated that the returns from the research dollar are significantly above those for mainstream investments. This is consistent with our earlier evaluation.
All but two of the reviewed projects were found to have provided a rate of return in excess of the strategic plan performance target of 25 per cent. The equivalent range for the benefit–cost ratios was 0.8 to 120 (discount rate of 5 per cent) and again all but two were greater than the performance target of 10. The information on projects with rates of return lower than the target rates is being used by the sub-programs to support future funding decision considerations.
Financial and Operational Summary
Five Years of Operations – 1994/95 to 1998/99
1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 REVENUE $20.1m $20.1m $16.2m $22.1m $23.8m Commonwealth appropriation 52% 52% 35% 49% 46% Industry research levies 18% 19% 26% 20% 21% Commonwealth matching dollars 17% 13% 20% 17% 15% Interest 6% 7% 6% 4% 3% Other income 7% 9% 13% 10% 15% EXPENDITURE $19.7m $19.7m $21.4m $20.9m $22.3m Research programs 92% 90% 91% 90% 90% Communications 1% 1% 1% 3% 3% Corporate 3% 4% 3% 3% 3% Administration 4% 5% 5% 4% 4% FULL-TIME RIRDC STAFF 15 18 16 14 16 OPERATING STATISTICS New projects initiated 198 218 278 250 307 R&D projects managed 613 481 502 764 609 Final reports received 87 116 166 262 280 Scholarship applications received 63 90 84 44 53 Scholarships awarded 1 5 2 8 7 Travel applications received 64 117 64 93 101 Travel grants awarded 33 74 45 57 66 R&D proposals received–preliminary 586 708 654 680 533 R&D proposals received–full 222 250 227 260 181
