Regional Engagement in the Northern Rivers: A Rapid Diagnostic Study
January 31st, 2025
Over the last few months we have had the privilege of visiting several farms in Bundjalung Nation – the Northern Rivers Region – to speak directly with growers, advisors, industry development officers, regenerative agriculture specialists and other stakeholders about how they manage pests and pathogens in the landscape. This “Rapid Diagnosis Study” was designed to help us understand how the stakeholders, networks and institutions in the region deal with existing pest and pathogen management issues by having in-depth conversations with a variety of stakeholders within and across horticultural industries at multiple levels. This study was led by the Innovation Systems team of the Pest READI project, and they employed the innovation systems rapid appraisal approach to understand horticultural Innovation Systems in the region as part of Pest READI’s co-design process.
Before starting this study, we obtained approval from both the CSIRO Social and Interdisciplinary Science Human Research Ethics Committee (CSSHREC) and the CSIRO Privacy Team. To ensure participant privacy, maintain trust with stakeholders, and meet ethical standards, all study data has been de-identified. Any quotes or images identifying participants and shared here or in other publications are used with the express permission of those individuals.
What did we want to achieve?
We co-developed a list of interview questions with the whole Pest READI project team, representing multidisciplinary expertise in entomology, digital technologies, social sciences, biophysical sciences, and Indigenous knowledge systems using a holistic, systems approach. This collaborative effort aimed to deepen the team’s understanding of current systems from different angles and guide the co-design of digital solutions for area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) tailored to the region’s specific context. Our aims were to:
Understand stakeholders’ perceptions of trends and major problems they are facing and their existing pest and pathogen management strategies,
Identify sources of information and support, including digital sources, which are currently available to stakeholders
Highlight stakeholders’ needs or the information gaps which impact decision-making
How did we do this?
From July to September, we held 28 interviews that included 36 participants (where some interviews involved more than 1 participant). This comprised 19 growers and 13 advisors from a range of industries (macadamia, berries, avocados, banana, coffee, custard apple) and 4 other stakeholders whose roles and expertise covered multiple industries. Recently, two additional interviews were also conducted with representatives from biological and chemical companies operating in the region. Interviews took about 45 minutes each and were held on participants’ farms, in their homes, offices, or at local cafés, and some were held online.
“Pest and pathogen problems are like bureaucracy – things are added, and nothing gets taken away…”
– Interview participant
What did we find?
Interview transcripts were analysed to elicit results around our aims mentioned above. The results have already helped us identify gaps and challenges that growers are facing at farm and beyond farm-level, and many opportunities for government, industry, and the Pest READI project to enhance the uptake of AW-IPM.
A graphical summary of the more general findings of the rapid diagnostic study
What’s next?
We’ve only just begun the analysis process and so will be using those results to re-engage with interview participants to reflect on the findings and inform the direction of Pest READI moving forward as part of the co-design process.
We want to express our thanks to all participants who graciously gave up their time to share their concerns, knowledge, and stories with us.
