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A farmer with his Happy Seeder machine in Punjab, India

A farmer with his Happy Seeder machine in Punjab, India

A Centre for Global Food and Resources (GFAR) project funded by ACIAR has been featured under the Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP) program.

Under the development assistance program in south and west Asia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)  has launched the Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP) , which aims to improve the integrated management of water, energy, and food in three major Himalayan river basins – the Indus, Ganges and the Brahmaputra – covering eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. With an investment of $46 million, the SDIP leverages Australia’s expertise in food, water and energy sectors and is delivered through a consortium of Australian and South Asian partner agencies. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is a major partner in the SDIP along with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (ICE WaRM), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), World Bank—South Asia Water Initiative Phase II (SAWI), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The Asia Foundation (TAF).

ACIAR aims to contribute to the program by bringing together the ‘big picture’ related to sustainable food systems; creating space for regional engagement, demonstrate field to policy links; and showcase relevant institutional models. The first featured project under this program is titled ‘value chain and policy interventions to accelerate zero-till adoption across the Indo-Gangetic plains’ focuses on examining how adoption of zero-till (ZT) seed drills can be accelerated to help reduce stubble burning and boost sustainable food production in North-West India and the eastern Gangetic plains.

Activities undertaken in the project so far include three inception workshops across the focus areas in Punjab, West Bengal and Bangladesh. A value chain analyses of the Happy Seeder and Zero-Till drill, which was followed up with focus group discussions and an extensive farm household survey. The outcomes of the field activities will inform policy recommendations and development of pathways to enhance adoption of these conservation agriculture technologies in the region.

The GFAR project team comprises Prof. Wendy Umberger, Dr. Adam Loch, Dr. Jay Cummins,  Mr. Rohan Yargop and Dr. Alec Zuo.

For more information, visit our website

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Graduations are always a special time for us at GFAR. We love to see our students celebrating the achievements and success of their years of hard work whether they are graduating from our Master’s or PhD program. Last week we celebrated the achievements of 13 such graduates, 11 from our flagship Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB) program and 2 from our PhD program.

GFAR Master’s graduates with Prof. Wendy Umberger and Dr. Alexandra Peralta

GFAR Master’s graduates with Prof. Wendy Umberger, Dr. Alexandra Peralta and Prof. Sarah Wheeler

Some of our students expressed their views on the experience of studying at GFAR and The University of Adelaide

Yohanna Handjaja – Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB)  graduate

Yohanna Handjaja – Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB) graduate

Yohanna Handjaja – Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB)

“I am very grateful to be a Master of Global Food and Agribusiness graduate! I have enjoyed studying here and the opportunity to build real connections among the GFAR team, classmates, lecturers and local businesses as well as enhancing my knowledge. The professors have deep understanding and broad experiences, which are relevant and important to this sector. We not only learn in theoretical way but also in a practical way. The most valuable thing was the opportunity to undertake an internship with a local company to apply my knowledge and experiences for my research project.”

Zamir Dibirov - Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB)  graduate

Zamir Dibirov – Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB) graduate

Zamir Dibirov – Master of Global Food and Agricultural Business (MGFAB)

“This program gave me deep knowledge about government policies in the agricultural sector and developed my research skills regarding agribusiness particularly in relation to the food supply chain. I can definitely say each course makes your goals accessible to you.”

PhD graduates Claire Settre and Rio Maligalig with their respective supervisors Prof. Sarah Wheeler and Prof. Wendy Umberger

PhD graduates Claire Settre and Rio Maligalig with their respective supervisors Prof. Sarah Wheeler and Prof. Wendy Umberger

Dr. Rio MaligaligPhD  for a thesis entitled: “Eliciting farmer preferences for rice varietal trait improvements using an experimental methodology based on investment games”. 

“Doing my PhD at GFAR was a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to work with and be mentored by some of the most brilliant minds in the field of agricultural and food economics. My supervisors Prof. Wendy Umberger and Dr. Alexandra Peralta  (also Dr Matty Demont from IRRI) were extremely supportive and helpful throughout my PhD journey. Another great thing in doing PhD at GFAR is that I was able to share my experience with a large group of GFAR PhD students, who became my good friends as well. Having friends within the Centre made the experience more enjoyable and one of the best parts of my PhD journey.”

Dr. Claire Settre  – PhD  for a thesis entitled: “Exploring the use of water markets for improved environmental outcomes”.

“I completed my PhD at GFAR in the field of environmental and water economics. The past few years have opened my eyes wide to the challenges and rewards of academic life. Some of my most treasured memories of the last few years are doing my data collection in the United States and Mexico for my PhD as part of an Endeavour fellowship. Although the PhD was hard, I am so happy I stuck to it and completed. Writing and finishing the thesis taught me not only about my research field, but also about myself and what I am capable of.”

We would like to wish all of our new graduates heartiest congratulations and the best for their future!

 

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Blog post written by Craig Johns, Associate Director Agribusiness Innovation, GFAR

Theo Simos , Craig Johns of GFAR and Florence Rahiria, ACIAR PNG Regional Manager

Theo Simos , Craig Johns of GFAR and Florence Rahiria, ACIAR PNG Regional Manager

Craig Johns and Theo Simos at the Galip Nut launch event

Craig Johns and Theo Simos at the Galip Nut launch event

It is not every day you get to launch a new food product, particularly when it is the culmination of years of research and strong multidisciplinary collaboration across two countries. Well, this is what just happened in Papua New Guinea last week.

Centre for Global Food and Resources (GFAR) researchers Craig Johns and Theo Simos were in Papua New Guinea last week to attend the commercial launch of the Galip Nut. The Galip Nut is an indigenous nut, which has strong traditional connections to the country, and has been used as a shade tree within agroforestry systems for cocoa production. While the nut has been traded between villages and through municipal markets for many decades, this is the first time the nut has been commercially processed for a modern retail market. Theo Simos from GFAR has been instrumental in getting this product to market.

The commercialisation of this indigenous nut has been the result of an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)  funded project titled ‘Enhancing value added products and environmental benefits from agroforestry systems in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. The three new Galip products; Natural, Roasted and Peeled will be on sale in leading East New Britain supermarkets and hotels this week, with a further launch and expanded distribution planned for Port Moresby by the middle of the year.

To read more about the project and the involvement of GFAR visit https://www.adelaide.edu.au/global-food/research/international-development/png-canarium-nut/

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  GFAR researchers Dr. Adam Loch and Dr. David Adamson recently spent 10 days in Portugal and Spain. The trip leveraged an opportunity where they were invited as speakers at the ‘Managing Water Gaps: An Opportunity?’ an International Seminar held on the 17 April 2018 in Beja, Portugal. The focus of the workshop was on recent […]

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Blog post prepared by Rohan Yargop At the Centre for Global Food and Resources (GFAR), we take pride in training and creating tomorrow’s leaders in agribusiness and international development. Our strong alumni base is comprised of more than 30 countries involved in major agriculture related organisations in private and public sector, working towards the betterment […]

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Blog post prepared by Rohan Yargop It is impossible to comprehend a start to the day without a cup of our favourite latte, long black or cappuccino! While most of us go about our daily routines with the support of our beloved coffee, we do not always think about the effort the coffee grower has […]

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Post prepared by Dr David Adamson (also posted on his blog) Regulatory agencies can be described as benevolent social welfare maximisers (Laffont & Tirole 1991) who serve the public interest. However, the effectiveness of regulations is eroded by regulatory capture (regulations are designed in the interest of business and not society) and the failure to […]

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Prof Sarah Wheeler, Associate Director of Research, Centre for Global Food and Resources at the University of Adelaide was interviewed by Amanda Vanstone on Radio National’s Counterpoint on 19 March 2018. “Fixing leaky pipes no way to save a river”. Economists are critical of the way federal government money has been spent on saving the […]

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Blog post prepared by Sacha Amaruzaman, PhD Student at the Centre for Global Food & Resources Indonesia’s agricultural sector in the last decade has rapidly expanded in order to provide food for the growing population, as well as boosting the economic growth. Much of this expansion is in the upland area, bringing trade-off between the […]

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Blog post prepared by Rohan Yargop and Dr Adam Loch In one of our earlier blogs, we wrote about the practice of stubble burning in the Indian Gangetic Plains that has led to tremendous levels of air pollution in the region and has had a severe impact on the daily lives of people residing in […]

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