This project aims to scope research opportunities for more efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser in Bangladesh. Intensive farming is practiced by farmers around the world to produce sufficient food to support the growing populations.

Establishing a research agenda to help overcome obstacles to conservation agriculture adoption.

Dissemination of, and monitoring the effects of, the release of Pod-borer Resistant Cowpea in Nigeria.

Investments in appropriate-scale farm mechanisation in Zimbabwe around mechanised Pfumvudza, and transferring learnings to South Africa.

Identifying opportunities to address technical, nutritional, and social bottlenecks to facilitate wide-row intercropping in the Indo Gangetic Plain.

How Farmers’ Hubs improve the adoption and scaling of new agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers, and opportunities for their more effective use.

This project aimed to release the insect resistant chickpea to help the management of insect pests in a sustainable manner and improve chickpea production in Bangladesh. Although chickpea is a popular food legume in Bangladesh, there are many production constraints responsible for low yield, in particular insect pests. Genetic engineering to develop insect resistant (IR) legumes such as soybean and cowpea varieties with complete resistance to pod borers has been successful. These legumes are now approved for commercial cultivation and consumption.

Distribution/extension pathways for a new pest management technology, based on a form of silica known as synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), to small landholders in Tanzania.

This project aimed to bench-mark farmers’ current pest management practices and pesticide use/misuse in food crops and develop practical recommendations and actions to address current and potential future problems. Rice remains the predominant commodity for domestic food security and export income in Myanmar. However, increases in pesticide-related poisoning in rural communities are now a matter of major national concern in Myanmar, especially where there is illegal cross-border trade in pesticides. 

Characterising the populations of Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm, FAW) in crop production systems of South-East Asia and Northern Australia as the first step towards developing long-term management options.

Exploring the feasibility of biochar as a method for removing infected material from oil palm blocks to inform a business case for oil palm derived biochar production in Papua New Guinea.

This project aimed to review progress made through the 'Innovation Platforms' which had been implemented since 2015 to enable scaling out of conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains Innovation Platforms (IPs) have been implemented and supported since 2015 to enable scaling out of Conservation Agriculture-Based Sustainable Intensification (CASI) in the EGP (Eastern Gangetic Plains).

This project aimed to see if information and communication technology (ICT)-based extension services could reach farmers, delivering information when and as needed. It aimed to examine the shortcomings of the ICT-based extension services in the Eastern Gangetic Plains and their potential to reach small and women farmers. The SRA could lead to a program that helps to achieve sustainable cropping practices, and overcomes technology adoption barriers.

This SRA aimed to optimise Single-Drop Genomics (SDG) technology to detect food borne pathogens. Nucleic acid point-of-care (POC) bioassays that can be performed on-site with minimal equipment, rapidly and at low cost are in high demand. Agriculture is one area that can benefit from the use of low cost on-site assays. This project is also listed as HORT/2014/027.

Accelerating the adoption of Zero-Till seed drills to reduce crop residue burning and boost sustainable food energy and water security.

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This project aimed to document the experience of direct-seeded rice (DSR) within the broader farming and social system, in Savannakhet province of Lao PDR. The project also aimed to understand which approaches are more/less successful, the reasons for adoption, non-adoption and disadoption, and possible technical and policy insights and recommendations.

Methodologies and germplasm to better manage Faba Bean Gall disease in Ethiopia.

Enabling small-scale farmers to better participate in local and regional markets by increasing the availability and adoption of high performing plant varieties that meet market demands.

This project aimed to accelerate delivery of two-wheel tractor-based technologies to smallholder farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa, and help them adopt the technology. This improved access to mechanization, reduced labour drudgery, and minimised biomass trade-offs. Sub-Saharan Africa needs sustainable intensification of agriculture. Research for development work is increasing the efficiency with which land, water and nutrients are being used, but farm power appears to be a forgotten resource.

A project aimed at reducing poverty in the Eastern Gangetic Plains by making smallholder agriculture more productive, profitable and sustainable, while safeguarding the environment, and encouraging women to participate. 

This project aimed to increase agricultural production, improve household food security, alleviate poverty and thereby reduce food-aid dependency in rural Zimbabwe through better integrated crop and livestock production and through men, women and youth participating in the market. Almost 12% of rural households in Zimbabwe (more than 1 million people) rely directly on food aid.

This program was part of the Australia Food Security Initiative for Africa. It built substantially on completed ACIAR projects in Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It focused on maize as the main staple and legumes as an important dietary protein source for the rural poor. Combined rainfed maize-legume cropping systems show considerable promise in boosting productivity and helping reverse the decline in soil fertility that is a fundamental cause of low smallholder productivity in the region.

This project studied how socioeconomic factors (including gender), changes in farming systems, climate variability and policies influenced production risks and whether smallholder farmers in Africa adopted technology. Few studies assess how adopting technology affects livelihoods in Africa. Without understanding the economics of farming decisions under uncertainty, technology scaling out interventions and policy decisions will be made based on incomplete information.

This project aimed to increase the adoption of new technologies for sustainable intensification and diversification (SID) in the lowland rice system in north-west Cambodia, towards increasing income for farmers and stronger, more sustainable, and resilient businesses.