OverviewThe Rice-based Systems Research (RSR) program is one of four new programs developed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) under the Food Security through Rural Development initiative announced in the 2009 federal budget. ACIAR is a statutory authority that operates as part of the Australian Government’s development cooperation programs. The Centre encourages Australia’s agricultural scientists to use their skills for the benefit of developing countries and Australia.

ACIAR’s 2011–12 Revised Corporate Plan identifies improving food and nutrition security as a core goal; to be achieved by targeting productivity gains in smallholder agricultural systems of developing-country partners. The RSR program will explore opportunities to alleviate poverty through improving the productivity and profitability of rice-based farming systems. These systems comprise both rainfed and irrigated agriculture, and are typically integrated with livestock production.

Rice-based Systems Research program: food security in Lao PDR, Cambodia & Bangladesh

The program invests AUD$14.8 million over a 5-year period (2009–14). Its integrated portfolio comprises five large-scale farm-productivity projects, together with a suite of smaller policy-focused projects, in Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Collectively, the projects span crop and livestock development; best practice management; technological advances; new cropping niches; targeted marketing and extension; and alternative evidence-based policy options.

BackgroundThe Food Security through Rural Development initiative announced in the 2009 federal budget was a core element of the Australian Government’s response to escalating staple crop prices and related community unrest in neighbouring South and South-East Asia in 2007–08.

High food prices in Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh are of particular concern as these countries are rated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as ‘alarming’ and ‘serious’ on the Global Hunger Index (GHI)1. The GHI is a multi-dimensional approach to measuring hunger and malnutrition.

It combines three equally-weighted indicators: the proportion of undernourished as a percentage of the population, the prevalence of underweight children under the age of five, and the mortality rate of children under five.

The Focus

Rice-based farming systems in Lao PDR, Cambodia and Bangladesh

1 von Grebmer K. et al., 2011. Global Hunger Index: the challenge of hunger. http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2011-global-hunger-index

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While prices for staple crops have fallen, they remain significantly higher than in the 1990s and early 2000s, and are unlikely to return to earlier levels in the foreseeable future.

Revised forecasts for wheat, corn and soybeans by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in February 2012 are anticipated to further lift its already bullish expectation for prices to remain above 20-year averages for the next decade. The average price of wheat for the past 20 years is about US$3, and the USDA estimates that it will trade near US$5 a bushel for this decade. Corn has traded at about US$2.5 in the past 2 decades, and is forecast to trade above US$4 a bushel. Similarly, the price of soybeans is likely to reach US$10 a bushel from the long-term average of about US$7 a bushel2.

The USDA’s forecasts are primarily driven by its expectation of a 104% increase in the ‘middle-class’ ranks of emerging economies by 2020; this compares with a 9% jump in developed countries. This translates to a global increase of 400 million middle-class households by 2020 in addition to the current 600 million.

While more general population increase adds further mouths to feed, higher incomes spur greater demand for resource-intensive meat and dairy products, and enable higher energy consumption. When incomes rise by 10% in developing countries about 40% of the total will be spent on more food and on different sorts of food. This is not the case in developed countries. A 10% rise in income results in next to no extra spending on food.

The Challenge

Responding effectively to a structural change in the price of food.

The Rationale

Productivity improvements can drive food security at multiple scales.

Income elasticity is therefore much higher for food in emerging countries, and has significant implications for grain demand3. At the same time, policy settings to tackle climate change are driving the substitution of carbon-rich fossil fuels for biofuels, such that an increasing proportion of the world’s crops are diverted to biofuel production. Additionally, irregular weather patterns are contributing to increased price volatility.

Research has a pivotal role to play in responding to the challenge of food security in South and South-East Asia. Many opportunities exist for increasing the production and profitability of crops and livestock and, at the same time, reducing dependence on food aid. Although rice is the primary dietary staple of most of these communities, the profitability from both land and labour inputs is poor. As a consequence, rice farmers remain in poverty and have little incentive to increase rice production. Innovation is needed to increase yields (varieties, agronomy, irrigation) and reduce labour inputs (direct seeding, weed management, mechanisation, irrigation), and to ensure that market returns are optimised. In doing so, individual production systems will need to achieve a significant reduction in their environmental footprint.

Program frameworkThe RSR program focuses on improving rainfed and irrigated rice-based farming systems, as the mainstay of staple production throughout South and South-East Asia. The main target countries are Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh.

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The rationale for the research program’s core theme of ‘productivity improvement’ is that it will act as a driver or catalyst for enhancing food security at a number of levels:

» at the household and village level through moving more households towards year-round food security

» at the district and provincial level through using market and other mechanisms to ensure that staple foods can be made available year-round to a higher percentage of the community

» at the national and regional level through supporting several partner countries as net rice exporters.

The program will examine rice grown in conjunction with wheat, maize, grain legumes and a range of other cropping system components. Targeted research will also look for ways of improving livestock production, as an integral component of many rice-based systems throughout Asia. Existing technologies offer scope for rapid improvements in crop productivity in the short-term. These technologies are most effectively applied in environments that support farmer uptake, such as market access, functional extension systems, and scope to realise higher commodity prices.

The program has five core strategies:

1. Intensify crops in rice-based production systems by increasing the number of crops grown on the same land each year following the main rice crop

Crop intensification may be achieved by using shorter season varieties, improving on-farm water and soil fertility management (e.g. water-harvesting practices, minimum tillage, supplementary irrigation), and introducing rotation crops (such as legumes, which can catalyse multiple cropping options).

2. Boost yields by improving the efficiency of water and nutrient use

The entry point for yield enhancement is to improve the crop water-use efficiency of both irrigated and dryland components of rice-based systems. Water productivity gains will need to be underpinned by sustainable soil fertility.

This will necessitate targeted research to develop site-specific nutrient management systems, including more efficient use of fertilisers, soil ameliorants, green and animal manures, and residues. Tailoring agronomic practices (e.g. weed management, planting methods) to local conditions will further enhance water and nutrient efficiency.

3. Improve livestock production by integrating animals more effectively with rice-based farming systems

Livestock production is highly dependent upon feed sourced from crops – grains and tubers, stover, green forage, and processing by-products – together with weeds within and beside crops. The transformation of poor farmers from livestock keepers to active market-oriented producers will require improvements in livestock reproduction and nutrition coupled with better access to markets.

4. Strengthen policy settings by improving understanding of the linkages with, and impacts on, food security

Food security is affected by the mix of policy settings at local to international scales. Achieving more productive and sustainable rice-based farming systems will necessitate better understanding of and integration across formal and informal policies, especially in the arenas of agricultural industry and trade, land and water resources management, agricultural extension systems, and marketing systems for rice and related products.

5. Build capacity of individuals and institutions by establishing effective collaborative relationships and facilitating knowledge sharing

Effective and lasting results for food security will depend upon developing strong in-country capacity for framing, conducting and extending R&D. This capacity extends from individual researchers to the broader institutional arrangements. The principal mechanism for capacity building is through partnering of Australian and in-country institutions to jointly deliver project outcomes.

The Strategies

1. Intensify crops

2. Boost yields

3. Improve livestock

4. Strengthen policy

5. Build capacity

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SeTTIng » Southern Lao PDR

» Rainfed rice-based systems

» Lowlands and uplands

» In collaboration with US$40m IFAD / ADB-funded development program

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Intensify and diversify with other crops and livestock » Better understand

farming and marketing system

» Develop new technologies and marketing approaches

» Share and scale-out knowledge and technologies

» Supplement irrigation by smarter water use

1. Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rainfed regions of southern Lao PDR (Project CSe/2009/004)

This project aims to increase food supply and income from lowland and upland farming systems in the rainfed regions of southern Lao PDR, which have significant potential for market surplus in rice, other crops and livestock. It is working in collaboration with a US$40m IFAD/ADB-funded development program. The project will examine opportunities to intensify and diversify these production systems with livestock and other crops. It will achieve this by using a four-pronged approach.

First, a diagnosis and integrated assessment will be undertaken of the farming and marketing systems. Second, new crop and livestock technologies will be developed, together with targeted approaches to marketing and extension. The third element involves knowledge sharing and the scaling-out of varieties, crop and livestock technologies, and marketing approaches. The project will work with partners to test, share and scale-out knowledge, offer training and other capacity development opportunities, and develop simple and effective tools, including ‘RiceCheck’ and best-bet management practices. Finally, the fourth pillar looks at opportunities for supplementary irrigation through water-use efficiency, with a view to enhancing drought security and prospects for short-duration post-rice crops and forages for livestock production.

The research will target two lowland and two upland areas in the provinces of Savannakhet and Champassak. On-farm research in these areas will engage approximately 300 farms in 10 villages, including in the priority poor upland districts of Sepon and Phim. On-farm trials will give emphasis to resource management, direct seeding, short-duration post-rice crops such as pulses, vegetables or forages, and the integration of ruminant livestock. On-station trials will take a whole-of-system approach and look at the interconnectivities of these diversified mixed-farming systems.

Program portfolioThe program comprises five large-scale farm-productivity projects, together with a suite of smaller policy-focused projects. The policy work will both inform and draw from the relevant projects. Program structure and project design reflect the differing research needs of, and the collaborating programs operating in, each partner country, including related ACIAR and non-ACIAR research programs.

The major collaborating programs are the AusAID-funded Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain (CAVAC) program, International Fund for Agricultural Development / Asian Development Bank (IFAD/ADB) program in southern Lao PDR, and the Gates Foundation / USAID Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh.

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SeTTIng » Cambodia

» Lowland rice systems

» Rainfed and dry season (residual moisture and irrigated)

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Improve rice varieties » Survey germplasm needs

and design dissemination strategy

» Understand sensory quality and build technical capacity

» Develop and disseminate improved rice varieties

» Demonstrate commercially viable direct-seeded practices

2. Improved rice germplasm for Cambodia and australia(Project CSe/2009/005)

This project aims to develop and enhance access to improved rice varieties that are better matched to Cambodian rice cultivation systems. These systems have been changing significantly over the past 5 years. With increasing variability of seasonal conditions, it is critical that varieties can endure both early-season drought and inundation. Germplasm development also needs to account for the increased use of direct seeding. This research will build on Cambodia’s established rice breeding program to develop rice germplasm for adoption across three rice-based systems, namely the lowland rainfed system and the dry-season system using residual moisture or fully irrigated production. The dry-season crop is exported, which also provides an opportunity for better quality varieties that target higher value export markets.

There are four main components to the research. A survey will be conducted to identify the germplasm needs of Cambodian farmers and traders to determine the priorities and strategies for new germplasm development and dissemination. This work will be supplemented by investigations to understand the sensory quality of Cambodian rice and to develop in-country capacity for rice-quality assessment and marker-assisted selection (MAS). The third component will identify, develop and disseminate improved rice germplasm for three distinct agroecological rice systems. The final component involves demonstration of commercially viable direct-seeded practices derived from tropical Australian rice production.

3. Improved rice establishment and productivity in Cambodia and australia (Project CSe/2009/037)

This project aims to enhance rice system productivity in rainfed and irrigated lowland systems in Cambodia, especially in those that are direct seeded. The approach for achieving this is through better matching of production systems to soil type and water availability/quality and through mechanisation. The work is framed within the context of three major changes reshaping agriculture in Cambodia: the spread of direct seeding, the replacement of draught animals with mechanised forms of field preparation, and a significant increase in the proportion of irrigated rice.

An assessment will be undertaken of the current and potential rice-establishment methods used by farmers in at least three target provinces (Takeo, Kampot and Kampong Thom) to develop strategies for raising productivity. Significant research effort will target spatial database development.

The Cambodian Agriculture and Research Development Institute (CARDI) soils laboratory will also be improved by upgrading equipment and building human capacity. The project will conduct 50 targeted adaptive trials on rice-establishment techniques and associated practices and options. A further 50 trials on improved agronomic practices in irrigated dry-season rice on-farm and on-research-station aim to raise productivity by 25%. The project intends to increase the capacity of its partners to lead demonstrations of rice-establishment techniques and agricultural equipment. The project’s Australian component will investigate current and predicted future problems with rice seedling establishment.

AusAID’s CAVAC program, through ACIAR management of its extension component, will assist with outreach about new rice system approaches (irrigation, direct seeding and mechanisation), while other CAVAC components will help in creating a better policy and market environment for dissemination of new agricultural machinery and herbicides.

SeTTIng » Cambodia

» Lowland rice systems, especially direct seeded

» Rainfed and irrigated

» In collaboration with AusAID’s CAVAC program

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Enhance productivity, especially through direct seeding » Improve direct-seeded

production using existing machinery and weed control

» Test other mechanisation options for direct-seeded rice and conservation tillage

» Find ways to improve irrigated rice productivity and profitability

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The Gift of Food S

ecurity

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SeTTIng » Cambodia

» Irrigated rice systems

» In collaboration with AusAID’s CAVAC program

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Increase water productivity and reduce yield variability » Analyse current

conditions and knowledge

» Test aspects of water management in field trials

» Use models and remote sensing to assess extent and impacts of interventions

» Extend through CAVAC and Cambodian partners

SeTTIng » Western Bangladesh

» Irrigated rice-based systems

» In collaboration with the Gates Foundation / USAID Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Intensify and diversify with other crops and livestock » Better understand

farming & marketing system

» Develop new technologies and marketing approaches

» Share & scale-out knowledge & technologies

» Supplement irrigation by smarter water use

4. Improved irrigation water management to increase rice productivity in Cambodia (Project LWR/2009/046)

This project aims to enhance the livelihoods of rice farmers in Cambodia through increasing water productivity and reducing yield variability. Rice crops in Cambodia often suffer from stress related to drought periods during the wet season and to poor irrigation management. Significant gains in rice production may be realised by developing greater understanding of crop water requirements, and how to plan, schedule and manage water and fertiliser at a field scale to maximise production. The core strategy of the project is to identify the key limitations to water management, and then seek to address them by using the available current best practices in Cambodia, or by innovating and importing knowledge and technologies from neighbouring countries.

The project will operate in close collaboration with the AusAID-funded CAVAC program, which is targeting irrigation water management as a key constraint in rice-based farming systems. The research will be undertaken in the three CAVAC priority provinces: Kampong Thom, Takeo and Kampot, especially in connection with the CAVAC canal rehabilitation areas. These provide a representative coverage of the varied irrigation and on-farm water management systems used in Cambodia.

The work will have three main phases. First, an analysis of conditions and knowledge will be conducted to determine current benchmarks and to plan field trials. This process will involve gathering existing data (water availability and supply constraints/options, cropping, farm practices, weather) and collecting new data (farmer surveys, topographic surveys, groundwater quality surveys, weather stations, public/private water supply options). Second, field trials will test aspects of water management, notably laser land levelling, water regimes (depth, duration), impacts of groundwater on soil/crop and water supply (village storages, channels, pumping). Finally, modelling and remote sensing will be used to assess possible spatial extent and impacts of various water management interventions on water use and productivity. Throughout these phases information will be synthesised and made available for extension through CAVAC and the project’s Cambodian partners.

5. Introduction of short-duration pulses into rice-based cropping systems in western Bangladesh (Project CIM/2009/038)

This project aims to improve food and nutritional security through integrating short-duration pulses (lentil, mungbean and field pea) into new cropping niches in western Bangladesh. Pulse production within rice-based cropping systems has declined dramatically in competition with more lucrative irrigated crops. This reduced production in plant protein has major dietary implications for the nation, and presents significant issues for both soil health and overall system productivity.

The research has been designed to complement the Bangladesh component of the Gates Foundation/USAID Cereal Systems Initiative in South Asia. It will identify, evaluate and promote the introduction of unirrigated, short-duration pulses into irrigated rice-based cropping systems. The work will focus on new super-short-duration cultivars, relay cropping (especially sowing pulses prior to the harvest of monsoonal ‘aman’ rice), and minimum tillage. About 21,000 households will be targeted in focus districts within Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna Divisions.

The project methods involve an initial stakeholder workshop followed by a baseline survey of target cropping niches. Super-early lentil and field pea lines will be selected on-station for disease resistance. An on-farm participatory-based selection process will follow, together with an agronomic assessment of relay sowing and minimum tillage. Capacity building of local researchers, extensionists and growers will cut across all activities.

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SeTTIng » Lao PDR, Cambodia and

Bangladesh

» Rice-based farming systems

» Scoping work for 6(b) and 6(c)

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Scope agricultural policies and programs affecting rice-based farming systems » Review national policies

and programs and impact evidence

» Identify program implications

» Prepare a 3-year policy proposal

SeTTIng » Lao PDR and Cambodia

» Rice-based farming systems

» Informed by scoping work in Project 6(a)

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Develop and demonstrate evidence-based policy options » Analyse strategies,

processes and settings

» Use case studies to demonstrate policy benefits

» Examine regional policy trends and cross-border implications

» Collaborate with agricultural policy agencies

SeTTIng » Bangladesh

» Rice-based farming systems Informed by scoping work in Project 6(a)

ReSeaRCh SnaPShOT

Examine agricultural policies and programs affecting rice-based farming systems » As per Project 6(a)

6. (a) agricultural policies affecting rice-based farming systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Lao PDR (Project aSeM/2009/039)

This completed scoping study undertook a review of key national government policies and programs affecting the development of rice-based farming systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos, and sought evidence of their current and likely future impacts.

The work is based on desktop studies by country experts, key informant interviews, a cross-country visit, and a final workshop. It identified implications for the delivery of other projects in the program’s portfolio; and put forward a project proposal for more detailed comparative policy research in the region.

This policy research will be extended in Laos and Cambodia over a 3-year period through Project 6(b). A separate research activity was deemed appropriate in the case of Bangladesh, which will be pursued through Project 6(c).

6. (b) Developing agricultural policies for rice-based farming systems in Lao PDR and Cambodia (Project aSeM/2009/023)

This project aims to improve agricultural policies for rice-based farming systems in Laos and Cambodia through developing alternative evidence-based policy options. It is informed by scoping work conducted in Project 6(a). The research focuses on institutional arrangements that affect farmers’ access to affordable, high-quality farm inputs (seed, fertiliser, technical advice, credit), land and water resources, and emerging regional value chains for crop and livestock commodities.

There are four main elements to the research. The project will conduct an analysis of current agricultural strategies, policy processes and policy settings in Laos and Cambodia in the context of regional social, economic and environmental trends. Selected case studies aligned with other portfolio projects will be used to demonstrate the benefits of evidence-based policy development. Third, the work will examine agricultural policy trends in other countries in the region, especially Thailand and Vietnam, and consider the implications of cross-border trade and investment for policies in Laos and Cambodia. Finally, the project will collaborate with agricultural policy agencies in Laos and Cambodia to identify improved policy options and strengthen policy development processes.

6. (c) Policy constraints in rice-based farming systems in Bangladesh (Project aSeM/2011/005)

This project is a small-scale research activity focused on policy constraints in rice-based systems in Bangladesh. It builds on preliminary scoping work conducted in project 6(a), and follows the same methodology. In reviewing key national government policies and programs affecting the development of rice-based farming systems, particular attention will be given to the period leading to and following the sixth Five Year Plan (2011–15). Evidence of current and likely future impacts of these policies and programs will be reviewed, including land, water and labour productivities. Like project 6(a), it will identify implications for the delivery of other projects in the program’s portfolio.

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SummaryAn overview of the portfolio of projects comprising the RSR program is presented in the following table according to project’s physical setting, program strategies, key research areas, methods and impact scales.

Farm-productivity projects Policy projects1 2 3 4 5 6(a) 6(b) 6(c)

Physical setting

L C C C B L, C, B L, C B

Irrigated

Rainfed

Lowlands

Uplands

Program strategies

Intensify crops – rice

– other

Boost yields – rice

– other

Improve livestock

Strengthen policy

Build capacity

Key research areas

Varietal improvement

Best-bet practices

Direct seeding

Technology/ mechanisation

Markets /marketing

Groundwater

Policy improvement

Capacity building

Methods

Literature review

Workshop

Survey/ interview

Case studies

Field trial/ demonstration

Station trial

Laboratory testing

Modelling

Spatial data / remote sensing

Impact scales

Household/ village

District/ provincial

National/ regional

L = Lao PDR; C = Cambodia; B = Bangladesh

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The Budget

$AUD14.8 million starting in 2009–10

Program budgetThe total program budget is $AUD14.8 million. Individual projects are contracted for a period of 4 years. Four projects commenced in the 2009–10 financial year, with the remainder contracted in the following year. Project 5 (Introduction of short-duration pulses into rice-based cropping systems in western Bangladesh) is the only project with a timeline extending into the 2014–15 financial year.

Courtesy AusAID

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Consultation

This program is underpinned by an extensive multi-country consultation process

Program developmentThe program framework and its portfolio of projects were developed through extensive stakeholder consultations and information gathering over a period of 12–18 months. A workshop of 40 Australian researchers and industry agronomists from 14 organisations was held in Canberra on 16–17 July 2009 to discuss related work and research areas. The workshop followed a visit by ACIAR’s Deputy CEO and two Regional Program Managers (RPMs) to NSW’s Yanco and Wagga Wagga agricultural research institute in June to identify key Australian research and explore opportunities for collaboration.

The Deputy CEO and Dr Gamini Keerthisinghe (RPM for Soil Management and Crop Nutrition) convened a 1-day workshop on 5 August 2009 with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at its headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, to discuss the potential for and scope of their involvement.

In Laos, an agreed strategy was endorsed on 27 August 2009 at a high-level country consultation involving the Vice-Minister for Agriculture, the Australian Ambassador, ACIAR staff and a small group of senior Lao officials. The endorsement followed a field visit to southern Laos by a team of RPMs and scientists from Australia and IRRI from 22–26 August to inform program design. A workshop in Vientiane on 28–29 August subsequently mapped out the specific research to be supported by ACIAR in Laos. It involved 50 delegates from Australian and Lao government and research organisations, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres, Mekong River Commission (MRC), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Asia Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank. It was agreed that the program would collaborate closely in providing research support to a major new US$40 million ADB/IFAD-funded development program in southern Laos commencing in 2009.

For Cambodia, ACIAR’s Phnom Penh-based managers developed the first-cut specifications for two projects in close dialogue with Cambodian counterparts. These specifications were refined following consultations with Canberra-based ACIAR staff and potential IRRI and Australian collaborators throughout July–August 2009, and two design missions by Australian and IRRI scientists to Cambodia in September–October.

An initial RPM visit for the water resources component in Laos and Cambodia took place in August 2009, and a design mission for the Bangladesh component took place in early October.

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The Team

Lead organisations are three Australian universities, CSIRO, NSW DPI, and IRRI

Research organisationsThis section provides a summary table showing the relationship between key research organisations contributing to the program.

Research organisations AcronymProject No.

1 2 3 4 5 6(a) 6(b) 6(c)Lead organisations ( )

Charles Sturt University, NSW CSU

International Rice Research Institute IRRI

NSW Department of Primary Industries NSW DPI

CSIRO Land & Water CSIRO

University of Western Australia UWA

University of Queensland UQ

Lao partners

National Agricultural and Forest Research Institute

NAFRI

National University of Laos NUOL

Cambodian partners

Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute

CARDI

Department of Rice Crop in General Directorate of Agriculture

GDA

Royal University of Agriculture RUA

Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Technical Service Centre, a directorate of Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM)

MOWRAM

Cambodian Development Resource Institute CDRI

Bangladesh partners

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute BARI

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute BRRI

Other Australian partners

Rice Research Australia Pty Ltd RRAPL

Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies at University of South Australia

ISST

Victorian Department of Primary Industries Vic DPI

Agricultural Development International ADI

Other international partners

Nepal Agriculture and Environmental Forum NAEF

International Development Enterprises IDE

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (a CGIAR body)

ICARDA

Further informationAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

38 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park Bruce ACT Australia GPO Box 1571 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia

P: +61 2 6217 0500 F: +61 2 6217 0501 E: aciar@aciar.gov.au

aciar.gov.au

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acronyms and abbreviationsaCIaR Australian Centre for International

Agricultural Research

aDB Asian Development Bank

ausaID Australian Agency for International Development

CaRDI Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute

CaVaC Cambodia Agriculture Value Chain

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

CLeaR Cambodia Land and Environment Atlas and Resource

ghI Global Hunger Index

IFaD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

IRRI International Rice Research Institute (The Philippines)

Lao PDR Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic

nSW DPI New South Wales Department of Primary Industries

R&D research and development

RPM Research Program Manager

USDa United States Department of Agriculture

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