NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODELS
 

Current Projects

China’s Development Finance, Growth Models and Sustainable Development in Recipient Countries 2020-2024

Recent Projects

Monograph: Enabling Agricultural Policies for Benefiting Smallholders in Dairy, Citrus and Mango Industries of Pakistan 2018

Timor Leste Survey on Human Resources per Household: Phase 1 2017

• reviewing the National Development Plan 2011-2030;
  
• conducting a complete review of the relevant literature;
• conducting extensive discussions on the ground in Timor-Leste; and
• preparation of a draft research plan for the human resources survey.

Enabling Agricultural Policies for Benefiting Smallholders in Dairy, Citrus and Mango Industries of Pakistan 2013-2016

This was the first ACIAR Australian project in Pakistan which focused on government policies in Pakistan, and among the first few that focused on benefiting smallholders, who account for 85% of total farmer households in Pakistan, and most of whom are either poor or vulnerable. The viability of smallholders is crucial for the sustainability of Pakistan’s agriculture and rural society. By passing the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in 2010, Pakistan also embraced a system of devolution, transferring responsibilities for agriculture policies to provincial governments. This change has added to the importance of capacity building of relevant government departments at provincial levels for policy formulation, implementation, coordination, and monitoring & evaluation – all of which are also a key part of this project.

The aim of this project was to review existing policies and develop options, and to evaluate and define implementation pathways for new enabling policies to improve the livelihoods of smallholders.

Report:
Khan, M.A., Irshad, A., Chhajro, H., Kalhoro, N., Khalid, M.I., Khan, G.A., Rashid, K., Tareen, A.Q., Zafar, A.A., Grewal, B., Lang, J. and Sheehan, P. 2018, Enabling Policies for Developing Smallholder Agriculture in Pakistan, Final Report to ACIAR, VISES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Project activities and documentation

2015

VU improving lives of rural poor in Pakistan
24 February 2015, News and Events, Victoria University

Planning Workshop and Project Coordination Committee Meeting
Islamabad, 11-12 February 2015
The meeting of these two committees were held in Islamabad. Meeting papers for the Project Coordination Committee Meeting are available here.

Preliminary Report on Punjab Field Studies (PDF 543 Kb)
Preliminary Report on Sindh Field Studies (PDF 401 Kb)
Issue Paper 1: Extension Services (PDF 60 Kb)
Issue Paper 2: Smallholder Access to Credit (PDF 71 Kb)
Issue Paper 3: The Role of Smallholder Cooperatives and Networks (PDF 53 Kb)
Issue Paper 4: Access to Markets (PDF 53 Kb)
Issue Paper 5: Policy Issues in Dairy (PDF 53 Kb)
Attachment: Summary Analysis of International Trade Trends for Mangoes, Citrus and Dairy (PDF 514 Kb)

From left to right: Dr N. Azeem (NARC), Dr A. Irshad (Planning Commission of Pakistan), Mr J. Lang (TradeData), Prof. B.Grewal (VISES), Mr A.A. Zafar (Agriculture, Punjab), Prof. P. Sheehan (VISES), Mr B.L. Baloch (Agriculture Information, Punjab), Dr Kashif Rashid (COMSATS), Dr N. Kalhoro (Dept of Livestock & Fisheries, Sindh), Mr K. Chaudhry (Dept of Livestock & Dairy, Punjab) and Mr A.Q. Tareen (Agriculture, Sindh)

Dr Ejaz Qureshi, Research Project Manager from ACIAR, also attended and participated actively in the Planning Workshop and Project Coordination Committee meeting in Islamabad in February 2015.

2014

Background papers
VISES commissioned two background papers in 2014 from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

Background Paper No. 1: Agricultural Extension Services in Pakistan: Challenges, Constraints and Ways Forward, by Dr Babar Shahbaz and Salman Ata, Institute of Agriculture Extension & Rural Development, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Background Paper No. 2: Pakistan’s Dairy, Mango and Citrus Sub-sectors: An Overview, by Dr Muhammad Khalid Bashir and Ghaffar Ali, of the Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

12-17 October 2014
Pakistan delegation visit to Australia
A capacity building workshop was organised by VISES in October 2014, involving workshop sessions in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. A delegation of five senior government officials from Pakistan, came to Australia including Dr Aamer Irshad, Chief, Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform; Mr Abdul Qadir Tareen, Department of Agriculture Sindh; Mr Ahmed Ali Zafar, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Punjab; Mr. Khalid Mahmud Chaudhry, Deputy Secretary, Department of Livestock and Dairy Development, Punjab; and Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, Executive Director, Livestock and Fisheries Department, Sindh, Karachi. The purpose of their visit was to have discussions with Australian experts and government officials in relation to dairy and horticulture sub-sectors.

Pakistan Delegation Visit Program
Workshop Report, prepared by Mr Ahmed Ali Zafar, Additional Secretary (Planning), Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

As part of the discussion sessions Mr Jim Lang, Managing Director, TradeData International Pty Ltd., prepared three presentations:

Global Trade in Citrus
Global Trade in Mangoes
Sample Analysis – China imports of Milk and Cream

22 February-4 March 2014
Visit to Pakistan
Professor Bhajan Grewal and Mr Jim Lang were invited to attend the ACIAR Social Research Project Workshop in Bhurban, Pakistan on 25-26 February 2014. Mr Lang was also invited by the Mango Production Project team to make a presentation at their workshop in Islamabad on 22-23 February. During the Bhurban Workshop, they also had enabling policy-related discussions with members of the Dairy Project, and with Dr Shahbaz of University of Agriculture Faisalabad. After the Bhurban workshop, they both had further meetings related to the project in Islamabad on 28 February, in Lahore on 3 March and in Karachi on 4 March 2014.

ACIAR Project_2014 February March Pakistan TRIP REPORT
Jim Lang - Analysis of International Demand and Supply of Mangoes

2013

26-27 November 2013
Inception workshop report
A 2-day inception workshop was held in Pakistan on 26-27 November 2013, with the Australian policy project team travelling to Pakistan. The Inception Workshop was launched by the Deputy High Commissioner for Australia, Mr Paul Molloy and was attended by a total of 26 participants from the Planning Commission, the various agriculture, livestock and dairy departments, other relevant ministries and UAF, COMSATS, PARC, SDF, VU, TradeData International and ACIAR.

Inception Workshop Report