Our ACT scholar reflections are in…“This experience will certainly be a highlight of my PhD!”
October 19, 2023
The Crawford Fund’s Annual Conference was held last month in Canberra and online.
As well as bringing together the world’s leading experts in agricultural science, research, policy, development and industry, the Crawford Fund encourages the next generation in international agriculture for development to the event via scholarships awarded through our State and Territory committees and scholar supporters.
Our competitive conference scholarship program started in 2010 in the hope that by experiencing the Crawford Fund conference and network, our special program of activities around the conference and being mentored by inspirational experienced researchers, young researchers would be inspired and energised to be more involved. The results have been fantastic, with a great mix of youth and experience at our flagship event each year and a growing and enthusiastic conference scholar alumni approaching 450.
Our other activities to encourage university students and early career researcher include highlighting opportunities in volunteering for projects overseas; our work with Researchers in Agriculture for International Development (RAID), and our special international student awards to enable students to be involved in overseas projects as part of their university study.
One of the requirements of the scholarship is that each scholar provides us with a reflection on their experience. We will be providing these reflections over the coming weeks, grouped by State.
We would like to thank our wonderful mentors, mentioned alongside the scholar they supported, who volunteer their time and offer valuable guidance, support and insights to the scholars throughout the conference.
Four scholars from the Australian Capital Territory attended the 2023 Crawford Fund conference supported by our ACT Committee. Highlights of their experiences have been captured below:
Sibjan Chaulagain, Australian National University
“The Crawford Conference has been the most valuable event I have had in Australia, mainly because of the relevance to the topic of my interest, the one-on-one mentor experience, scholar events, networking opportunities, and quality of speakers and sessions.”
Pravin Khambalkar, Australian National University
“The scholars’ days event organised before the conference, during the conference and after the conference were great and very well organised. The people invited to speak during scholars’ days were excellent in their respective fields and had great stories/experiences to share.”
Rachel Nye, AusVet
“For me, the key message of the conference was ‘Challenges and Opportunities’. Now, more than ever, the world is facing a variety of challenges that are affecting global food security…However, with these challenges we must look for the opportunities to change, enhance and develop international agriculture to ensure the future of global food security.”
Rose Zhang, Australian National University
“The Conference showcased a diverse array of domestic and international speakers who engaged with global food security through a multitude of different perspectives. As a molecular plant science working in the agricultural space, it was valuable to broaden my knowledge about social and economic factors that influence and drive agricultural development.”
Read on for the full reflections of each ACT scholar:
Sibjan Chaulagain, Australian National University
Mentor: Dr Julianne Biddle
After working in the digital Agtech sector, providing critical crop weather and market advisories to farmers in Nepal for almost six years, I came to the Australian National University to study MSc Agriculture Innovation through the Australia Awards Scholarship. Since then, the Crawford Conference has been the most valuable event I have had in Australia, mainly because of the relevance to the topic of my interest, the one-on-one mentor experience, scholar events, networking opportunities, and quality of speakers and sessions.
The conference’s theme, ‘Global food security in a riskier world’ was particularly interesting to me. With my experience working back in Nepal; my research developing digital agriculture solutions for farmers in Papua New Guinea under ANU Professor Dr. Steven Crimp; and a course ‘Partnership for Agriculture Research and Development’ taught by ANU Professor Dr. Peter Kanowski; I have developed my passion and interest for agriculture development in low-middle income countries. Some events cannot translate topic objectives, but this event was different. I was fascinated to see hundreds of experts participating in the conference who cared about the importance and need of international agriculture research for development to ensure food security in riskier developing countries.
As a scholar, I had the privilege to access personal mentorship from Dr. Julianne Biddle from ACIAR, which I consider another valuable experience. Clarifying the event objectives, carefully listening to my research and work to-date as well as future plans, and connecting me to the right experts was all handled so beautifully by my mentor. Being with her at almost all the conference events boosted my confidence and engagement in dialogues. She organised a meeting for me with Dr. Elliane Ubalijoro to explore future opportunities in Nepal and abroad with CIFOR/ICRAF for food security. With another introduction to Dr. James Quilty, I explored the possibilities of digital agriculture’s role in ACIAR’s portfolio. And, with the US Envoy for Global Food Security Dr Cary Fowler and his team member Joseph, we explored opportunities for USAID investment in Nepal.
The quality of sessions and speakers was another attraction of this conference, where I learned about challenges and opportunities in food security in the developing world. The special envoy of US Global Food Security, Dr Cary Fowler, pointed out a scary figure of climate change, that global temperature has been constantly increasing for the last 533 months. To adapt to climate change, he urged us to explore underutilised crops as they are resilient and can perform better. Kym Anderson pointed out market, technology, and policy uncertainty as risks to food security, where he cited the need for investment in research and fostering public-private partnerships. I got to understand the importance of trees, forests, and landscapes in ensuring food and nutrition security from Dr Ubalijoro. I was so touched when she said any effort we make today to ensure food security will impact our coming generations. Numerous other expert speakers presented their insights on challenges and solutions to ensure food security in developing countries.
The scholar event designed and facilitated by the RAID Network for helped us to create synergy in understanding and effort for international agriculture research for development. As most of the scholars are connected on Linkedin, I look forward to learning from all and creating partnership opportunities.
Finally, I would like to thank my mentor, the Crawford ACT committee, RAID Network, ACIAR, and DFAT for creating a good experience and network. I am more committed to global food security and international agriculture research for development.
Pravin Khambalkar, Australian National University
Mentor: Tony Fischer
First of all, I would like to begin by saying that I really enjoyed attending the 2023 Crawford Fund Conference as a Conference Scholar. I felt very fortunate to attend event along with many passionate researchers looking to improving agriculture.
The scholars’ days event organised before the conference, during the conference and after the conference were great and very well organised. The people invited to speak during scholars’ days were excellent in their respective fields and had great stories/experiences to share.
During the conference the speakers were great staring from the Senator the Hon Penny Wong, (Minister for Foreign Affairs). It was amazing to see her presence in the conference. It was visionary to Dr Cary Fowler during his talk and got the update about global food security. The talk from Roya Khalil was great to hear about the biofertilisers and enhanced fertilisers. The talk by Dr Warren T K Lee on Climate Solutions for Healthy Diets, Nutrition and Health was excellent.
I would like to thank my mentor Tony Fischer as he was great to talk to before the conference and during the conference. He introduced me to many people, and it was great to have mentor with such huge experience in the research. He showed a genuine interest in my research, and I really appreciated his advice on my career aspirations. I also enjoyed hearing about his interesting career.
Overall, it was and amazing experience and Iwould like to thank the Crawford Fund Scholar Program for giving us such a great opportunity. Finally, I’d like to thank the speakers, event organisers, and mentors for giving their time to such a great conference. Thank you.
Rachel Nye, AusVet
Mentor: Jenny Hanks
Attending the Crawford Fund conference gave me valuable insights into fields of agriculture outside my own. My experience was enhanced by being a part of the Crawford Fund Scholar Program, allowing me to network with amazing people with interesting and unique perspectives in international agriculture.
I am grateful to have had such a wonderful mentor in Jenny Hanks. She was more than willing to share her experiences in international research and development and provide guidance and advice in these areas. I was introduced to so many of her amazing colleagues and am excited to hear about her future projects in Indonesia.
The theme of the Crawford Fund Conference this year was “Global food security in a riskier world”. The conference covered various aspects of agricultural research, from current challenges to global food security, to new technologies and methods being implemented to secure the future of global food security.
For me, the key message of the conference was ‘Challenges and Opportunities’. Now, more than ever, the world is facing a variety of challenges that are affecting global food security, namely ‘Covid, Conflict and Climate Change’. There are many examples of the impacts these challenges are currently causing today. For example, the rising sea levels are rapidly changing the salinity in soils in the Mekong region and the war in Ukraine is affecting global grain supply chains. However, with these challenges we must look for the opportunities to change, enhance and develop international agriculture to ensure the future of global food security. This may be through developing more salt tolerant varieties of plants or developing crops to improve nutrition. In addition to the key message above, there were many other noteworthy takeaways. Firstly, looking for innovation and ways to improve current technologies. With the constantly evolving and rapidly improving technologies available, these could be harnessed to create novel tools and techniques to revolutionise the field. Another concern during the conference day was the need to ensure adequate and sustainable food supply to our rapidly growing global population. Addressing this challenge is a complex task that requires innovative thinking, responsible resource management and a concerted effort from all stakeholders in the agriculture sector.
The highlights of the conference and scholar days included the opportunity to network with peers and experts in a wide range of fields, the sessions specifically organised for scholars by the Crawford Fund and RAID network and gaining insights from individuals’ firsthand accounts of their careers and experiences in international agriculture was inspiring. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ACT Crawford Fund Committee for the opportunity to attend the Crawford Fund Conference and scholar days.
Rose Zhang, Australian National University
Mentor: TJ Higgins
The 2023 Crawford Fund Conference, centred around the pertinent topic of ‘Global Food Security in a Riskier World’, was an incredible opportunity to network with global agricultural experts and deepen my knowledge of international agricultural development.
The Conference showcased a diverse array of domestic and international speakers who engaged with global food security through a multitude of different perspectives. As a molecular plant science working in the agricultural space, it was valuable to broaden my knowledge about social and economic factors that influence and drive agricultural development.
Professor Wendy Umberger and Professor Kym Anderson’s addresses about on-farm and off-farm risks to global food security were especially valuable, as they broadened my understanding of how farmer and consumer decisions drive agricultural demands and priorities. Given this year’s focus on food security, it was great to hear from speakers whose work spanned from ‘farm-to-fork’. From exciting on-farm interventions to optimise farm irrigation, to increasing nutritional literacy in vulnerable communities, the Conference provided comprehensive insight into the state of affairs across the entire food value chain. As the new CEO of ACIAR, it was especially enlightening and inspiring to hear from Professor Wendy Umberger as she highlighted her goals and directions for Australia’s premiere agricultural research agency.
The two scholar days, arranged on either side of the Conference, were wonderful opportunities to learn about the ins and outs of international agricultural development while forming close networks with fellow scholars from both Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. I learned about the practicalities of commencing international agricultural development project, from how to search for opportunities to useful skills and training from those in the know. It was also incredibly inspiring to hear first-hand from members of RAID about the rewarding experiences, difficult challenges, and exciting outcomes of their international agricultural development journeys.
The mentoring offered through the Crawford Scholars program was no doubt a highlight of my conference experience, and I’d like to give a special thanks to my mentor Dr. TJ Higgins for his encouragement, advice and support throughout the conference and beyond. TJ’s wealth of experience in harnessing biotechnological approaches to achieve tangible agricultural benefits perfectly embodies the goals of international agricultural development, and it was a privilege to learn from him! As a new PhD student, it can be daunting to approach and network with others during conferences, and I was immensely grateful for TJ’s enthusiasm in introducing me to colleagues in my fields of interest.
Numerous international speakers and attendees of this year’s Conference marvelled at how lucky we are in Australia to have ACIAR and the Crawford Fund, and after attending three fantastic days through the Crawford Scholars program, I certainly feel the same. The opportunities I’ve learnt about and networks I’ve built through this experience are microcosms of the invaluable opportunities and engaging networks that ACIAR and the Crawford Fund provide to international agricultural development. This experience will certainly be a highlight of my PhD!
