This ACIAR-funded project evaluated the value of behavioural economics in understanding decision making by farm women and men, and used these behavioural insights to design/re-design, test and assess selected interventions in agricultural extension, input provision and agricultural service delivery in the Eastern Gangetic Plains.  

Bangladesh, India and Nepal have invested in research on conservation agriculture to help improve the lives of farmers and the productivity and health of their land. Yet, the uptake has been low.  By taking a people-centred approach, the team looked at what supports positive change and what is likely to be effective in nudging smallholder farmers to adopt new practices like conservation agriculture.

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This was a UWA-led consortium of partners under Professor Fay Rola-Rubzen's leadership, including RDRS Bangladesh, Rajshahi University, University of New England, Bihar Agricultural University, Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Nepal Agricultural Research Council and others.

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For more information visit the project website: https://farmerbehaviourinsights.org/

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This project explored the use of Black Soldier Flies (BSF) to turn livestock wastes into useful products.  The overall objective was to develop high quality soil conditioners and fertilisers from manures and other wastes though innovative technologies using BSF - a non-invasive, non-pest fly species for waste management.  It explored how BSF technology can provide a sustainable pathway for waste management and enable primary industries to increase productivity and profitability by generating new products, revenue streams, and markets whilst reducing on-farm operational costs associated with waste management and fertiliser availability. See the Final Report Summary.

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​This was a collaboration between researchers from various disciplines at UWA, led by Dr Sasha Jenkins and Professor Marit Kragt.  The research was conducted by UWA in conjunction with Australian Pork Limited, Dairy Australia, Agrifutures Australia, Australian Eggs, Australian Meat Processing Corporation, Future Green Solutions, QLD DAF, and other industry partners.  The project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources through Australian Pork Limited.

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For more information visit the project website: https://www.bsfwastetoprofit.com

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The aim of this two-year ACIAR-project was to understand the nature, drivers and consequences of rural transformation in order to design changes in the institutions, policies and investments (IPIs) which support success.  This project investigated not only the underlying determinants of the stages, speeds and outcomes of rural transformation but also the impacts of IPIs on all three elements and the successful rural transformation in the four countries, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia, and involves sharing experiences and policy advice. The following policy Brief summarises the outcomes: Are Gender Inclusiveness and Rural Transformation Interlinked? The Case of Bangladesh. 

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The project was led by the Australian National University with several research partner organisations, including UWA. Professor Fay Rola-Rubzen was the project leader from UWA. Project ADP/2017/024.

The project aimed to demonstrate the value to farmers through a novel research method, comparing actual test results of paddock weed samples to the farmers perception of their weed resistance status for wild radish, annual ryegrass, capeweed, barley grass and brome grass.  By having both actual test results and the farmers perception, researchers, farmers and agronomists are able to work together to ensure a full understanding of the resistance testing results and value of testing.

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This project was funded by the Grains Research & Development Corporation and was a joint project between UWA and CSIRO, led by Dr Roberto Busi from AHRI. The economic components were delivered by Dr Fiona Dempster and Rick Llewellyn: ​​Yes, no, maybe – getting value from herbicide resistance testing

The DBEE project investigated how dung beetles can improve profitability and productivity for primary producers. The information can be used by livestock producers and policy makers to make informed decisions regarding the adoption of dung beetles on-farm and importation of new dung beetle species.

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The project was a collaboration between agricultural industry organisations and researchers and was funded by Australia Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources through Meat and Livestock Australia.  UWA project Lead was A/Prof Theo Evans and the economic research was conducted by Dr Fiona Dempster, A/Prof Ben White and Cheryl Day.​

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For more information visit the project website: https://www.dungbeetles.com.au/

The overall aim of one-year ACIAR-funded project was to understand the extent the COVID-19 pandemic has affected men and women in producing and marketing cauliflower and Broccoli to the main markets in Dili.  The study examined how vegetable farmers in Aileu can better deal with issues caused by Covid-19 and offer potential solutions, recommendations and lessons learned.

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This project was led by the University of New England in collaboration with the National University of Timor Lorosa'e and UWA. Professor Fay Rola-Rubzen was the UWA Project Leader. 

Our centre completed this project under the Honey Bee Hive Sites research program of the CRC. The research aimed to increase the understanding of the economics of honey production and pollination in Western Australia. Through the design of a novel questionnaire migratory, hobbyist and backyard beekeepers provided reliable information about the industry, and determinants of profitability. In valuing the ecosystem service provided by the state’s endemic native vegetation, the costs from land use change, and the logging, clearing and fires can also be measured as losses to commercial beekeepers.  See the Final Report Summary.

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For more information visit the project website: https://www.crchoneybeeproducts.com/ 

This ACIAR-funded project, led by CIMMYT, aimed to reduce poverty in the Eastern Gangetic Plains by improving productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder farmers while safeguarding the environment. UWA was one of the research collaborators and Prof Fay Rola-Rubzen led a team of social scientists in understanding farmers’ risk behaviour and how it affected their adoption of CASI technologies. Using mixed-methods approaches, the team examined the socio-economic impacts of conservation agriculture technologies among men and women farmers in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia. Prof Fay Rola-Rubzen also led the gender mainstreaming efforts in the project. ​

This project, funded by The Research Council of Norway, was led by Dr Pia Otte at Ruralis (The Institute for Rural and Regional Research) in Trondheim. A/Prof Marit Kragt was one of the international partners on this project, which explored the potential to use crowdfunding as an alternative source of funding for climate change mitigation in the agricultural sector.

For more information visit the project website: https://coolcrowd.no/en/

Professor David Pannell and Dr Fiona Dempster were contracted by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to develop a conceptual framework for the benefits, costs and risks from soil amelioration approaches in the western region to support Grower understanding and adoption decisions. As part of this research, Professor David Pannell presented “A stock take of knowledge on soil amelioration tools” at the GRDC Grains Research Update on 26th February, 2019.