Title: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR DELIVERY OF COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION SERVICES: A CASE STUDY IN THE COTTON AND GRAINS INDUSTRIES
Abstract: In the irrigation sector, much of our effective knowledge is not only contained within the products of our research undertakings, but also within the practitioners, farmers and service providers of the industry. With a focus on improving water use efficiency, it is important that the individuals who make the decisions about how irrigation water is used, farmers and their advisors, have effective access to as much of the collective industry knowledge as possible. Phase 1 of the Knowledge Management in Cotton and Grain Irrigation project identified some of the key mechanisms by which knowledge is created and transferred by industry stakeholders. Recommendations to improve the adoption of appropriate irrigation practices and technologies included innovative new training, changes to the delivery of irrigation extension services and the development of a service sector to provide irrigation services commercially. In developing a model for commercial delivery of irrigation services, it was recognised that the service providers would require two major components: • The product; a suite of services and the skills, knowledge, technology and equipment to deliver these services. Confidence in their own abilities was seen as a key. • The business; an understanding of how irrigation services fit with existing business components, pricing regimes, costings and a sustainable client base for ongoing demand. The Consultant Support Program was initiated in August 2007 to provide support to existing commercial service providers (agronomic consultants) in the Cotton and Northern Grains industries to expand their delivery of irrigation related services. The aim was to increase the capacity of these businesses to deliver sustainable irrigation services into the future. A total of 14 consultants were selected from a number of regions from the Darling Downs to the Namoi valley through an expression of interest process. An initial meeting in September brought the consultants together to identify the types of services that might be delivered and to develop individual action plans for the 2007-08 summer irrigation season. Individual follow-up meetings were conducted to refine these action plans and to determine the role that project staff would play. Training was provided to the consultants as well as many of their grower clients to increase the skills of the whole group and encourage demand for services by the clients. Over the course of the season, regular mentoring by project staff built on the initial training to increase the confidence of consultants to deliver their chosen services. Additional assistance to source funding and better understand the economics of various service delivery options aimed to provide consultants with the ability to continue delivery of these services into the future.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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