The impacts of climate change on agriculture the focus of the PAC’s visit to Australia

Another successful meeting of ACIAR’s Policy Advisory Council (PAC) was held in Australia last week, with a strong focus on the strategic issues related to climate change, specifically its impact on agriculture in the Indo-Pacific Region.

Members of the Policy Advisory Council outside ACIAR House in Canberra. Photo: ACIAR

Achieving impact with agroforestry in North Western Vietnam

In the north-west of Vietnam, which is one of Vietnam’s poorer regions with many ethnic groups, large areas of steep land are farmed to grow hybrid maize. Over the past decade many forests have been cleared and the current agricultural system results in very substantial soil erosion. ACIAR is funding a five year agroforestry project (FST/2010/034) ‘Agroforestry for Livelihoods of Smallholder Farmers in North-West Vietnam’ (AFLi), which is managed by the World Agroforestry Centre. The Vietnamese partners are: Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI); Forest Science Centre of North Western Vietnam; Tay Bac University and the Department of Agriculture and Regional Development (DARD) from Son La, Yen Bai and Dien Bien Provinces. ACIAR recently reviewed its achievements to date and it is clear that the collaborative research on the introduction of various agroforestry systems has led to substantial impacts in a relatively short period.

Fodder grass contours established in maize fields. Photo: Tony Bartlett, ACIAR.

ACIAR pledges ongoing support for technical cooperation with Son La Province, Vietnam

At a workshop held on 7 July in Son La Province, Vietnam, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) entered into a partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Provincial People’s Committee of Son La Province that will promote cooperation in agriculture and rural development.

Signing ceremony of Aide Memoire on cooperation in agriculture and rural development. Photo: ACIAR

A new generation of products from forest plantations and agri-fibre residue

Researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are engaged in ACIAR forestry projects in Laos and Vietnam both of which are helping partner scientists and local wood processing industries to improve wood manufacturing processes and consider the development of innovative wood products. In doing so they build local scientific capacity and generate new markets for smallholders to sell their wood and other fibre products.

From left to right: Phouluang Chounlamounty (NUOL), Tien Manh Ha (VAFS), Rod Vella (DAF) and Hoan Nguyen Hai (Griffith University) present the first panel made from sorghum in Australia

ACIAR welcomes the 2016 John Dillon Fellows to Canberra

This week ACIAR welcomed ten John Dillon Fellows to Canberra as part of a six-week leadership development program. During their two weeks in Canberra the fellows will spend time at ACIAR and visit the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Australian National University. They will meet also with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, at Parliament House and be presented with their certificates.

The John Dillon Fellows participating in a research management workshop at ACIAR House. Photo: ACIAR

Empowering women, changing lives: ACIAR celebrates International Women’s Day with the launch of the next issue of Partners magazine

Today ACIAR launched its International Women’s Day edition of Partners magazine during a morning tea to mark this important day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

ACIAR's Dr Jayne Curnow, Research Program Manager for Agricultural Systems Management, launches Partners magazine at a morning tea to celebrate International Women's Day. Photo: ACIAR

This edition of Partners, which includes forewords by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, and the High Commissioner for Pakistan, Ms Naela Chohan, celebrates the key role women play in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries, and also recognises the importance of economically empowering women and girls around the world so they may become leaders, influencers and agents of change.

Safe vegetables for the benefit of all stakeholders along the supply chain

By Nguyen Thi Sau, Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, Vietnam

During a recent visit to Vietnam, Dr Nick Austin, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), spent some time on project-related activities in the country.

On 8 July, he visited a Fivimart supermarket on Chuong Duong Do Street with ACIAR country staff to see the sales point of certified safe vegetables from Moc Chau District, Son La Province. These vegetables have been produced under the ACIAR project ‘Improved market engagement for counter-seasonal vegetable producers in north-western Vietnam’ (AGB/2009/053). While there, ACIAR met with the distributors, collectors, farmers and market researchers who are directly involved in the Moc Chau safe vegetable supply chain.

Successful connection between safe vegetable producers in Moc Chau and Fivimart in Hanoi through the ACIAR project has led to the consumption of about 737 tons of vegetables since 2012 with an increase in volume and vegetable types from year to year.


Dr Nick Austin, ACIAR’s Chief Executive Officer (fourth from left) join farmers from Moc Chau and ACIAR Vietnam staff in the visit to a Fivimart outlet in Hanoi on 8 July 2015. Photo by Nguyen Phuc Dinh

Australian support for agroforestry development in Viet Nam

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research is working with ICRAF to test new agroforestry systems in Northwest Viet Nam, explains Nguyen Thi Thanh An.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has a mission to bring Australian scientists to Viet Nam and engage in collaborative research to help smallholder farmers.

‘We focus on the Northwest, South-central Coast and part of the Mekong Delta’, said Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh An, ACIAR’s Country Manager for Viet Nam.


Vietnam. Source: Google Maps

Biosecurity: international dimensions, threats and strategies

The topic of ‘Biosecurity: international dimensions, threats and strategies’ was addressed by ACIAR’s CEO Dr Nick Austin at a panel discussion hosted by the Rural Press Club of Victoria on 18 July 2014. In his presentation Dr Austin spoke about some of the significant contributions ACIAR-funded research has made to address issues of biosecurity internationally and in Australia. He also announced the funding of a new initiative to build plant biosecurity skills in eastern Africa. ACIAR produced a brochure highlighting the contribution of ACIAR partnerships with Victorian research agencies for the event.

A farmer field school in Fiji

Real-world training for agribusiness researchers

An enthusiastic group of 22 young agribusiness researchers are planning to use their newly acquired skills in market and consumer research to improve their work, thanks to a successful master class run in Hanoi, Vietnam.

(L-R) Pham Thi Thuy (Vietnam), Souphalack Inphonephong (Lao PDR),
Le Nhu Thinh  (Vietnam) and Idha Widi Arsanti (Indonesia)
on their way to run a focus group with women consumers

Nurturing our region’s research leaders

Each year a small group of agricultural research leaders collaborating in ACIAR projects has the opportunity to take part in a six-week program in Australia to help them make the transition from being researchers to research managers.

"John Dillon Fellowships give mid-career researchers a great opportunity to build their skills in research management, agricultural policy and communication. They're exposed to Australian agriculture across a range of best-practice organisations and make valuable links with research leaders," said ACIAR's CEO Dr Nick Austin.

Making money from trees in Vietnam

On a recent trip to Vietnam, Tony Bartlett, ACIAR's Forestry program manager, witnessed farmers' success of incorporating acacias and fruit trees into their farming systems...

Convincing poor farmers to include trees in their agricultural systems to improve land management is much easier if there are good prospects for them to achieve sound financial returns within 5 or 6 years. But there is never likely to be one tree-based system that will provide the best option to all farmers in a country. ACIAR forestry research aims to help farmers find the trees that work best for their situation.

Acacia logs loaded for market

Deciding what trees to grow depends very much on the site characteristics, the farmer’s preferences and access to markets for the tree products. ACIAR’s forestry projects in Vietnam provide two good examples of the potential economic benefits that come from trees in agricultural systems.

Probably the most successful example involves growing Acacia woodlots, where an estimated 250,000 farmers have adopted this forestry system into their overall farming. It is estimated that in 2012 about 70% of Vietnam’s 1.2 million hectares of acacia plantings were owned by smallholders with an average holding of just 3 hectares.

The Vietnamese farmers grow the acacias on a 6-year rotation and then sell the wood for conversion to woodchips – there is a strong export market to China for pulp and paper making.

In Vietnam, acacias generate a total of US$4.3 billion per year from pulpwood sales. Over the past 20 years, ACIAR has supported research on domesticating and improving the germplasm used in Vietnam’s acacia forestry system. Mr Stephen Midgley, one of the Australian scientists who has worked with Vietnamese forest scientists for most of this time, says that forestry research is a long-term business, but it can result in significant financial returns for farmers.

Agroforestry trials on a hillside in Vietnam

Professor Neil Byron, from the University of Canberra, has been studying the economic impacts that come from this smallholder forestry system in Vietnam. He estimates that an average smallholder acacia system will produce about 30 cubic metres of logs a year, for which the farmer receives $30 per cubic metre, thereby generating an income of around $900 each year. This is the equivalent of an average yearly adult wage in Vietnam.

So there are more than a quarter of a million Vietnamese farmers earning the equivalent of extra adult's wage simply by incorporating Acacia trees into their farming system.

A Hmong woman

In north-west Vietnam, the predominant farming system is maize mono-cropping and in most places trees are a rare site on the steep barren hillsides. ACIAR’s agroforestry project, which is managed by the World Agroforestry Centre, is trialling 11 different agroforestry systems with farmers in three provinces to see what types of systems might be best suited for this region.

One promising system involves the use of a native fruit tree (Son Tra) and fodder grasses. The project team has collected germplasm from the best fruiting trees and provided grafted Son Tra trees to the Hmong ethnic  farmers involved in the trials. These grafted trees should produce large fruit crops in only two or three years. The fodder grasses are used to improve the nutrition of the farmers’ cattle, which are an important part of the farming system.

The project team has also been working with farmers to establish cooperative marketing arrangements for the Son Tra fruit into high-value markets in Hanoi.

Farmer Giang Dung Vu and forestry scientist
Ms Lo Thi Kieu with a grafted Son Tra tree

The potential economic benefits that can come from this system are quite significant. The farmers participating in the group marketing scheme have been receiving at least double the farm-gate price for their Son Tra fruit – so for the same effort they get twice the return simply by being better connected to a market.

One farmer we visited in Tuan Giau district, Giang Dung Vu (pictured left), told us that he makes about VND 10 million per year from his best Son Tra tree. This is enough money from just one tree for the farmer to buy himself a new motorbike each year (if he so wanted!).

If the project can improve the yields and quality of Son Tra fruit as well as establish better marketing arrangements, farmers’ incomes will likely increase even further, and more farmers will become interested in this agroforestry system.

By Tony Bartlett, ACIAR’s Forestry research program manager

More information:
ACIAR forestry projects in Vietnam:
FST/2010/034 Agroforestry for livelihoods of smallholder farmers in north-western Vietnam, led by the World Agroforestry Centre (see their project website)

FST/2008/039 Enhancement of production of acacia and eucalypt peeled and sliced veneer products in Vietnam and Australia, led by the World Agroforestry Centre (see their project website)

FST/2008/007 Advanced breeding and deployment methods for tropical acacias, led by University of Tasmania (see their project website)

Celebrating the role of acacias on International Day of Forests

The United Nations has proclaimed 21 March as the International Day of Forests. It encourages countries to use this day to promote the role of forests in sustaining our environment while providing multiple values for everyone on the planet and direct livelihood benefits for an estimated 1.6 billion people.

ACIAR researcher with 1-year old acacia hybrid
trees in Vietnam 

Remembering General Vo Nguyen Giap

This story is extracted from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam's facebook post acknowledging General Vo Nguyen Giap's contribution to the Vietnamese people. General Vo Nguyen Giap was a strong supporter of Australia-Vietnam cooperation in agriculture. He passed away earlier this month at age 102. Here is the original post.

General Giap with former ACIAR Director, Dr Rothschild

Women working wonders in Vietnam

Mrs Nguyen Thi Oanh and Mrs Bui Thi Hob
who grow indigenous vegetables in NW Vietnam
(Photo: Vu Thi Hai Hau)

Celebrating International Day of Rural Women, 15 October, Mandy Gyles brings us the story of women growing and marketing indigenous vegetables in Vietnam.

“Since joining the co-operative and learning new production skills our crop has been increasing and our income has grown three fold,” said Mrs Nguyen Thi Oanh (pictured left), a Vietnamese farmer who is now harvesting and selling 100-220 bunches of indigenous vegetables daily.

IN THE FIELD: Sand, sand everywhere–but it’s Vietnam, not the Sahara!

Dr Evan Christen, ACIAR’s Research Program Manager for Land and Water Resources, recently travelled to Vietnam to scope for an upcoming project on effectively farming in sandy soils. He explains the process involved in identifying the farmers’ needs and developing the project’s focus...

Dr Evan Christen with Vietnamese farmer, Mr Tuyen

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...

Building markets for Vietnamese indigenous vegetables

Armed with a Masters degree in agricultural business from the University of Adelaide, Rebecca McBride recently spent 12 months working in north-west Vietnam as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development.

Rebecca was engaged as an agricultural marketing officer on an ACIAR project that is helping women from often poor families in the north-west highlands to grow and market local indigenous vegetables in rapidly transforming markets.

New ACIAR publication

The latest book to be published in ACIAR’s Monograph Series is a quality control manual for the production of biofertilisers for rice crops in Vietnam.


Biofertilisers contain micro-organisms that promote the uptake of nutrients and growth of plants. Use of biofertilisers can reduce the need for more costly and environmentally damaging chemical fertilisers.

ACIAR research has shown that rice yields in Vietnam can be maintained and even increased with reduced application of chemical fertilisers, after treatment with the biofertiliser ‘BioGro’. However, the benefits of reduced fertiliser costs and increased rice yields can only be achieved if there is adequate quality control of biofertiliser production and application.

The bivalve mollusc

When I think of oysters I think of The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll, which is this poem about a walrus and a carpenter who go for a stroll on the beach one sunny night, and trick some naive oysters into joining them, only to eat them. In real life this probably wouldn’t happen. I’m not sure if oysters are really that sentient.

Oysters are filter feeders. They feed on particles in the water, leaving the surrounding water particle-free. This results in oysters being quite environmentally friendly. Pollutants such as sediment and algae are either eaten by the oysters, or shaped into small packets that are deposited on the bottom of the sea where they are harmless.

Mr Chau Ngoc Hong, from the Quang Ninh province in Vietnam is also quite a fan of oysters. He is a farmer involved in an ACIAR project to build bivalve hatchery production capacity in Vietnam. The program has had an amazing economic and social impact on his life.

“With oyster farming, my family had money
to build a boat as a transport means,
moving goods and materials for oyster farming,”
said Mr Hong.