South Asia

High levels of input subsidies, guaranteed commodity prices and free food distribution have distorted agricultural markets in Iraq and provided no incentive for innovation by farmers. In addition, scientists have had limited access to international developments in the agricultural sector for over two decades. In concert with other investments by the Australian Government, the ACIAR project is intended to assist the Iraqi Government in its quest to modernise agricultural markets and production systems.

ACIAR's current project has been shaped by the relevance of Australian expertise to Iraqi conditions and by the constraint of limited access to Iraq by Australian scientists. It focuses on the enhancement of barley, wheat and grain legume production under dryland conditions in northern Iraq through the introduction and evaluation of appropriate modern varieties; and on the adaptation of improved management practices, including tillage, fertiliser and weed control techniques. Significant yield improvements are anticipated given that current yields of these crops are only about one-third of those under similar conditions in developed countries. The project is co-funded by AusAID and ACIAR, managed by ACIAR, and executed by ICARDA and Australian research organisations.

Pakistan has been an ACIAR partner country since 1984.In Pakistan there is increasing pressure on availability of water resources for irrigation due to competing demands from urban and industrial uses. Soil and water salinity and drainage problems are placing additional pressure on irrigated agriculture. Given the similarity of some of its own water resource and salinity issues, Australia is very well-placed technically to assist Pakistan in addressing the above issues. As a result, ACIAR's program continues to focus on irrigation, drainage and salinity management in the major cropping systems. Examples of the technologies arising from this collaboration are the introduction of Australian salt-tolerant forage species into Pakistan and the use of eucalypts to assist in the drainage of shallow watertables.

In addition, there is recognition that Australia has skills for working with some of Pakistan's key horticultural crops-especially citrus and mangoes, the two most important tree crops. Australian expertise can provide a whole-of-system approach to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the mango and citrus industries, encompassing all steps from fruiting to market.

Pakistan is also one of the world's largest milk producers, with slightly less than half of that production from dairy cattle. Unit animal production is very low although genetic potential is quite good. Major opportunities exist for applying Australian expertise in animal nutrition and integrating forage production into farming systems to assist in improving milk production. This work is viewed as a key to poverty reduction, particularly for some of Pakistan's landless people.

Bangladesh has been a partner country since the mid 1990s. ACIAR's program is small in view of Australia's relatively limited comparative advantage to deal with Bangladesh's rice-dominated agricultural problems.

Projects have focused on constraints to broadacre crop production (especially the rice-wheat cropping system) and the potential for increased inclusion of a legume component in cropping systems. This past focus will broaden with the emergence of rice-maize as an increasingly important cropping system. Low-lying areas and rainfed cropping systems in Bangladesh are particularly impacted by the effects of seasonal climate variability and impacts of climate change. It is anticipated that Bangladesh will be one of four partner countries involved in a new ACIAR climate change adaptation initiative designed for implementation during 2008-09.

An earlier project now completed studied management of the Hilsa fishery. It led to a series of management recommendations that will require the Bangladesh Government to make difficult decisions to save the fishery from collapse. Most recently, a project analysing the fate of arsenic from groundwater produced useful information that contributed to a larger initiative on the arsenic problem in Bangladesh.

ACIAR's small program with Bhutan began in 1998. Because of Bhutan's relative lack of capacity to effect significant change across many agricultural sectors at once, the program will remain small and very tightly focused. Earlier ACIAR research to develop Newcastle disease vaccine for village chickens was extended and adapted for the situation in Bhutan with the help of AusAID funding, and projects were initiated on the management of fruit flies and on footrot management in ruminants. A major initiative on improvement of citrus production (Bhutan's largest horticultural export industry) and pest and disease management is being implemented, as well as a smaller study on water and land management.

India, the world's largest democracy, faces huge problems in its rural sector even as the overall economy forges ahead. Indeed, the greatest number of poor and undernourished people in any country (approximately 300 million) is found in India, and most live in rural areas. At the same time India faces trade liberalisation and rapid diversification of diet towards high-value agricultural products.

Following changes in 2003, and recent review discussions in India and Australia, ACIAR's program in India will evolve into a more tightly focused suite of projects in two subprograms. These take into account both Indian national agricultural priorities and the key themes through which the two countries can achieve synergies. The Government of India is also encouraging donors to work with independent research organisations and NGOs, and ACIAR has taken up this challenge. Partnerships with NGOs will help achieve the goal of increased emphasis on achieving practical farmer-level impacts, particularly in poorer regions of India. Direct involvement of independent policy institutions and their linkage to key Indian central and state government departments will also increase the likelihood of policy impacts.

India was one of the first countries to become involved in ACIAR-commissioned collaborative projects. An earlier project to control wheat rust by identifying the various rust races, and identifying and deploying resistance genes, has helped to keep India free of major rust epidemics, with obvious benefits for poor farmers and consumers alike. A molasses-based nutrient block with medication to supplement diets and control internal parasites of straw-fed dairy animals has been developed. For stored commodities, research partnerships have led to improved means of managing resistance to the fumigant phosphine and of detecting persistent pesticide residues. Recent research has boosted the widespread adoption of minimal tillage for seeding wheat in the rice-wheat farming systems. Significant benefits have come from water and fuel savings, timelier sowing and easier weed management.

India has a large and well-developed national agricultural research system. ICAR has recently initiated several significant programs, including the World Bank-funded National Agriculture Innovation Programme (NAIP) and the US-India Agriculture Knowledge Initiative, both of which share similar research priorities with the ACIAR program in India. ACIAR will emphasise maximising technical collaboration in areas of Australian comparative advantage as well as areas where both India and Australia have strong common interests and potential for field-level and trade impacts in both countries. ACIAR will engage mainly with researchers in the main wheat growing states (Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) and the Indian Central Plateau (Andhra Pradesh, with outreach to Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal). Current projects will help India manage scarce water and nutrient resources more efficiently, improve yield and quality of cereals and oilseeds, diversify production and raise farm incomes. Rainfed cropping systems in central and eastern India are prone to the effects of seasonal climate variability and, in the long term, impacts of climate change. It is anticipated that India will be one of four partner countries involved in a new ACIAR climate change adaptation initiative designed for implementation during 2008-09.

A number of International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) are also active in India. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), with headquarters in Hyderabad, has strong programs on peanut, sorghum, millet and chickpea, as well as crop-livestock systems (with the International Livestock Research Institute, ILRI) and soil management in the semi-arid tropics. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have significant regional activities in India, many connected with the rice-wheat eco-regional initiative. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has a joint program on policy issues with an Indian research institute and other biophysical programs in India. ACIAR supports projects with these IARCs.

Two decades of war coupled with a recent severe drought have devastated Afghanistan's food production capabilities and depleted critical seed stocks, leaving the nation heavily dependent on food aid from international donors.

ACIAR's collaboration with Afghanistan, which started in 2002, provides support to wheat and maize production. Wheat is by far the most important crop, while maize is the third most important. Capacity enhancement is also very important. Activities have aimed principally to provide seed from suitable cultivars via import, establish on-farm participatory testing of imported germplasm for the identification of better adapted improved cultivars, and undertake local multiplication and distribution of selected cultivars. Particular attention is being paid to improving rust resistance in wheat and promoting improved crop management, along with provision of improved cultivars of both wheat and maize.