This report presents an impact evaluation of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)–funded projects in the cocoa sector in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). These projects were completed between 2009 and 2015, so most of this evaluation is an analysis of potential outcomes.

This impact assessment study has selected four projects, which were designed to improve outcomes for women and families who are smallholder farmers growing crops and raising cattle in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China, where the challenges of land degradation, access to water and poor agricultural practices result in low crop productivity and poor animal condition.  

For the past 30 years, ACIAR has funded research aimed at controlling Newcastle disease in village chickens. In Africa, the Australian Government has contributed around $10.8 million to Newcastle disease control projects, about $1.1 million of which has been contributed by ACIAR. This report estimates total net benefits to Africa of around $479 million, which amounts to a benefit of around $60 for every dollar spent.

  This study reports the findings of a review of 27 Impact Assessment Series reports (covering 103 bilateral research projects) published by ACIAR since 2005. This is the second ACIAR review of returns from bilateral investments, and confirms that returns are high. A few research areas, such as use of Australian trees in Indonesia, pig breeding in Vietnam, and grain storage in the Philippines, stood out as being particularly successful.

This report assesses the impact of three ACIAR projects on wheat and maize in Afghanistan. An initial desktop analysis was augmented with a detailed survey of farmers in Afghanistan, undertaken by in-country non-government organisations.

Many impact assessments focus on estimating net economic benefits from a program, and identifying a causal relationship between the impact and the intervention. Natural resource management research, however, operates under dynamic, complex and unpredictable conditions, and is likely to be a contributory cause rather than the sole cause of program results.

This impact assessment report analyses the extent to which ACIAR-funded research into rodent control has been taken up in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The report identifies factors that favour and constrain adoption, and lays out a plan for future action.

ACIAR has a long history of working with countries in Africa. Given the increasing attention to food security in Africa, leading to the establishment of ACIAR’s Australian International Food Security Centre, it is timely to review ACIAR’s experiences in Africa to date. Reviewing past projects can help guide future investment decisions by highlighting the types of projects that deliver the best returns and by identifying some of the barriers faced in different countries.

This report provides an overview of the methodological issues involved in incorporating environmental and natural resource values within ACIAR’s economic impact assessments. Recent developments in analytical techniques have provided a sound basis for combining two parallel streams of research: tradition economic analysis of the environment, and the ‘ecosystem service’ approach to evaluation. These approaches are complementary, and they bring an added dimension to measuring the benefits attributed to ACIAR-funded research.

ACIAR has funded a range of oil palm projects in PNG. This report examines the pathways through which ACIAR’s portfolio of oil palm projects, in particular the socioeconomic and biocontrol clusters – have delivered benefits to the community.

ACIAR commissioned the development of a monitoring and capacity-development tool, called the Capacity Snapshot. It is designed to capture data on the ways in which scientists engage in capacity development, and to provide a clear picture of the capacities developed by research scientists in specific ACIAR projects.

There is much evidence to support the assertion that improving agricultural productivity can reduce extreme poverty among rural populations in the developing world. This report examines some recent advances in methods for assessing the impact of agricultural research on the poor, and suggests a method specifically suitable for measuring the poverty-reducing impact of ACIAR research.

  While India’s expansion of the rice–wheat cropping system led to the production of more food, it has also led to degradation of the natural environment, and concerns over the sustainability of the practice. This report looks at the returns on investment of ACIAR projects that sought to develop alternative practices for growing rice and wheat sustainably, and designing a machine that allows direct seeding of wheat into rice stubble.

An assessment of the impact of an ACIAR–World Vision extension project on improving rice crop yields in southern Laos. The assessment shows there have been significant gains in food security for the adopting farmers, with widespread acceptance of the new rice varieties and improvement of wet-season rice yields.

This study assesses the impact of IRRI’s work on varietal improvement on rice production in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

This study provides an overall assessment of ACIAR’s forestry program in PNG and takes a more in-depth look at projects relating to galip nuts.

This study adds to the body of literature on the development of methodological frameworks and tools that could be used to assess the benefits of policy-oriented research. It also investigates the extent to which policy outputs were achieved in 10 of ACIAR’s Indonesian policy projects.