Dr Rob Fletcher is the Lecturer in Crop Improvement and Principal Investigator of the New Crops Program in the School of Agriculture and Horticulture of the University of Queensland. He is located at the Gatton campus, between Brisbane and Toowoomba, in South-east Queensland.
New crops research and development at the Gatton campus of the University of Queensland has been focussed, since its inception in 1993, on the practical application of research findings for the commercialisation of new crops and the encouragement of a wider appreciation and use of new crops.
Dr Fletcher has often spoken with farmers' groups, at workshops and conferences on a new thirteen step approach for the commercialisation of new crops, developed from the New Crops Program research. The approach is based upon facilitation and cooperation.
Rob believes that, without cooperation throughout each step in the marketing chain, new crops will continue to be the cause of 'anticipointment' (an expression first made popular in Australia by Professor Gary Jolliff of Oregon State University), and the subject of embarrassing media reports and financial difficulties.
New crops commercialisation is often hindered by a scarcity of reliable information.
Several activities of the New Crops Program have attempted to improve the availability of information about new crops and the likelihood of better cooperation and networking amongst the members of the Australian new crops industry.
Dr Fletcher commenced publishing the six-monthly Australian New Crops Newsletter, with support from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) in January 1994.
Issue #11 was published in January, 1999, Issue #12 in July, 1999 and Issue #13 in January, 2000. Issue #13 includes the full text of the Final Report for the RIRDC/GRDC Project UQ-33A on New Crops.
The subscription cost for the Australian New Crops Newsletter is $30 per annum (two issues posted). Issues # 10 and 11 are available for $10 each, with subsequent issues available for $15 each.
Rob also published the First Edition of the Directory of Australian New Crops Workers in 1995 and a second edition in 1999.
Dr Fletcher collaborated with Mr Gerry Kregor on the establishment of the Australian New Crops Web Site in 1995.
Rob was the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the First Australian New Crops Conference held at Gatton College in July 1996.
Conference proceedings (two volumes) are being distributed by RIRDC, Canberra.
Rob has also assisted with the establishment of the Emerging Opportunities in Agriculture/New Crops Options Information Days, intended for primary producers interested in commercialising new crops.
Emerging Opportunities/New Crops Options Days have been held at Pittsworth, Queensland (July 1996), Harden, NSW (October 1997) and Tamworth, NSW (October, 1998).
The Facilitator for the northern events has been Mr Gordon Stone, telephone (07) 4639 3366.
It is vital that the Emerging Opportunities in Agriculture/New Crops Options Information Days are organised by local farmers and address those new crops about which they are curious. The design of the day itself is based upon a series of concurrent 'side-shows.'
This allows interested primary producers to hear experts speak for short periods of time, after which they can consult individually with the experts. Each expert speaks at least five times during the day at hourly intervals and moves to a display area for the consultation sessions after delivering each talk. There can be as many as ten or twelve sideshows operating at once. Visitors can thus program their day to suit the topics that interest them.
In collaboration with his colleagues, Rob has published many articles on the problems associated with identifying those new crops which warrant attention.
Rob has also been involved in the development of the New Crops DOOR Marketing Course and Manual.
Do Our Own Marketing Research for new crops was originally designed for those wishing to embark upon the development of a new crop. However, DOOR Marketing has proven to be useful for the pre-feasibility analyses of any new rural industry and the principles have recently also been used in the development of industry strategies for established industries.
The First Edition of the New Crops DOOR Marketing Information Booklet is a manual designed to accompany the DOOR Marketing Course. However, it can be used as a stand-alone introduction to the principles of new crop commercialisation. The cost of the Manual is $30 (plus $10 postage if ordered from overseas). However, the principles behind the successful operation of the process, include the collective learning of a group of mutually supportive interested parties.
The study of new crops has also been incorporated into teaching at the Gatton College campus of the University of Queensland.
New crops have been used as the vehicle for the teaching of plant breeding and crop improvement for over 200 undergraduate students over the past few years and many Final Year study projects have been completed in new crops over that time. Rob has supervised, or is currently supervising, a number of postgraduate students investigating new crops:
Glen Beech (Moth bean)
Dr Helen Murphy (Guar)
Dr Felipe (Pepe) Dela Cruz (Cashew)
Dr Luigino Doimo (Essential oil/Geranium)
Dr Songpol Somsri (Papaya)
Dr Karyudi (Osmoregulation in Millet)
Rafiul Alam (Coleoptile length)
Steven Mitchell (Millet breeding)
Nicholas Walker (Echinacea angustifolia)
Tony Sadler (Ginseng)
Gerry Kregor (New crop processes)
Greg Ferguson (Economics of new crops)
Chai McConnell (Marketing of new crops)
Peter Blessing (German chamomile)
Rob acknowledges the cooperation and contribution of many new crop entrepreneurs, primary producers and horticulturalists in these new crops developments and the participation of officers from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales Agriculture, Queensland Graingrowers Association (now known as Agforce Grains), Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, the CSIRO Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures (now part of CSIRO Tropical Agriculture) and the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE.
See also:
2. Publications
3. Conferences and Workshop contributions
4. Volumes of proceedings
5. Newsletters
6. Reports
7. Presentations (some with slides included on-line)
Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Agriculture and Horticulture, The University of Queensland Gatton, 4343; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email:
r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au[
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RF