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INDICATIVE PRIORITIES FOR ACIAR PROJECTS

THAILAND

Priorities for collaborative agricultural research between Australia and Thailand were discussed on 8 November 2000 at a consultation between ACIAR and representatives of relevant Thai Government Ministries, departments, universities and research organisations.

These priorities are not to be considered as officially sanctioned priorities of the Royal Government of Thailand. They are priorities expressed by participants at a consultation at a particular point in time. ACIAR will use them as a framework when assessing proposals for collaborative projects to be supported by ACIAR, subject to further advice and information from Thailand.

Researchers intending to seek ACIAR support for collaborative research projects with Thai counterparts should, in the first instance, approach one of ACIAR’s Research Program Managers.

At the consultation, consensus was achieved on several over-arching issues. These included the potential benefits from technical and policy research to underpin trade of agricultural products, and the importance of policy research and market chain incentives in underpinning agricultural developments. Opportunities for application of advanced biotechnologies and information technologies for agriculture were also emphasised. However, the importance of research focussed on maintenance of natural resources, to ensure that agricultural production was sustainable was recognised. Opportunities to promote the application of technology, using both conventional extension methodologies and new approached based on information technologies and agricultural modelling were noted, especially for the benefit of farmers in upland Northern Thailand and North-East Thailand. It was agreed that the pathway for transferring project outputs to end-users should be included in the design and execution of projects have been adopted thus far. The ability of Thailand to take a lead role in regional cooperation in certain projects involving countries such as Laos and Cambodia was recognised.

Priority areas for future cooperation include:

Application of biotechnology

·  Technologies to aid in crop, forestry, animal and fish breeding

·  Diagnostic tests for plant pests and plant, animal and fish diseases, and vaccines for the treatment of livestock diseases

·  Development of transgenic crop plants and virus and adiotic stress resistant, improved storage characteristics and quality

·  Risk assessment, bio-safety and environmental effects of transgenic crops

·  Conservation of genetic resources using biotechnology tools, including molecular profiling and cultural collections

·  Development of bioinformatic tools, including system development, management and capacity building

Product quality and quality control

Technological quality assurance approaches, including:

·  Non–invasive testing methods for quarantine pests

·  Non–chemical disinfestation technology

·  Quality assurance systems for contaminant management and plant and livestock quarantine for compliance with international standards

·  Sustainable management systems, including silviculture, harvesting and preservation to produce quality timber products

Policy and market research:

·  Sanitary and phytosanitary standards relating to trade

·  Economic modelling of agricultural product marketing chains

·  Supply chain management, especially for smallholder produce

Natural resources management

·  Sustainable agriculture production in acid and saline soil areas of North East Thailand

·  Minimal tillage systems for soil and water conservation in rice-based and upland systems

·  Management of coastal zones that have been degraded by agriculture

·  Sustainable management of waste and nutrients in peri-urban agricultural production systems

·  Management of aquatic algal blooms arising from agricultural production

·  Policies for improved management of natural resources, particularly of catchments and other water resources

·  Technical and policy interventions relating to reducing the net impact of agriculture on global warming

Information dissemination and technology transfer

·  Options for innovation in R&D information transfer, including participatory R&D, decision-support systems and Internet and CD-ROM based technology

·  Integration of available information for rained cropping systems in North East Thailand

·  Prevention of soil erosion through farmer-participatory watershed management approaches