ACIAR's participation in the Australia Indonesia Partnership

The Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD), comprising $500 million in grants and $500 million in highly concessional loans over five years, was announced in January 2005. The Partnership supports Indonesia’s reconstruction and development efforts, both in and beyond tsunami-affected areas. Assistance will involve long-term sustained cooperation focused on economic and social development projects and Indonesia’s programs of reform and democratisation. A detailed Country Strategy 2008-13 is available.

ACIAR manages the design and delivery of components of two major regional development programs:

Smallholder Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI)

SADI aims to improve rural sector productivity and growth in four Eastern provinces—Nusa Tenggara Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat, South East Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. It will improve incomes and productivity for farmers and agribusiness in response to market opportunities, through a process that is underpinned by improved adaptive R&D capacity. SADI, a 10 year program with an initial funding commitment from the Australian government of $ 38 m for the July 2006-December 2009 period comprises three subprograms, each of which also build on existing activities in Indonesia:

• Enhanced smallholder production and marketing (implemented by the Kecamatan Development Program Secretariat of the Ministry of Home Affairs, supported by the World Bank)
• Strengthened private sector agribusiness and Small - Medium Enterprise development (implemented by the International Finance Corporation)
• Support for market-driven adaptive research (SMAR, implemented by ACIAR, through project offices in Makassar and Bogor)

Support for Market-Driven Adoptive Research

The purpose is to develop strengthened province-based agricultural R & D capacity that is market and client-driven and effectively transferring knowledge to end-users. A feature of this Subprogram is integration with other subprograms on enhanced smallholder production and marketing and strengthened private sector agribusiness development.

There are three delivery components of the SMAR subprogram. The first, Adaptive Research and Development will fund province-based organisations funded to implement high priority demand-driven

R&D projects with international technical support. Priorities for these projects are being identified through workshops of industry, farmer groups, government and researchers and through institutional and market assessments. A second component, will establish improved linkages and more effective knowledge transfer processes between R&D providers and extension providers. New extension media and methods to assist in dissemination of R&D outcomes will be piloted in the field. The third component, on institutional development, will assist with the development of optimal R&D planning and budget allocation policies and procedures, assist in human resources development and upgrade infrastructure and equipment

Current active ACIAR SADI projects

Concluded ACIAR SADI projects

Final reports from ACIAR SADI projects

Rural livelihoods components of the Aceh Reconstruction program

ACIAR and AIPRD are also cooperating on the rehabilitation of the Regional Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Centre (RBADC) at Ujung Batee, which is the technology development and extension centre for aquaculture in Aceh. The centre suffered extensive damage in the tsunami. AusAID will manage the physical infrastructure/construction component while ACIAR is managing training and re-establishment of aquaculture R&D at the site. A second co-funded activity "Restoration of annual cropping in tsunami-affected areas of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province" links closely with two other ACIAR-funded projects on restoration of cropping systems in Aceh.