Our Year in Review

November 20, 2024

Welcome to another ‘Quick Year in Review’ covering 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

Writing their foreword to our Quick Year in Review, The Hon John Anderson, our Chair and Mr Shaun Coffey, our CEO note that this year marked the 40th anniversary of Sir John Crawford’s passing—a moment to reflect on his vision and enduring impact on international agricultural research. Sir John Crawford, a remarkable Australian, is celebrated for his pivotal role in shaping agriculture and food security, not just within Australia but globally. This year’s initiatives, highlighted by the Crawford Fund’s annual conference and state-based programs, illustrate how this legacy continues in our commitment to building local capacity and promoting self-sufficiency across vulnerable regions.

It was a pleasure for us to report on a year in which we really did get back into full-swing – raising awareness of the benefits of international agricultural research in developing countries and Australia, and enabling so many more trainers, mentors and young NextGen researchers to get back out into the field, doing what they do best.

We have continued with a format that we are told readers appreciate as it enables either a brief overview or, by following links throughout the text, you can settle in for a more in-depth appreciation of our activities and achievements.

The Quick Year in Review splits our activities through our Outreach, Capacity Building and NextGen activities. With such a busy year, not all our activities can be covered in this review, but we hope it enables you to appreciate the breadth of our work and the many people in agriculture for development – in Australia and partner countries – who we touch.

We warmly thank all those organisations and individuals who continued to support our work and were involved in our activities.

And finally, as a small non-Government organisation, we really must thank our people –  the Crawford Fund model relies on the significant commitment of time and effort by a large group of volunteers – to be members of our board, on our State and Territory committees, and to be involved in our capacity building, outreach and NextGen activities. Along with our small team of coordinators and staff, we thank them all!