Victorian Committee goes on the road
May 22, 2024
The Crawford Fund’s Victorian Committee recently spent two highly successful days out and about in regional Victoria. They met and presented to students at Longerenong College about the fantastic and rewarding opportunities available in the world of international agriculture for development and visited Ag Vic Horsham.
Students studying the Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management and Certificate of Agriculture at Longererong College were treated to a fantastic line-up of eminent speakers and guests who shared invaluable insights into the dynamic landscape of agricultural research, innovation and global food security. Speakers and guests at the event, included these members of the Crawford Fund Victoria Committee:
- Dr Tony Gregson, Chairman – former Chairman, Plant Health Australia, former Director CIMMYT and farmer from Warracknabeal.
- Bill Lewis, Victoria Committee Coordinator
- Ms Maree Bouterakos, Food and Nutrition Advisor, Wageningen University and Research.
- Dr John Allen – former Leader, Regional Program, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, CSIRO.
- Mr Bruce Lloyd, former Deputy Leader of the National Party, Australia.
- Dr Julie Nicol – CAIGE Coordinator, IA Watson Grains Research Centre, The Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney.
- Dr Malcolm Ramsay – Veterinarian in International Biosecurity.
- Professor Brendan Rodoni – Research Director, Microbial Sciences, Pest & Diseases, Agriculture Victoria Research, DEECA.
- Professor Paul Taylor – Professor of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne.
- Mellissa Wood – Visiting Scientist, Food Systems & Global Exchange, Agriculture and Food, CSIRO.
- Professor Grant Rawlins, Research Leader, Veterinary Pathology, Agriculture Victoria Research, DEECA.
“The purpose of the visit was to hold a Committee Meeting at Ag Vic Research – Horsham, familiarise the Committee with recent scientific agricultural advancements, particularly the Australian Grains Genebank and associated research at the facility; and to visit Longerenong College to understand the current developments with students, courses, facilities and direction,” said Crawford Fund Victoria Committee Coordinator Bill Lewis.
“It was also a great opportunity to advise all we met of the activities of The Crawford Fund – Victoria in particular, our opportunity with Conference Scholarships, Student Awards and international Training Program,” he said.
“The trip was fully participative, highly successful and achieved the objective of meeting many students and researchers, including Dr Sally Norton, the Leader of the Australian Grains Genebank, Agriculture Victoria Research Division,” he said.
“The Genebank is significant world class facility. Sally, who the Crawford Victoria has sponsored on numerous occasions, has hosted many developing country genebank personnel and travelled extensively overseas sharing her knowledge of techniques and practises for classifying and storing precious samples of rare seeds / germplasm for future potential scientific research purposes,” he concluded.
