GFS team have made a great presence at the 2016 Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Conference in Canberra, 2-5 February 2016.
Our Director Professor Wendy J. Umberger has been inaugurated as the President of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES). This new role is a recognition of her continuing high impact contribution to the field of agriculture and resource economics.
Our PhD student Laura Bateman won the 2016 AARES Outstanding First Presenter Award for her contributed paper presentation: “Estimating the cost of strengthening ecosystem connectivity in an agricultural landscape in central Sumatra.” The competition for this award was intense this year and the awards committee had a tough time – they first narrowed it down to 15 first time presenters, including ECRs, PHD students and Honours students for the first cut. Congratulations Laura!
AARES ECR workshop participants (Photograph by Adam Loch)
Our researcher Dr Adam Loch in collaboration with Dr David Adamson of University of Queensland organised the AARES Early Career Researcher (ECR) workshop at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University from January 30th to February 1st in Canberra. GFS was a major sponsor of this event and was also well-attended by GFS staff and students. Professor Wendy Umberger provided an invited talk “So you want to be an academic?” and Dr Risti Permani gave a talk about “Building your media profile” at the ECR Workshop.
Our researchers and students made 17 presentations at the AARES conference showcasing the diversity and quality of GFS research. The conference was a huge success – congratulations to all who participated!
Part of our outstanding #global #food #studies conference @AARES_Inc @Risti_Permani pic.twitter.com/yA8mzRHkLv
— Wendy Umberger (@WendyUmberger) February 4, 2016
The Conference highlighted both challenges and opportunities facing Australian and New Zealand’s agriculture sectors and opportunities from the emerging Asia and the Pacific. Professor Kym Anderson of University of Adelaide in his keynote speech pointed out that history highlights Australia agriculture’s resilience through the 20th century.The history has recorded three mining booms in 19th century: 1840s copper boom in South Australia, 1850s gold rush in Victoria and New South Wales and gold rush in Western Australia from late 1880s.
Agriculture was helped during those mining booms by rise in immigration and incomes and therefore in demand for non-tradable foods; expansion in off-farm earning opportunities and increased investments in infrastructure. However, its future depends on how Australia improves its comparative advantage which depends on Australia’s response compared with that of the rest of the world.
Prof Kym Anderson – fascinating plenary session #AARES
Competitiveness of Australia's Ag and Resource Sector pic.twitter.com/hbL4EaATXw— ACIAR (@ACIARAustralia) February 4, 2016
The Asian region and the Pacific are obviously important partners for Australia.
The AARES conference showcased multiple projects in Asia funded by the Australian institutions including governments such as ACIAR and Department of Agriculture and universities, from ecosystem, horticulture and dairy projects in Indonesia, climate change projects in China and Vietnam, to consumer and nutrition study in Fiji.
GFS has been privileged to be part of these research projects.
While there is wide consensus on the benefits from having a competitive market, our work also focuses on improving the welfare of smallholder producers and low-income consumers as well as women. A study conducted by our PhD student Anna Finizo who is supervised by Wendy Umberger, for example, concludes that households where women had more control over purchases often had healthier diets (Source: Pacific Beat 5/2/2016).
Developing an inclusive development strategy is crucial to ensure bilateral and multilateral partnerships are progressing. Despite a significant reduction in tariff, concerns over domestic consumers and producers are argued to put pressure on governments in many developing countries to put protectionist measures.
Australia has potential role in assisting its partners not only build their competitiveness given our strength in Research and Development but also help create a more open and fairer international trade and investment system.
Presentations at contributed paper sessions at the 2016 AARES Conference
Akzar, R., Permani, R., Wahida. and Umberger, W.J. (2016). Understanding Indonesian Smallholder Dairy Farmers’ Decisions to Adopt Multiple Farm-Level Innovations. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Ara Rupa, J., Ahmed, S. and Umberger, W.J. (2016). Analysing the Impact of Household Health and Economic Shocks on Food Security and Dietary Diversity: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Bateman, L., Yi, D., Cacho, O. and Stringer, R. (2016). Estimating the cost of strengthening ecosystem connectivity in an agricultural landscape in Central Sumatra. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Finizo, A., Ahmed, S. and Umberger, W.J. (2016). Understanding the determinants of diet quality among rural agricultural farm households in Fiji. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Finizo, A., Ahmed, S. and Umberger, W.J. (2016). Understanding the relationship between production diversity and dietary quality in smallholder farm households in Fiji. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Haensch, J., Wheeler, S. and Zuo, A. (2016). The spatial influence of neighbours’ water sale behaviour on irrigators’ water entitlement selling. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Johns, C., Umberger, W.J. and Stringer, R. (2016). Value chain analysis: providing an evidence base for agricultural development and policy interventions in Fiji. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Peralta, A. and Swinton, S. (2016). Neighbour Effects on Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Nicaragua. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Permani, R. and Umberger, W.J. (2016). Do contractual relations incentivize farmers’ adoption of multiple innovations? Evidence from the Indonesian dairy sector. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Sayekti, A. L, Yi, D., Sahara, Stringer, R., Daryanto, A. and Arsanti, I. W. (2016). Seasonal variation in hybrid seed adoption: the case of chili in Indonesia. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Settre, C., Connor, J., and Wheeler, S. (2016). Improving ecosystem services through trade in the Murrumbidgee Catchment, Australia. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Suprehatin, Umberger, W.J. and Yi, D. (2016).Horticultural crop diversification, agricultural and off-farm income: empirical evidence from Indonesia. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Thennakoon, J., Findlay, C., Huang, J. and Wang, J, (2016). Land rights and farmers’ adaptation to climate change: evidence from Guangdong province in China. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Umberger, W.J., Windle, J., Malek, L., Rolfe, J. and Anders, S. (2016). “The Economics of Farm Animal Welfare and Consumer Choice – Evidence from Australia.” Contributed Paper, 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Conference, Canberra, 2 February.
Wahida., Umberger, W.J., Minot, N. and Stringer, R. (2016). What motivates Indonesian smallholder to adopt non-conventional farming systems? 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Zuo, A., Wheeler, S. and Schwabe, K. (2016). Exploring regional farm exit in the Murray-Darling Basin. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
Wheeler, S. and Zuo, A. (2016). Selling the farm: understanding irrigators’ intentions to sell the farm in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. 60th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Canberra, 2-5 February.
