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Extension Systems

Social aspects of land use

Agricultural systems research often requires understanding of associated social and institutional systems. This knowledge is required for either, developing new technology and facilitating its adoption, or for recommending policy for industry management. Most research projects in this discipline group are concerned at some level with social processes – e.g. farm-participation –but some research projects specifically under this category are:

• Impact evaluation of agricultural research in West Papua
• Social and institutional dimensions of managing kangaroos
• Aboriginal small business enterprise

Researchers: Dr Ian Nuberg

Postgraduate researchers: Mr Sukendra Mahalaya, Ms Dana Thomsen, Ms Louise Moylan

Collaborators: Dr Colin Cargill (SARDI), Dr Jocelyn Davies (CSIRO-Sustainable Ecosystems); Prof Randy Stringer (UA), Dr Jim Taylor (UA)

Farmer Participatory Research

Farmer participatory research can have a major impact on the rate of adoption of complex agricultural technologies. This approach was used successfully in northern India on a project tacking management of herbicide resistant Phalaris minor. Zero-till wheat production was one of the technologies that emerged from that ACIAR funded project led by A/Prof Gurjeet Gill. This technology adoption grew from less than 4 ha in 1998 to more than 1 million ha in 2005 – a staggering rate of adoption! In a follow-up 5 year project, the same team led by A/Prof Gill is focussing on developing direct seeded rice production systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Researchers: A/Prof Gurjeet Gill, Sam Kleemann

Collaborators: Prof RK Malik (CCS Haryana Agricultural Univeristy, Hisar, India), Dr US Walia (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India) and Dr Ravi G Singh (CIMMYT, India).

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