Crawford Fund speakers show benefits to Aust in international aid

That was the message at a recent event by the Crawford Fund in Adelaide, which shared that of the countries receiving financial benefit as a result of Australia's aid - we ranked sixth, with $3.7 billion returned.

This figure exceeds the money spent.

The Crawford Fund is a not-for-profit charity that works to grow Australia's engagement in agricultural research and development overseas.

Among its partners is the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, a specialist research for development agency in the federal government.

ACIAR chief executive officer Andrew Campbell said Australia had a lot to share with the world, in part because of local hardships.

"If the world was your farm, Australia is probably not your best paddock," he said.

"Because of that, we've had to innovate."

He said old soils, climatic variability and river flow variation were just some of the challenges Australian farmers faced, while farming in a political environment without heavy subsidies - all of which made Australian knowledge beneficial to a wide range of environments.

Crawford Fund CEO Colin Chartres said there was a need for Australia to share its knowledge.

"As a prosperous country, Australia has a responsibility to contribute to global efforts to reduce poverty, alleviate suffering and promote sustainable development," he said.

"Australia is punching above its weight."

This was a particularly important time.

Dr Chartes said 828 million people internationally went to bed hungry each night, with 2.3 billion were moderately or severely food insecure during 2021.

The situation had gotten worse since then.

"The world is in yet another food security crisis," Prof Campbell said.

He said this one seemed more serious than some others - a similar crisis in 2007-08 came as many developing countries had a more solid base economically.

This time, it comes off the back of a pandemic, which had already put pressure on the support capability of many nations.

"Countries are cash-strapped and their ability to respond to food shortages is minimal," he said.

"We're seeing a significant uptick in forcibly displaced people."

Because of this, he said food security - or more specifically insecurity - had potential impacts for national security.

"It's not good enough to go from 1 tonne a hectre to 3t/ha," he said.

"We now have to do with less resources.

"We have to produce healthier wheat, not just more wheat."

But helping in international aid had some reciprocal advantages for Australia as well.

Prof Campbell said the time spent having Australian researchers help in upskilling local researchers had widespread benefits, including in helping protect Australia's biosecurity.

He said there was a case of bananas found in Qld with fungal disease Fusarium TR4, which could have been potentially devastating.

Instead, a scientist that had worked in the Philippines recognised it, and it was able to be dealt with quickly before any potential spread.

"There are more direct benefits to Australia than the total amount of money the government put into ACIAR through the years," Prof Campbell said.

Dr Chartes said it also brought enhanced reputational benefits, which assisted diplomacy efforts, while helping to develop economies also created more markets for Australia to sell to.

He agreed there were biosecurity benefits.

"If we're fighting it on-shore, it's too late," he said.

"We won't always win but it can buy us time."

But overall, he said there was a need to see Australia's place in the world.

"The global agrifood system is increasingly complex and is interconnected," he said.

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Prof Campbell said there were still some challenges to overcome, including duplication of work across different fields of study as well as inadequate research and development funding.

"Food production is 30 per cent of the global GSP but receives only 5pc of global R&D, with a lot being done by big companies," he said.

Prof Campbell said there was also some issues in not enough people coming through the research paths, while less than 25pc of their projects were led by women.

"Too many areas we work in, the leading researchers in Australia are past retirement age," he said.

He said there needed to be a focus on building capacity in Australia.

University of Adelaide School of Agriculture, Food and Wine associate professor Matthew Denton said steps needed to be put in place to encourage more people to consider international research at an undergraduate level, as well as PhD and beyond.