Australian International Food Security Centre

A young boy standing amongst his family's maize crop in Ethiopia involved in ACIAR's SIMLESA program. Photo: M. Gyles

An African smallholder and her daughter feed their cattle on an Ethiopian farm involved in ACIAR's SIMLESA program. Photo: M.Gyles

Kenyan farmers are set to benefit from the new Centre. Photo: M.Gyles

The Australian International Food Security Centre is being established as part of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and will be a hub for research interactions between Australia and African nations. The Centre will have a broad international focus, recognising the significance of food security to developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific. In the first instance particular emphasis will be given to Africa, where the highest proportion of the world’s poor are found.

The Centre will provide a cooperative approach to accessing Australian research, technical and policy expertise in areas of national comparative advantage, including tropical, subtropical and temperate agriculture, based on the Australian Cooperative Research Centre model. The initiative would expand the work of ACIAR, particularly and initially in African countries, but with scope to broaden its geographic reach. It will also enhance Australia’s existing $100 million African Food Security Initiative (AFSI).

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The Centre will be based on principles of cooperative contribution and collaboration, linking a range of Australian, African and international research and development agencies. It will focus on bridging the gap between discovery research, international public goods of the Consultative Research Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the requirements of smallholder production systems.

Food security remains a challenge in many African nations, particularly in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The new Centre will link Australian researchers, tertiary education institutions and international experts to focus on the needs of African partner countries. Priority areas will include research to boost food and nutritional security, sustainability and capacity building.

The first major activity for the Centre will be an international conference on African food security under the auspices of the new Centre to support consultations on the research thrusts of the Centre. This will bring together a range of Australian and African research partners, together with international experts to identify opportunities for cooperation. The Conference will be held in the first half of 2012. The new centre is part of the four year, $46.8 million Australia-Africa Food Security Initiative is centred on the establishment of the Australian International Food Security Centre.

A second component of the initiative is the Agricultural Entrepreneurs: taking research to the market program. This program links to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and will provide opportunities to emerging farmers to develop small businesses.

More Information

The Centre is established through ACIAR. Until the new Centre begins operations, ACIAR is the contact point for the Centre. ACIAR telephone: + 61 2 6217 0500 ACIAR email: aifsc [at] aciar [dot] gov [dot] au Download the official media release from the Prime Minister below. Click on the related links for more information of the Australian International Food Security Centre.