NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the
Advice on Publications Available.Rural Industry Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
The Rural Industry Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) is one of the major funders of Australian new crop R&D . In this article the Corporation's Communications Manager, Ms Eva Hickman, reports on the activities and strategies of the Corporation and details some of the research achievements in the new crops area.
RIRDC and New Crops Research
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) is an agency of the Commonwealth Government, and was established in 1990 to facilitate industry and government investment in industry-directed and market-focused R&D.
Our Mission is to enhance the sustained economic contribution of agricultural industries to the national economy. We do this through the organisation and funding of R&D in priority areas to improve the productivity and profitability of the industries within our charter.
Our charter is very broad as it covers the whole agricultural sector. However, we have focused our attention on two key activity areas; on the development of smaller rural industries and on multi-industry issues impacting across most, if not all, Australian rural industries.
Many of these smaller rural industries are crop-based, such as Asian foods, cashews, essential oils, pasture seeds, fodder crops, rice, spices, herbs, tea, coffee, and new plant products (such as nuts and vegetables; grains and pulses; and miscellaneous crops such as truffles).
What Activities Do We Support?
RIRDC funds a wide range of research and development activities in addition to scientific and technological research, including:
RIRDC's strategies for new plant and crop industries include:
Key R&D Issues for 1995-96
Some Research Achievements of RIRDC
Asian Food Crops
Asian food offers a new market segment to the Australian food production and processing industry. RIRDC's recently developed Asian foods program aims to foster the development of a viable Australian Asian foods industry.
Over the last 18 months, RIRDC has released three research reports:
Asian Food Market Trends and Prospects (by Grant Vinning) provides strategic background information and analysis for the program as well as valuable market information on Asian vegetable markets in Japan.
Asian Food-Getting a Bigger Bite (by Instate) has also determined demand for Asian processed foods and has surveyed the domestic industry. The report recommends ways in which RIRDC, governments and industry can take steps to encourage more investment in the domestic Asian foods industry, replace imports and promote export growth.
Food Distribution in China and Hong Kong-Market Profile and Directory (by Kelvin Fahey of SIRA International) provides a detailed insight into the structure and workings of selling within these competitive markets. It also provides a list of the key import distributors and agents and allows Australian food exporters to gain a timely understanding of the marketing systems in China and Hong Kong.
New Plant Products
In early 1993 a collaborative project by CSIRO and Agtrans Research was completed which identified success factors in the development of new agricultural industries. It attracted much interest from researchers, planners and industry, and led to a significant publication, Developing New Agricultural Industries-Lessons from the Past.
In late 1993, an RIRDC-supported bush food seminar was organised by Greening Australia in Lismore. The interest that it generated is indicative of the changing attitudes in Australia towards alternative foods. An industry working party has been established to develop strategies for the bush food industry and to identify research, development and extension needs. A second seminar/workshop is planned for early February in Sydney.
Through this program RIRDC also funds horticultural research, which is mainly focused on assisting the commercial development of tropical fruits such as lychee, rambutan, carambola, pummelo, and custard apple.
For example, CSIRO and NSW Agriculture studies on flowering and fruit set in lychee have shown that buds can be induced to form flowers after the break of dormancy. This finding has profound implications for growers in that it suggests that instead of stopping the trees growing in the early winter by withholding water, lychees should be stimulated to grow and thereby encourage flowering.
Progress in grains and legume research is illustrated by the South Australian Research and Development Institute lentil improvement program. Lentils have good commercial prospects, both for import substitution and export. Australia currently imports 3-4 000 tonnes of lentils per year at a cost of more than $2 million and has identified markets for 120 000 tonnes per year at prices of around US $400 per tonne. Steady progress has been made in selecting ICARDA-sourced lentil lines that outyield locally available lines. Two of these lines (ILL 5750 and ILL 5588) are currently being bulked for commercial release in 1994-95. The area planted to lentils in South Australia is expected to increase from around 100 ha to at least 5 000 ha as an immediate result of this research.
RIRDC also supported a QDPI workshop into Phaseolus and other potential new summer grain legumes, at Toowoomba in August, 1993, which was instrumental in determining strategies for this potentially rewarding type of cropping in the areas of crop selection, management and marketing.
Spices
SEEDCO's spice project continues to progress towards establishing a reliable spice seed industry in southern Australia. The project involves the evaluation of a wide range of spice cultivars from around the world and the development of agronomic packages to support their commercial production in Australia. Particularly good progress has been made in bulking up commercial lines of coriander, dill, fenugreek and mustard. Substantial exports (>5000t) of coriander, fenugreek and mustard have already been achieved.
Enquiries regarding RIRDC's research activities and its funding process should be directed to :
Rural Industry Research and Development CorporationAustralian Bamboo Industries Association (ABIA)
The ABIA was established in 1992 to promote the establishment of a viable bamboo industry in Australia. The Association has its Headquarters at Belli Park on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
There are three categories of membership. Full membership requires that the applicant has a significant commercial interest in the propagation, sale, processing or study of bamboo or bamboo-derived products and services. Associate membership is available to individuals having an interest but without direct commercial involvement. A third category of student member is available to individuals registered with an approved educational organisation.
The Association issues a quarterly journal which contains appropriate articles regarding the industry and maintains a library of books, journals and video recordings as a reference and research resource.
Enquiries should be directed to:
Australian Bamboo Industries Association
MS 330, Kenilworth Road, Belli Park via Eumundi
Queensland, 4562, Australia.
Telephone and Facsimile: (074) 47 0299
Any claims made by authors in the Australian New Crops Newsletter are presented by the Editors in good faith. Readers would be wise to critically examine the circumstances associated with any claims to determine the applicability of such claims to their specific set of circumstances. This material can be reproduced, with the provision that the source and the author (or editors, if applicable) are acknowledged and the use is for information or educational purposes. Contact with the original author is probably wise since the material may require updating or amendment if used in other publications. Material sourced from the Australian New Crops Newsletter cannot be used out of context or for commercial purposes not related to its original purpose in the newsletter
Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email:
r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au[
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GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF