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Recommendations arising from an analysis of changes to the Australian agricultural research, development and extension system
Citation
Hunt, W and Birch, C and Vanclay, F and Coutts, J, Recommendations arising from an analysis of changes to the Australian agricultural research, development and extension system, Food Policy, 44 pp. 129-141. ISSN 0306-9192 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.11.007
Abstract
The business of agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) has undergone considerable
change in Australia since the late 1980s, moving from a domain largely dominated by government
departments to a situation of multiple actors, and where rural industries now directly contribute funds
towards RD&E efforts. However, the transition has not been without impacts on the overall agricultural
RD&E agri-food capacity of the nation, and there are now indications of reduced capacity and slowing
productivity gains in certain sectors. If not addressed, there is the risk that the future resilience of industries
could be threatened, affecting parts of the Australian economy and compromising Australian contributions
to global food supply on export markets and a slowing of agricultural innovation. There are also
comparable divestment trends and the loss of capacity and risks to future resilience of agricultural systems
in other developed nations. Importantly, research and extension are discussed as interdependent
partner disciplines, and that the separation of the two has deleterious effects on capacity and resilience
building. The authors investigate, through six case study institutions, organisational innovations that may
provide direction towards the future restructuring of agricultural RD&E effort in Australia. These insights
have application to both the Australian and the international reader, warning about the consequences of
reduced investment in agricultural RD&E, and learning about how research and extension can transition
from traditional public sector models to systems that have greater flexibility and, importantly, ownership
by the industries themselves.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | agriculture, extension, agricultural policy, capacity, resilience |
Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
Research Group: | Other agricultural, veterinary and food sciences |
Research Field: | Other agricultural, veterinary and food sciences not elsewhere classified |
Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
Objective Group: | Environmentally sustainable animal production |
Objective Field: | Environmentally sustainable animal production not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Birch, C (Associate Professor Colin Birch) |
ID Code: | 88510 |
Year Published: | 2014 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 22 |
Deposited By: | Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture |
Deposited On: | 2014-02-05 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-08 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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