Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Rice Production
The Australian Rice Industry is largely based in the Murrumbidgee and Murray Valleys of NSW and is recognised as an efficient producer and exporter of high quality rice.
Production often exceeds 1 million tonnes from more than 120,000 ha with at least 80% destined for export markets. The industry is recognised as a producer of high quality rice with attributes that satisfy diverse markets. It annually contributes more than $500 million to the Australian economy.
The CRC for Sustainable Rice Production (Rice CRC) was sponsored and supported by the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. It was an unincorporated joint venture between:-
- Charles Sturt University ;
- The University of Sydney ;
- Ricegrowers’ Co-operative Limited (trading as ‘SunRice’);
- CSIRO;
- NSW Agriculture;
- NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation; and
- Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
Note: NSW Agriculture was later merged with several other departments to form the Department of Primary Industries. The NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation was renamed the ‘NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources’, then ‘NSW Dept of Natural Resources’ and was subsequently amalgamated into the ‘NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change’.
The Rice CRC was granted a seven year term, with an additional eighth year approved by the Commonwealth due to delays in achieving outcomes as a result of ongoing drought conditions. The Rice CRC commenced in July 1997 and concluded on 30 June, 2005 . The Centre’s administrative office was located at Yanco Agricultural Institute (NSW Dept Primary Industries), Yanco, NSW.
Total funding for the Rice CRC program for the eight years was approximately $21 million. This roughly consisted of $16 million from the Federal Government’s CRC Program and $5 million from the partners. In addition ‘In-kind’ contributions from the partners and other organisations totaled approximately $60 million.
The Rice CRC was formed to address specific issues to guarantee the long term future of the rice industry. These included:-
- Improved water use efficiency.
- Minimising environmental impact of rice growing.
- Maintaining competitiveness through improved production, processing efficiency and product quality.
- Improving education standards throughout the industry.
The Rice CRC brought together key personnel to address these problems in five interrelated programs.
Program 1: Sustainability Of Natural Resources
This program aimed to promote sustainability of the rice-based cropping system by developing tools and techniques to improve the efficiency of natural resource use. In particular it focused on improving the management of water in the rice system, using:-
- better measurement and mapping
- net recharge management
- surface drainage management
- groundwater management at the regional scale.
Program 2: Sustainable Production Systems
The aim of Program 2 was to improve the productivity of rice-based systems and minimise environmental impacts. This was to be achieved through enhanced understanding of:-
- the soils resource base
- plant requirements for yield and quality
- ecological weed and pest control.
Program 3: Genetic Improvement For Sustainable Production
This Program aimed to improve sustainability through developing better varieties. This was to be achieved by:-
- improving water use efficiency
- higher yield
- reduced duration
- improved resistance to stress (particularly cold)
- developing better plant breeding techniques
- understanding chalkiness and categorising starch structure in rice.
Program 4: Product & Process Control
More efficient rice handling and processing and the development of new rice-based products has been achieved through improvements in:-
- pre-milling quality
- efficiency of milling
- quality assurance and pest control
- by-products use
- new rice-based foods.
Program 5: Education Skills, Development And Technology Transfer
This program focused on improving training, education and research opportunities, thereby developing a resource to lead the Australian rice industry into the future. Education modules were developed for:-
- farmer education and community awareness
- extension and technology transfer
- technological skills development
- professional development at the graduate and post graduate level.
The Rice CRC was also extremely successful at bringing researchers and extension officers together from each of its partners, as well as external collaborators – working together as a team to improve the future for Australia’s rice industry.
For details of outcomes of Rice CRC projects please refer to the various Annual Reports and Research Reports located under ‘Research Literature’ and ‘Corporate Reports’.
In the future research reports can be obtained from any of the partners’ ‘head office’ libraries and contact details have been provided in the ‘Research Literature’ section.
Special thanks to NSW Dept of Primary Industries who has agreed to continue hosting this site and ‘housing’ information on the Rice CRC ‘on line’ until June 2010.
Finally, thank you to the Commonwealth Government and our partners for providing this wonderful opportunity to work to improve the rice industry. In particular thank you to everyone who contributed to the efforts of the Rice CRC – it has been a successful and rewarding venture, providing the tools for researchers and extension officers to continue to work together for the benefit of the industry and the general community.
