AUSTIN, Dr Nicholas (Nick), Acting Chief Executive Officer, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research BETT, Dr Bosibori, Director, Multilateral and Strategic Partnerships, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research SANDERSON, Dr Todd, Research Program Manager, Social Systems, Policy and Economics, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research VIAL, Dr Leigh, Research Program Manager, Crops, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research [09:44] CHAIR: Welcome. This hearing is a legal proceeding of the parliament. The giving of false or misleading evidence is a serious matter and may be regarded as a contempt of parliament. The evidence given today will be recorded by Hansard and attracts parliamentary privilege. I now invite you to make a brief opening statement before we proceed to discussion. Dr Austin : Thank you, Chair. We appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee. I represent ACIAR, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, which is the Australian government's specialist research-for-development agency within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio. We partner with research institutions across the Indo-Pacific and Africa to reduce poverty and improve food security through agricultural innovation and science capacity building. For over four decades, ACIAR has worked in Africa, across 12 countries, mainly in eastern and southern Africa, supporting investments and improvements in crops, livestock, forestry, water, plant biosecurity, fisheries and more. Our longstanding collaborations align with the continental priorities that are articulated in Africa's Agenda 2063, which identifies modern, productive and climate-resilient agriculture as central to achieving a prosperous and sustainable Africa. Our efforts also support the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, or CAADP, which is the primary framework in Africa for agricultural transformation and which seeks to eliminate poverty, reduce hunger and lift agricultural growth through increased investment. CAADP emphasises research, technology dissemination and sustainable land and water management—areas in which ACIAR has longstanding and comparative strengths. A key recent development for ACIAR is AAPCRA, the Africa-Australia Partnership for Climate Responsive Agriculture. It's a six-year, $76.4 million initiative, co-funded with DFAT. It expands ACIAR's work into northern and western Africa, including Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria. It aims to strengthen climate resilience, to improve food and nutrition security and to build local scientific capacity. Again, these objectives strongly align with the CAADP 2026 to 2035 strategy, which emphasises resilient agrifood systems, agro-industrialisation and increased intra-African agricultural trade. ACIAR's work also contributes directly to strengthening the enabling environment for trade and investment. Biosecurity systems are critical for market access and reducing technical trade barriers. They're important components of ACIAR's portfolio in Africa. Through partnerships such as the Australia-Africa Plant Biosecurity Partnership and new collaborations with CABI, we support surveillance, diagnostic competencies and regulatory capabilities across multiple African countries, helping them better participate in regional and global agricultural value chains. So our partnerships generate long-term diplomatic and economic benefits. ACIAR alumni now contribute to policymaking and leadership roles across the continent, strengthening Australia's influence and easing collaboration on complex agricultural trade matters. The science based, relationship driven model reflects CAADP's principles of African led transformation, supported through evidence based partnerships. As Africa undergoes rapid population growth, urbanisation and rising food demand, the need for innovation, resilience and productivity is urgent. Through AAPCRA and our wider Africa program, ACIAR is helping build the scientific and institutional capacities and the foundations to underpin stronger agricultural systems and, ultimately, more robust trade and investment relationships between Australia and Africa. Thank you. We look forward to your questions. CHAIR: I'll just start with a general question. How would you view Australia's existing trade and investment relations with African nations in relation to agricultural support? Dr Austin : As I outlined, our focus is principally on the technical cooperation that then underpins that, so I don't think we're best placed to give a perspective on the broader trade relations. But, certainly, the work that we've been supporting over many years, particularly around plant biosecurity, is, as I said in my opening remarks, an important underpinning for more effective trade between African countries and between the African continent and Australia. But this is a long-term engagement, and I think we recognise the value of consistent and predictable partnerships. The fact that ACIAR now for more than four decades has been able to support collaborations in this space, I think, increases the prospects for Australia's trade engagement. CHAIR: You provide this support to a number of different countries. How would you view that in Africa compared to other nations? Dr Austin : Our model is somewhat unique in that it pairs research capability principally from Australia with counterparts in Africa. That's with the NARS, the national agricultural research systems. As I touched on, we are primarily in East and Southern Africa, but the new AAPCRA work increases our footprint in targeted countries in North and West Africa. So it's the institutional relationships that are an important part of the ACIAR operating model, but it's also the people-to-people links—the researchers that work and share experiences. There's a very clear mutual benefit from ACIAR's model, of increased understanding in both countries of opportunities and challenges. From ACIAR's perspective, that is the ability to support technical work into pests and disease, for example, that don't exist in Australia. As agriculture is increasingly globalised, we see these pests and diseases moving around the world. There are numerous examples where ACIAR's work has enabled Australian researchers to become familiar with exotic diseases or pests and develop skills that have served this country well when those have arrived, unfortunately, on our borders, as they do from time to time. CHAIR: Thank you. Deputy Chair, do you have a question? Senator COLBECK: Yes. I just want to go back to the partnership for climate-responsive agriculture. You said it was Egypt, Morocco, Ghana—who are the countries that are involved in that? Dr Austin : And Nigeria. Senator COLBECK: Nigeria. Dr Austin : Those are the four countries. It builds on our existing footprint in Africa— Senator COLBECK: So it's an expansion of the footprint through that program? Dr Austin : It's an expansion of the footprint—correct. Senator COLBECK: What's the mechanism for selection of that process? Dr Austin : This is a joint program with DFAT, essentially doubling the funding that we have committed currently in Africa. The $76 million reflects a doubling of the existing work. As with our broader programming, ACIAR takes broad guidance from the Australian aid program. But there are important reasons that ACIAR's emphasis on countries does differ, and that is based in part on the importance of agriculture in the economy and the opportunities that agriculture presents for inclusive development, with the recognition that agriculture is more effective than other interventions for broad-based growth—that is, lifting the poorest people out of poverty. The countries that we're working on have that important opportunity. The other element is that Africa looks to Australia for relevant expertise. We share similar challenges in terms of agriculturally weathered continents—low soil fertility, low soil carbon and erratic climate. Australia's agriculture, as you know well, ranges from tropical and subtropical right through to arid, and that overlays the production systems in African countries as well. The focus for this broader work is through a dialogue with DFAT and then with partners in Africa. Senator COLBECK: You talked about the institutional relationship. As part of its work, this committee has already explored quite a bit around the opportunities in education and for trade. What are the key institutions you're working with from here, and what are the partnerships developing over there? I've had the opportunity to see some of the work that you've done directly with forestry in Indonesia, for example, which is really important work. I have a sense of the role that you play, but what are the key institutions that are working from here, and what are the partnerships in Africa? Dr Austin : I could look to colleagues for some examples, but, broadly, we partner with any entity that brings the relevant capacity, whether they're public, private or a not-for-profit. Our key partners include universities from Australia, and we work with most—not all, but most—Australian universities in different ways in ACIAR's program. We work with state government agencies and with companies. For example, in our work in eastern and Southern Africa, the University of Queensland and the Queensland department arrangement called QAAFI, the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, are an important partner in sorghum work. My colleague Dr Leigh Vial may like to give some examples about our cropping work. We work with a very large number of different providers of capability, both in technical cooperation and through our fellowship program, where we have what we call John Allwright fellows, who are people from partner countries who study masters and PhDs at Australian universities; our John Dillon fellowships involve technical skill development, working with entities here in Australia; and our Merrill Williams fellowships, which is a more recent fellowship, targets women, specifically, in agricultural innovation systems. Senator COLBECK: You mentioned cropping and livestock, and we've had a chat about forestry. How much of that developmental work that you do around the various types of agriculture goes to Indigenous plant and food systems—utilising what's there and developing the capacity in that? I've had exposure to an organisation by the name of Food Plant Solutions, which you may have come across around the traps. They do a lot of work identifying local food plants, some of which have, through the pushing of Western products into local diets, slipped out of the system. If used properly, they provide a really valuable source of nutrients into local diets. They're local, so they grow well locally. How much work is done in that space? Dr Austin : I do know of Food Plant Solutions and their important work in increasing that diversity. There is a real effort to broaden the scope of breeding programs for the points you touch on. These Indigenous crops and varieties are, de facto, better adapted. There have been many attempts to bring exotic genetics into countries. They haven't worked, because they didn't take into account those realities. Thankfully, over decades, development programs have recognised that and evolved. I arrived back last night from Cambodia. One of the projects we were looking at was a chicken genetic gain improvement project, which involved local breeds and looking to improve their meat production and egg laying—their productivity—rather than bringing in exotic genetics. The role that Food Plant Solutions plays is an important one. I think, more broadly, the role that the CGIAR plays—what was formerly called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, of which Australia has been a longstanding supporter—is important. One of their most important assets is their gene banks. They have curated diverse genetic material across forestry, livestock and cropping. That's an important source of material for breeding. Particularly as we look forward to an environment in which agriculture is going to be challenged with different climatic extremes and new pests and diseases, those gene banks are reserves of tremendous genetic diversity which enable breeding in response to those emerging challenges. The trajectory is good; there's more to be done on capitalising on nature's gifts. Senator COLBECK: As a part of the work that you do, which is, in a lot of cases, developing that local capacity to, as you say, eliminate poverty and develop growth, and that longer term view that's taken as part of the strategies that you've talked about, are there potential trade opportunities within any of those pieces of work? Dr Austin : My colleague Dr Todd Sanderson may be able to give some examples from ACIAR's experience in other countries, where the trade opportunities have emerged. As I touched on in my opening remarks, the role that ACIAR plays in addressing some of the non-tariff barriers to trade—some of the sanitary and phytosanitary considerations and working with partners to develop capacity in biosecurity—all helps in enabling trade function. We don't have a specific role in trade, but we have worked with governments around, for example, their trade policies, research into experiences in relevant countries and sharing those experiences. Dr Sanderson : I'll add to that really briefly. By the nature of ACIAR's model and approach, we do open up opportunities, particularly for things like trading reproductive material from demonstrated livestock systems in Australia. I'm thinking about cattle, and we have worked on cattle sector development projects in South-East Asia, for example. There are a number of good examples where demonstrated genetics from the Australian herd have been exported through commercial arrangements. I'm particularly thinking about examples of agricultural technologies such as cropping system technologies, which have been demonstrated in the Australian context and, given the similarities of the agroecological systems in Africa, do readily transfer. I'd imagine there would be some very good opportunities for Australian businesses in the agriculture sector to engage on that. Senator COLBECK: I want to get back to biosecurity, and that will do me. In the development of biosecurity systems, we have, unapologetically, a very stringent biosecurity system in Australia. Where is the biosecurity system in its development in African nations? More and more countries are moving towards a phytosanitary system that sits alongside their trade. Where is that at at the moment, and how is your work facilitating the development of that? Making sure that there's a good understanding of biosecurity systems and how to manage and comply is a really important part of the facilitation of trade. Dr Austin : I think there's a risk of us forgetting that Africa is a very large continent composed of very diverse countries. Even within those countries, there is tremendous diversity. So it's hard to give a simple answer to the level of development. Senator COLBECK: That sits behind my question too, though, because there would be biosecurity issues within the continent. Therefore having a good system of biosecurity management and understanding would facilitate that trade as well. Dr Austin: Absolutely, and that's where the African Continental Free Trade Area plays an important role. Through the AAPCRA program, we have been supporting AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area. Senator COLBECK: 'Continental FTA' is easier! Dr Austin : A lot of that is along the same lines as ACIAR's work in things like masterclasses. It builds on the plant biosecurity collaboration that we had established, which was very successful and ran for about five years. It concluded a few years ago. As you rightly point out, Australia has a depth of expertise in biosecurity, and that work intentionally drew on that expertise. Under the AfCFTA Agri-Trade Action Plan, we've been developing and supporting the delivery—that's work in progress—of masterclass sessions with a bias towards agrivalue chains and the priorities identified within that free trade area. We're also supporting knowledge exchange and professional learning as part of that targeted investment. There's a focus on youth and enhancing skills in those value chains, recognising that Africa is a very young continent and that the work that's currently being built out is supporting post-harvest dialogues and interventions as well. CHAIR: Ms Clutterham. Ms CLUTTERHAM: I just have a couple of questions. How much of a barrier to trade and investment from Australian agricultural businesses is a lack of climate resilience? I know that's Africa's a big continent. If we just pick eastern Africa, we can look at what's happened in Ethiopia overnight with the flooding and landslides. People have lost their lives. Crops have been destroyed. That country experiences heavy rainfall every year, so there does seem to be a degree of lack of climate resilience in that respect. In your general sense, how much of a barrier is it to trade and investment? Dr Austin : It's certainly a barrier. In some ways, it's also where Australia has excelled in its ability to farm in challenging environments. We see, particularly in the north of Africa, a history of Australian commercial farming opportunities—engagement in a development context but for commercial motivations. There is really relevant expertise in Australia. Whether climate resilience is more of a barrier than underdeveloped infrastructure or other challenges in Africa could be debated, but it's certainly an important consideration and will be an increasingly important factor in holding back progress in agricultural development in most African countries. That, I think, underscores the need for ongoing engagement in agricultural innovation to adapt and to learn. The way the climate's changing is undermining the productivity growth and the progress that's already been achieved, so it's not as though that work is done. It's getting more challenging. Ms CLUTTERHAM: Thank you. I have just two quick ones. I saw it, obviously, as a risk but also as an opportunity. What's your sense of the level of interest from Australian businesses and expertise in embracing that opportunity in, say, eastern Africa? Dr Austin : There's a lot of interest. Maybe we're biased, and maybe that's what we listened for, but, certainly, the appreciation of the relevance of Australian agricultural expertise is strong. ACIAR is invited into many more places than we're able to support, and that has been a continuing reality. We need to always make difficult trade-offs across opportunities, not just in Africa but across the whole portfolio and program. As I touched on earlier, the importance of agriculture in livelihoods, in nutrition, in food security, in broader economic development means that it touches most sectors of economies. In all African countries agriculture is the largest provider of employment, and, in many countries, it is a substantial part of GDP. In many countries it also disproportionately provides opportunities for women, but equally they are systemically disadvantaged in many countries. A strong element in our work is gender considerations across collaborations in Africa and the way in which we can more intentionally engage women and collaboratively develop systems that provide opportunities for women. Ms CLUTTERHAM: Who are your competitors from other countries who are interested in trading with and assisting the African continent? We've got ACIAR from the Australian perspective. Are you competing—it's perhaps not the right word, but are there other countries with like organisations seeking to take advantage of the opportunities? Where are they from? Dr Austin : I don't know that we have any competitors as such. We collaborate with a diverse range of partners, but we have seen in recent times some rapid shifts in the development assistance landscape with the winding back from the US initially, with perhaps a knock-on effect to European donors who have been major players in the African continent. Therefore, we are seeing a pivot towards interest in the role that the private sector can play. It has long been recognised as an opportunity, but perhaps we're seeing new energy around private sector partnerships emerging. We work in Africa extensively with the CGIAR, which has centres headquartered in Africa. Indicatively, three-quarters of its $700 million or $800 million program is Africa focused, and so it's an opportunity for Australia to leverage or increase its influence in Africa through working in partnership with CGIAR. I don't see competitors so much as our ability to evolve the partnerships that we have, and particularly private sector partnerships, and ultimately agriculture is a private sector game. Ms CLUTTERHAM: Thank you. Senator COLBECK: Are there any things that we're learning from there? Dr Austin : Absolutely. The original design of ACIAR was incredibly important in that it's framed around benefits for developing countries and Australia. It's where there is that mutual benefit that the partnerships are the most successful, and that works in a whole raft of different ways. The most obvious is around the biosecurity elements that I touched on before, but I think, to the interests of this inquiry, the evidence from South-East Asia, particularly of trade opportunities, was that ACIAR's largest partner country when it commenced was China. We had deep collaborations over decades, and we've seen China's incredible progress in lifting people out of poverty through investment in agriculture. There's a lot to learn from that, but it speaks to a model of agricultural transformation that many African countries are seeking to emulate in lifting people out of poverty. Ethiopia is perhaps the most obvious and relevant example through its Agricultural Transformation Institute and its focus on smallholder agriculture. There are very intentional linkages to markets, with some success, notwithstanding the challenges that were raised before with floods and conflict. Dr Vial : There are a couple of useful examples of what we're learning from Africa, at least from a crops program perspective. One is with respect to the rust pathogen of wheat. Senator COLBECK: It's pretty important advice. Dr Vial : Rust tends to fly in from the west on its own, and the ability to screen important Australian germplasm and important source material that will come to Australian germplasm to strains of rust on the African continent is a very important part of the biosecurity element of managing rust, because that pathogen will never go away; it's always got to be actively managed. Another example of what we're learning from Africa is—as you probably know, Ethiopia is what's called a secondary centre of origin for quite a number of crops: barley, chickpeas, lentils and sorghum. What we're learning from genetic analysis and screening of those landrace and improved varieties in an Ethiopian context, now in an age of modern genetic technologies, is able to directly inform selection of germplasm that's already in Australia. It enables us, using genotyping technologies, to go directly to the varieties that would then directly benefit Australia, if that makes any sense. Senator COLBECK: It does. And it provides a wonderful reason for engagement. Thank you. CHAIR: Thank you for your time today. If you have been asked to provide any additional information, please forward it to the secretariat by Friday 10 April 2026. Please note that responses to questions on notice will be published on the website as submissions to the inquiry. You will be sent a copy of the transcript of your evidence, to assist you with answering any questions taken on notice today, and you will have an opportunity to request corrections to any transcription errors..