Capacity building exchange program

Two capacity building exchange visits were undertaken to develop and strengthen skills and collaborations to help research organisations and agricultural communities in similar contexts thrive in a changing world.

Indo-Pacific capacity building exchange visits

Bangladesh and India

An Australian delegation visited Bangladesh and India, from 10-23 February 2023 to better understand how climate-smart agricultural systems that can be profitable and resilient in Bangladesh and India could work for the Pacific Islands and Territories.

The delegation included representatives from CSIRO, including Dr Diogenes Antille (CSIRO Project leader for Pacific Resilient Farming Systems project), Murdoch University, and Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Soil Scientist Mr Ami Sharma (Fiji Ministry of Agriculture) also joined the delegation.

The delegation visited various project demonstration sites in both countries and interacted with farmers, researchers, and community members to showcase agricultural research and build connections with local communities.

The field trips were followed by visits to the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), and Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), as well as the offices of diplomatic representatives, to discuss the project’s progress towards developing improved agronomic knowledge in the region to increase the profitability for smallholder farmers while bolstering food security for the broader population.

The trip coincided with an official visit of the ACIAR Commission to Bangladesh, and the whole group, along with BRRI and BARI scientists, NGO Shushilan staff, local leaders, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Officers, travelled together in the Barishal and Khulna regions to assess the ongoing impacts of the project in terms of the scale of adoption of diverse cropping options and the flow-on benefits for the farming communities.

Fiji and Samoa

From 12-19 August 2023, five scientists from partner organisations participated in a study tour to Pacific project locations in Fiji to study climate-resilient agricultural systems. The visit provided an opportunity to develop collaboration with Pacific organisations, government agencies and academic institutions. The delegation included representatives from Australia (CSIRO), India (RKMVERI), Bangladesh (BRRI, BARI), and Samoa (Samoan farmers Association (SFA)).

The delegation visited research stations of the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture at Sigatoka, Legalega, Koronivia, and Dobuilevu, and the Sugar Research Institute of Fiji at Lautoka to understand their research activities and priorities focussing on food security, soil management, and export orientation in the face of impending climate challenges in Pacific Island countries.

The delegation also met with scientists, academics, and research students from the Fiji National University at the Koronivia Campus, and the ACIAR Regional Manager for the Pacific at the Australian High Commission in Suva to share project experiences and explore future collaboration opportunities.

Following the study tour to Fiji, Dr Mohammed Mainuddin (CSIRO Project leader for Bangladesh Climate-Smart Agricultural Production project) travelled to Samoa with Dr Diogenes Antille to explore new research collaborative opportunities and visit the experimental sites of the Pacific-based project.

Background

The SciTech4Climate Indo-Pacific Climate-Smart Agriculture Initiative funded two CSIRO-led sister projects: the Pacific Resilient Farming systems project and the Bangladesh Climate-Smart Agricultural Production project. These projects aim to leverage and scale up selected climate-smart technology and farming practices previously identified by an ACIAR-funded project (Project ID: CSI4CZ-II 2015-2025), which aims to sustainably increase cropping intensity and productivity in the salt-affected coastal zones of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.

This group of projects seeks to advance a large body of CSIRO research, combined with science, technology and farming system innovations developed with partners in India, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Samoa to leverage the considerable previous investment and outcomes from their work for greater impact in the Indo-Pacific region.

Collectively, these projects aim to make a significant contribution towards unlocking context-specific, climate-smart agricultural systems that can be profitable and resilient in the high-risk settings of the Indo-Pacific region and can also be adapted for use in other regions of the world.