Visit from Ethiopian Minister for Livestock and Fisheries

ACIAR welcomed a delegation from the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Canberra last week. Led by the State Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Gebregziabher Gebre Yohannes, the group of agricultural researchers from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the Ethiopia Policy Study and Research Centre met with the CEO and Research Program Managers (RPMs) to discuss synergies between ACIAR’s work in Africa and livestock research for development in Ethiopia.

Linking Beef Smallholders to Markets

This month ACIAR and ARC South Africa announced a new partnership on a project we are simply calling “Linking Beef Smallholders to Markets.”

Following discussions between partners, including the project leaders from the University of New England, Dr Gary Griffith and Dr Heather Burrow, at the ARC Irene Campus with the project’s industry and scientific council on 3 November, an official launch and “cook fest” was held on 4 November.

In launching the project the Australian High Commissioner to South Africa, HE Adam McCarthy, noted the close linkage between the two countries and the shared challenges in Agriculture.

Participants at the launch were treated to a cooking demonstration by MasterChef © winners, Kamini Pather (South Africa) and Renae Smith (Australia) who were guests of the Australian High Commission in Pretoria. Renae made cheese centred beef burgers while Kamini made beer and soy beef with pak choi and jasmine rice. Both dishes highlighted the value of quality beef product and were enjoyed by all in attendance. Participants were then treated to presentations by the project scientists, including a talk on the veld (rangeland) management, breeding programs, and germplasm conservation and reproductive technologies using a mobile clinic.

Project partners with the two Chefs. (L to R: Joel - DAFF, Liz - ACIAR, Adam - DFAT, Renae Smith - MasterChef winner 2014, Australia, Kamini Pather - MasterChef winner Season 2, South Africa, Norman – ARC, Kennedy - ARC and Simphiwe -NAMC. Missing from the picture are Baldwin Nengovela - the project coordinator, South Africa and Gary Griffith and Heather Burrow - University of New England). Source: ACIAR

We're going MAD for digital data!

The plight of paper based surveys and data collection is well known to many researchers out there, where data written on paper needs to be later entered into a digital spread, such as excel. This duplicates that number of times and people handling the data before it is analysed and reported on. This can introduce errors into the data and it can be months after the data is collected before the researcher or project leader can see what is actually happening in the field.

A farmer having his photo being taken using Survey CTO. Source: Jack Hetherington

Linking students with international livestock research projects

By Jim Young, Russell Bush and Peter Windsor
The University of Sydney

Over the last 8 years, we have had over 50 undergraduate (BVSc and BAnVetBioSc) and graduate students (MVPHMgt and PhD) from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney get involved in our Mekong Livestock Research Team’s international projects to work in Cambodia, Laos and/or Thailand. The University of Sydney Team has been commissioned to undertake ACIAR funded projects in both Cambodia and Laos, and have found students benefit from the experience while also providing benefits to project activities and outcomes. We have recently been advised that applications for New Colombo Plan Mobility scholarships were successful, and now prepare to assist a further 20 students visit Cambodia and Laos in 2016. We felt it might be appropriate to share some of these experiences and lessons learned, as this information is likely to be of use to project leaders and administrators who are looking to increase Australian student involvement.

Final year BVSc student Emma Roffey vaccinates a buggalo in northern Laos in 2014. Credit: University of Sydney/Jim Young

The rewards and challenges of collaboration in research and development projects

By Jim Young, Project Officer - Mekong Livestock Research (University of Sydney)

‘Collaboration’ is a word that rolls off the tongue and I think is generally perceived in a positive light. So I was somewhat surprised to find two definitions on a 'Google search'. The first, was expected; ‘the action of working with someone to produce or create something’. The second, was a little more surprising; ‘traitorous cooperation with an enemy’. Hmmm, interesting and I thought it might be useful to explore collaboration in further detail in the hope of stimulating some discussion and learn the experiences of others.

My view, and I am confident I can speak on behalf of our University of Sydney Mekong Livestock Research team, is that collaboration refers to the first definition: Joining forces to reach a common goal. Sounds simple, right?

IN THE FIELD – Myanmar in a new era

(in-country visits by ACIAR’s research managers)

The children we met were not shy from the camera.
Gyoke Pin Village in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar.
Photo by Jenny Hanks

In June, ACIAR’s ­ Principal Regional Coordinator for Mekong countries and China, Dr Gamini Keerthsinghe, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement a research project in a country ACIAR has been working with for over a decade. The smallholder farmers and rural poor are set to benefit from opportunities for the Australian Government to work at a greater level of cooperation with the Government of Myanmar, which is undergoing a period of ambitious reform that is unprecedented in its recent history...

IN THE FIELD - Beefing up cattle in Vietnam

(in-country visits by ACIAR’s research program managers)

In March this year, ACIAR’s Livestock Production Systems manager, Dr Peter Horne, visited Daklak province in central Vietnam to scope the scene for new ACIAR livestock-related research. Peter says there is a fascinating transition happening in Daklak, and that ACIAR’s research is well timed and placed to make a real difference...

Eyes wide open: Australian vet student experiences the challenges of keeping healthy livestock in Laos

Early this year, Emma Roffey, a vet science student from University of Sydney had a rewarding and eye-opening experience in northern Laos, investigating an active disease outbreak in cattle and water buffalo. She visited 5 villages as part of Australian–Lao collaborative research aiming to reduce poverty through improved livestock health, production and marketing.

Emma vaccinating buffalo in Laos
(Image courtesy of DLF Staff)

Thinking outside the square to increase impact

Livestock diseases have a big impact on countries and people in the Mekong. They stop livestock movement, cause the loss of productive livestock and restrict trade. Some diseases can also be transmitted to people.
Every year thousands of livestock are traded between Mekong countries, potentially spreading serious diseases. As an indication, in 2008-09 up to 15,000 head of cattle per month were reported to have transited from Thailand through southern Laos into Vietnam.

Although the trade on this route has now dwindled to a trickle — mainly because of changes in exchange rates that made the trade less profitable — animals still move in large numbers to different destinations. The common factor in this trade is the trader and the trader networks that facilitate it.

The livestock trade in the Mekong is a potential risk in the spread of serious diseases such as foot and mouth disease or classical swine fever. What can be done to manage that risk?