ACIAR-Indonesia Fisheries consultation February 2007 John Skerritt Deputy Director

1. ACIAR-Indonesia Fisheries consultation February 2007 John Skerritt Deputy Director

2. ACIAR • ACIAR’s Mission: “To achieve more productive and sustainable agricultural systems, for the benefit of Developing Countries and Australia, through international agricultural research partnerships” • ACIAR does not carry out R & D itself • Total projects value in Indonesia –$9.6m in 2006/07, $11.8m in 2007/08 • ACIAR bilateral and IARC projects • Australia-Indonesia Partnership funding of $3.5-5.4 m (Aceh and SADI-SMAR) • Plus short-course and scholarship training

3. Three consultation meetings aim to:(agriculture/livestock, fisheries, forestry) • determine a framework for collaborative research for development activities over the next four year period • drive ACIAR’s contribution to the new country development strategy that guides all Australian development assistance activities • finalise ACIAR Annual Operational Plan for 2007-08

4. Overall Australia-Indonesia development cooperation strategy • The April 2006 White Paper ‘Australian Aid: promoting growth and stability’ placed emphasis on: • economic growth as being central to poverty reduction • strengthening support for private sector-led rural and business development • development of lagging regions such as Eastern Indonesia • Other emphases: fostering functioning and effective states, investing in people and promoting regional stability and cooperation • Single “Whole of Government” strategy being produced for cooperation with Indonesia by mid-2007 • investment in agriculture and rural development will form only a few percent of the $ 400m per year program

5. The way we work… • Funding collaborative R&D – between Indonesia and Australian R&D organisations • Contracts developed/managed by discipline specialists covering: crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry, agricultural economics, policy and systems • Projects of 1-5 years duration across six research themes • Outputs include: new agricultural technologies, stronger institutional and researcher capacity, identification of policy options

6. Program focus • Move from a set of individual projects to support a small number of larger, integrated themes or subprograms • This means that we cannot operate across all areas of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and natural resource management in Indonesia • The identification of the themes for the ACIAR-Indonesia program is based on: • Indonesia’s agricultural priorities • issues amenable to a practical solution through research • presence of systems for adoption of the research results • priority to Australia and availability of Australian expertise • availability of ACIAR staff and budget resources

7. Program issues for discussion • Sub-sectoral balance (e.g. between aquaculture, capture fisheries, resource management, quarantine, product processing) • Alignment of Australian and Indonesian interests • Opportunities for greater involvement of communities and the private sector in the program • Complementarities with major Indonesian Government programs and donor initiatives • How to improve the adoption of research results by end-users (e.g. farmers, industry, policymakers) • Priorities for capacity building

8. Priority setting: top-down and bottom-up Problems amenable to research Problems that R&D may help to solve Shared expertise and interest Indonesian expertise and interest Australian expertise and interest

9. Geographical focusalignment with the overall Australian aid program • Program includes Nusa Tenggara Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat, South, Southeast and North Sulawesi • Australian experience in working in similar environments • Collaboration with R&D organisations and policymakers in Java and Western Sumatra important in policy research, biosecurity collaboration and aquaculture • Difficult for ACIAR to expand the geographic scope of the program without a major contraction elsewhere • In response to the 2004 tsunami, ACIAR commenced some medium-term projects in Aceh

10. Australia is a major partner in projectsAustralian benefits of involvement • Direct benefits to Australian aquaculture productivity • Market information – openly obtained • Development of personal networks that are important in trade and fisheriesresource co-management • Staff development - igniting leadership skills, thinking more broadly across disciplines • Understanding policy environment in the region

11. Developing agribusiness: a common objective • It is proposed that the ACIAR program will maintain a focus on high-value commodities • for which there is strong export or domestic market demand • that are identified as priorities by the GOI • for which major constraints require addressing through research • In addition to supporting research on productivity enhancement, ACIAR projects will also address related pest, disease, postharvest and market development issues.

12.  Current strategy ACIAR’s Indonesian Program has a strong emphasis on R&D to improve farmer and fisherfolk livelihoods • to improve production systems and add value to Indonesian agricultural (livestock, fisheries, forestry and horticultural) products • develop market linkages through greater emphasis on farming as agribusinesses

13. Indonesia – six program themesand current priorities 1. Policy options for Indonesian agribusiness 2. Pest and diseasemanagement 3. Productivesmallholderaquaculture • Sustainable shrimp and finfish farming systems (genetic improvement, disease management, feeds and nutrition) • Improved processing, packaging and transport technologies which extend product life and increase market value

14. 4. Sustainable utilisation and management of fisheries and forestry resources • Stock assessment and management of shared and common–interest fisheries in Arafura and Timor Seas • Development of co-management approaches for aquaculture and wild fisheries in inland open waters 5. Profitable agribusiness systems for Eastern Indonesia 6. Technical cooperation to underpin post-Tsunami rehabilitation of agriculture and fisheries • Redevelopment of human capacity and infrastructure for brackishwater aquaculture of shrimp and finfish • Needs assessment and resource status of fisheries

15. Smallholder agribusiness development initiative Four provinces (NTB, NTT, S and SE Sulawesi) An integrated 10 year program: • Enhanced smallholder production and marketing (implemented by the KDP Secretariat/ World Bank) • Strengthened private sector agribusiness and Small - Medium Enterprise development (implemented by International Finance Corporation) • Support for market-driven adaptive research (implemented by ACIAR)

16. Smallholder Agribusiness Development Initiative Subprogram 3Support for Market-driven Adaptive Research • Adaptive Research and Development • market chain and institutional assessments and project funding • initial projects identified in workshops (Nov 06-Jan 07) • Improved Knowledge Transfer (extension) Processes • assess current research-extension linkages and methods • develop improved linkages and extension methods • utilisation in “pilot extension” trials • Institutional Development • assist with R&D policies and procedures • improved human resources and physical resources

17. Capacity development prioritiesalso for review and discussion at this meeting • Investment in institutional developmentin Eastern Indonesia • Training for researchers/managers involved in ACIAR projects • Up to 35 places for postgraduate training in Australia are available for Indonesians at any one time • Consultations during 2006 included requests for the following short courses to be provided by ACIAR: • Research Management training • Commercialisation of research results • Integrating social and economic methods for biophysical agricultural researchers • Fostering agricultural research-extension linkages • Information and Communication Technology • Scientific Writing

18. Increasing project impact Some lessons learnt by ACIAR • Collaboration strongest if the topic is a high priority of both Indonesian and Australian partners • Engage the ‘right’ technicalpeople • Consider fewer and larger projects • Involvement of extension organisations and identification of dissemination pathways should be included from project start • Involvement of the private sector and NGOs has been successful in other countries • Technology-focussed research projects often also need to address cross-cutting issues, including: • lack of integration between production and marketing • poor access and use of technical and market information • policy and regulatory constraints