Research & development priorities
In this section:
Australian grain grower priorities
The Strategic R&D Plan addresses the identified prioritites of Australian grain growers. The key growers priorities for the next five years are:
- environmental
- responses to climate change
- improved water use efficiency
- sustainablity and resource management
- soil health and biology
- farm management
- integrated farming practices and technologies
- integrated management of weeds, disease and pests
- herbicide resistance management
- variety development
- biotechnology for improving genetic gain
- superior new varieties
- new and innovative product development
- capacity building
- improving skills, training and education in agriculture
- farm business management.
The GRDC identified grower priorities during the development of the Strategic R&D Plan:
- through a range of consultation meetings held with grain growers, local Research Advisory Committees, grower groups and grower organisations
- through surveys undertaken by independent consultants
- by taking into account the principal issues and challenges that the Agriculture and Food Policy Reference Group identified as needing attention if agriculture and food businesses are to be successful over the next ten to fifteen years.2
2On 16 February 2006, the Agriculture and Food Policy Reference Group, in association with the Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Peter McGauran, MP, released its report - Creating our Future: Agriculture and Food Policy for the Next Generation.
The GRDC addressing environmental issues
The GRDC will invest in research, development and delivery mechanisms that meet the environmental priorities of the Australian Goverment and Australian grain growers. These investments underpin the sustainable development of a globally competitive Australian grains industry. The GRDC will continue to address the triple-bottom-line issues of immediate concern to the grains industry and deliver improved and integrated farm management practices and technologies.
The GRDC will achieve its environmental objectives through partnerships and collaborations with national, state and local bodies such as the Natural Heritage Trust, the National Land and Water Resources Audit, CSIRO, state agencies with responsibilities for environmental legislation, catchment and grower groups, and individual growers.
Climate change
Over the plan period the GRDC in collaboration with the Australia Centre for Plant Functional Genomics will continue to invest in the development of more resilient grain varieties under predicted climate change scenarios, including drought and frost tolerant grain varieties. The GRDC will be involved in the South-east Australian Climate Initiative, which seeks to understand the drivers of climate change in south-east Australia as well as how growers and land managers can best respond to climate change. The project will also focus on effective within season predictive tools in the context of climate change. The GRDC will work with research partners to turn climate-related risks into opportunities for growers, including through ongoing investment in the Managing Climate Variability Program. The objectives of the program are to: improve seasonal forecasting (including accuracy, lead time, and ease of use); provide tools and services to growers for managing climate risk; and increase adoption of climate risk management techniques by growers and natural resource managers. In addition, the program will also look at how agriculture in Australia can adapt to climate change. The GRDC will work closely with goverment, industry, research partners and other RDCs to ensure a national collaborative approach to climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Agricultural production contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which have a considerable impact on agricultural productivity through their effects on climate. The GRDC will deliver and facilitate the adoption of practical approaches for minimising nitrous oxide emissions, including efficient application of nitrogenous fertilisers. The GRDC will be working on understanding the impacts of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on grain yield and quality. The GRDC will also continue to communicate with growers about adopting farming practices, such as no-till and controlled traffic. These practices help to reduce fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions and minimise loss of valuable resources from farming systems.
Water use efficiency
Water use efficiency is defined as crop yield per unit of water use. Water scarcity is a national challenge. Both water and availability and efficiency of water use restrict grain production. Over the next five years, the GRDC will implement strategies to develop methods for maximising the profitable use of water and deliver them to growers.
The Bureau of Rural Sciences has identified agroecological zones in Australia where water use efficiency to relatively low. Improving efficiency in some zones has the potential to lift the productivity and profitability of the whole industry significantly. The GRDC will support the development of regionally based technologies that will make it easier to estimate available water in a paddock, as a step towards more profitable water use in the grains industry.
Australian Government priorities
One of the four corporate strategies of the GRDC is to deliver against the Australian Government's:
- National Research Priorities, as outlined by the Prime Minister in December 2002
- Rural R&D Priorities, announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in May 2007.
The National Research Priorities and Rural R&D Priorities together reflect the research priorities of the Australian Government, and are subject to periodic review and revision.
Table 2 summarises how the GRDC strategies will address the Australian Government priorities from 2007 to 2012 (the LOB strategies are discussed in detail in Part 4). Table 3 shows how resources will be allocated to each of the priorities in the first year of the plan period.
Table 2 - Alignment between Australian Government priorities and GRDC strategies
| National Research Priorities | Rural R&D Priorities | Related GRDC strategies | Examples of GRDC activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promoting and maintaining good health | Productivity and adding value Improve the productivity and profitability of existing industries and support the development of viable new industries | New Products strategies on new food grain products with focus on human health and nutrition, food safety and grain hygiene | An international joint venture, called Arista Cereals Technologies, will deliver higher margin, specialised grain products suitable for the health food market. High amylose wheat is one such product with the potential to address bowel health. The science utilises leading edge technology developed at CSIRO and with the participation of Group Limagrain will provide the market signals and expertise to develop products for market. |
| Supply chain and markets Better understand and respond to domestic and international market and consumer requirements and improve the flow of such information through the supply chain, including to consumers |
New Products strategy on undertaking product development to meet market requirements Varieties strategies on breeding and pre-breeding programs that are market-driven |
A project to investigate opportunities for soybean products, such as natto, tofu and soybean milk for export, and soybean flour and soy milk for the domestic market | |
| An environmentally sustainable Australia | Natural resource management Support effective management of Australia's natural resources to ensure primary industries are both economically and environmentally sustainable Climate variability and climate change |
Practice strategy on sustainable management of natural resources including climate change and water use efficiency | A number of projects related to climate change, including work to:
|
| Safeguarding Australia | Biosecurity Protect Australia's community, primary industries and environment from biosecurity threats |
Practices strategies relating to biosecurity and practical integrated past management, management of weed control options in changing farming systems, and durable genetic resistance as the 'first line of defence' against crop diseases |
A range of projects with the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity, including work to:
|
| Supporting the Rural R&D Priorities | |||
| Frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries | Innovation Skills
|
Communication & Capacity Building strategy to develop new and innovative publications and products
Practices strategy on developing and delivering new technologies and farming practices |
A project to build industry (grower and agribusiness) capacity by developing and implementing integrated programs on education, training and technology transfer A project to develop an accepted methodology for tracking the movement and effect of beneficial microbes within cropping systems, to facilitate speedier registration and faster delivery to market of beneficial microbial products. The international Brassica A genome sequencing program to identify candidate genes and molecular markers for significant agronomic traits A study to establish if grain can be used to produce metal nanoparticles |
Table 3 - Investment allocation against the Australian Government's Rural R&D Priorities in 2007-08, the first year of the Strategic R&D Plan 2007-12
| Rural R&D Priorities | Natural Resource Management | Climate Variability and Climate Change | Productivity and Adding Value | Supply Chain and Markets | Biosecurity | Innovation Skills | Technology | Other* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.5% | 4.0% | 37.2% | 0.5% | 13.3% | 18.5 | 9.7% | 0.3% |
* Other includes a joint RDC program on farm health and safety and a number of investments that relate to commercialisation.
The GRDC addressing biosecurity
The GRDC will continue to address the Australian Government's priority of safeguarding Australia by investing in the biosecurity of the grains industry through:
Plant Health Australia
Plant Health Australia is responsible for developing a nationally coordinated plant health preparedness and prevention system for exotic and endemic plant pests and diseases. The GRDC will continue to invest in relevant and targeted research programs of Plant Health Australia via the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity.
CRC for National Plant Biosecurity
The GRDC is a core participant in the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity. As the central coordinating body for plant biosecuirty research across all Australian states and territories, this CRC focuses on preparedness and prevention, diagnostics, surveillance, impact, management, and delivery and adoption.
The GRDC will continue to invest in selected grains industry projects with this CRC, notably in the diagnostics, preparedness and prevention programs. Additional investments will be negotiated taking into account the potential impact of climate change on biosecurity threats.
Australia Cereal Rust Control Program
The GRDC will continue to support the Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP), a partnership between the GRDC, the University of Sydney, CSIRO and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which includes a strong national and/or international biosecurity component.
The program develops improved germplasm for Australian cereal breeders to combat current and aniticipated rust threats. The University of Sydney provides a continuous surveillance service to the grains industry which monitors the occurrence and frequency of cereal rust pathotypes. This service provides early warnings to the grain grower community of the development or incursion of new virulent pathotypes, and recommends effective management responses.
Weed Management
The GRDC will continue to invest over the plan period in programs designed to protect the grains industry from new weed threats, whether they eventuate through invasions due to international trade and travel by individuals, or through the spread of previously unidentified 'sleeper weeds'.
The GRDC will invest in research, development and delivery that address the environmental priorities of the Australian Government and Australian grain growers, and underpin the sustainable development of a globally competitive Australian grains industry.