VALE Dr Neil Inall OAM

September 9, 2024

The Crawford Fund is saddened by the passing of longstanding NSW Committee member, Dr Neil Inall OAM. Chair of our NSW Committee, Dr Richard Sheldrake AM has penned the following:

Neil Inall passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday, 6 September. He was 91 years old.

Neil graduated from Hawkesbury Agricultural College, (now a campus of Western Sydney University) in 1957 and went on to have a distinguished career as an agricultural scientist and communicator. Neil made an enormous contribution to enhancing the understanding and importance of agriculture to the broader Australian community as a communicator through his roles at the ABC and with his consultancy firm, Cox Inall Communications. This was a lifetime’s work and passion for Neil.

He joined the NSW Committee of the Crawford Fund in around 2000, and for the next 20 years played a critical role, always keen to ensure that the work of the Fund was communicated in a way that maximised benefits to the targeted recipients.

In particular, Neil impressed upon the Crawford Fund the importance of communicating with smallholder farmers and others in supply chains by extension, training and education, and often reminded the Committee of the importance of these activities in fostering community engagement with research outcomes.

Neil participated in the NSW Committees’ trips to Vietnam and Lao PDR to gain a better understanding of the Fund’s work and introduced strategies such as his V shaped table arrangement to foster and promote group engagement.

In addition to his involvement in the NSW Committee, he was involved in the Crawford Fund Master Class program. He was a facilitator at the Crawford Fund Master Class in Agricultural Biosecurity in 2003  and was involved in presenting the early Master Classes in Research Management from 2001, and went on to be co-editor of the book on the subject that was published in 2005.

Both photos of Neil were taken during a visit with the NSW Committee to Vietnam and Laos.

Neil Inall made an outstanding contribution to the Crawford Fund and to Australian agriculture more broadly. He will be sadly missed but his legacy will remain.

The Crawford Fund extends its sincere condolences to Annie and the family.

Richard Sheldrake AM