South Africa

Since 1983, ACIAR has completed over 40 projects in southern Africa. Benefits to date have included the empowerment of individual and farmer groups to market and receive a fair price for their cattle, vaccines for Newcastle disease in chickens in several countries, a tick resistance diagnostic test and a tick fever vaccine, selection of Australian trees for difficult sites, identification of lowinput fertiliser strategies for crops in risky environments, and demonstration that cattle breeds preferred by emerging farmers have growth potential that is equal to commercial breeds.

ACIAR has supported IARC projects through the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in a number of African countries.

Currently, RSA is the sole focus of ACIAR's bilateral and multilateral programs. Australian technical knowledge and expertise is highly relevant because similar temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical production environments are found in the two countries. Further, Australia's advanced extension and farming systems capabilities are relevant in building local capacity to assist the development of the South African farming sector.

The program is guided by the following principles:

• Research partnerships must be focused on delivery of benefits to emerging African farmers.
• Projects will only be considered for RSA, and will focus in areas where Australian scientists can add significantly to the skill base by filling 'gaps' in existing South African expertise. In doing so, ACIAR will also look for synergies between its program and those of other South African and international funding agencies, and for potential Australian mutual benefits.

Together with crop production, livestock management is identified as an important source of farm-level diversification for smallholders in RSA and elsewhere in the region. The animal sector can provide a source of protein and diversification as well as manure, fuel and draught animals. With population growth and increasing urban demand for meat, the pressure for intensification adds to the need for improved smallholder livestock-crop systems to achieve sustainability and productivity gains.

The interface between farm-level crop and livestock production systems warrants further examination, to maximise smallholder income opportunities while also achieving sustainable resource management outcomes. Improved marketability of indigenous cattle through farm-level quality performance needs to be supplemented by increased supply-chain engagement for beef, as an important value-adding component in a holistic smallholder farming sector approach. Income growth with commercial opportunities also provides the necessary incentives for adoption of new farming methods, while reducing poverty in rural districts.

This subprogram is designed to develop crop-livestock systems that are able to provide opportunities for smallholders to meet market requirements and raise awareness of product quality, human nutrition and sustainability imperatives.