Understanding School Food Provision in the Pacific: Scoping the potential of local food systems to improve diets, nutrition and livelihoods

School meals programs based on home-grown models can serve as platforms for food system transformation, while simultaneously improving the quality of education. This project aimed to provide an understanding of the current extent and status of school food provision and environments in Pacific Islands countries.

Project code
HORT/2021/159
Program
Horticulture
Project start date
01 Jan 2022
Project end date
31 Mar 2024

Agrifood systems transformation through circular migration between Pacific island countries and Australia

Among Australia’s neighbours in Pacific island countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a sudden and protracted decrease in external sources of income, such as tourism. The loss of external income has further amplified the social and economic challenges in a region fighting a rapidly changing climate and deteriorating food security. This is a report on opportunities for agricultural knowledge exchange through temporary international labour mobility schemes.

Identification of sources of resistance to wheat blast and their deployment in wheat varieties adapted to Bangladesh - Final report

Wheat blast could spread and seriously threaten food security and livelihoods in South Asia. This project aimed to address the threat to wheat production, caused by wheat blast, in Bangladesh and South Asia, by deploying resistant wheat varieties. 

Defining priority commercialisation pathways, and potential private commercialisation partners for viable long-term commercialisation of products emerging from FST/2019/128

Coconuts are pivotal in the livelihoods of quasi-subsistence smallholders who dominate Pacific primary production. Viability of this sector is being challenged by the increasing proportion of the coconut plantation estate becoming senile, characterised by significantly reduced fruiting capacity. This project aimed at addressing sustainable commercial supply of coconut veneer plywood sheets and other product formats to specific end use (consumer and/or industrial) markets.

Project code
AGB/2021/172
Program
Agribusiness
Project start date
21 Feb 2022
Project end date
30 Sep 2022

Commercialization of smallholders' CA-based planters in Bangladesh - Final report

This project aimed to enable the business of mechanised planting and the demand for Versatile Multi-crop Planters to reach a scale where no further specific public funding is needed to ensure that the services continue growing and being delivered in Bangladesh. The project identified policy level bottlenecks and barriers to the adoption of CA and mechanised planting (including gender impacts); and pilot tested two commercialisation models for scale out of the CA-based planter which are needed at this critical juncture to advance the CA-based mechanisation program for smallholder

Initiating private sector partnerships to sustainably grow the smallholder dairy sectors of Indonesia and the Philippines

Developing commercially viable smallholder value chain models and helping smallholder dairy chains to access critical inputs, services, and training in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Project code
AGB/2021/171
Program
Agribusiness
Project start date
17 Dec 2021
Project end date
30 Jun 2022

Embedding knowledge and exploring future research opportunities in sloping land agricultural systems in northern Laos and northwest Vietnam

Developing a Theory of Change for economically and environmentally sustainable and climate change resilient sloping land agricultural systems in northern Laos and northwest Vietnam with stakeholders that represent the agricultures chains, research, extension and development in the region.

Project code
SLAM/2021/152
Program
Soil and Land Management
Project start date
01 Dec 2021
Project end date
31 Dec 2022

Development of advanced veneer and other products from coconut wood to enhance livelihoods in South Pacific communities - Final report

This project aimed to develop the technologies, processes and expertise to produce high quality veneer and complementary soil conditioning products from senile coconut stems on an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable basis and thereby enhance livelihoods in South Pacific communities. Achieving this could support community acceptance and action for an orderly and profitable senile coconut plantation renewal program in South Pacific communities.

Strengthening agricultural resilience in Western Province: Developing methods for strengths-based livelihoods approach

Identifying locally appropriate livelihood development practices for the agricultural development sector working across the diverse regions of Western Province in PNG.

Project code
FIS/2021/113
Program
Fisheries
Project start date
01 Sep 2021
Project end date
31 Dec 2023

Integrated soil and crop management for rehabilitation of vegetable production in the tsunami-affected areas of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, Indonesia - Final report

This project aimed to restore and enhance food security, nutrition and livelihoods, through rehabilitation of vegetable production. The project identified constraints to the reestablishment of vegetable production on tsunami-affected soils, discovering sustainable methods for overcoming these constraints; built technical capacity among researchers, extension specialists and farmers in integrated soil and crop management of vegetables; and monitored and evaluate these activities.