Mid-term reviews of Managing Climate Variability (MCV) & Forewarned is Forearmed (FWFA) Programs

Summary

​This project involved a third party mid-term review of the Managing Climate Variability Program (MCVP) and the Forewarned is Forearmed (FWFA) Program.

MCVP is a long-term partnership across rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) including GRDC, MLA, AgriFutures, Sugar and Cotton as well as other RDCs for individual projects. Research partners include the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, state departments and universities. The current iteration of MCVP spans the period 2016/17 to 2021/22 and has a strong focus on improving climate forecasts for two weeks to months into the future.

FWFA is a major component of the MCVP program and is part funded by the Australian Government's Rural R&D for Profit Program and has 14 program partners. FWFA partners include RDCs, universities, state departments and the private sector. FWFA's aim is to forecast extreme weather events including high/low rainfall, heat, cold and frost and provide farmers with the first ever forecasts of these events weeks and months into the future.

Information and tools generated by FWFA will allow farmers to proactively prepare for extreme weather events and decrease their impact on farm and on profitability.

Separate mid-term reviews of the MCVP and FWFA programs were required with stand-alone reviews.

The review of the MCVP concluded it to be a valuable research, development and extension program, targeting a critical issue for Australian primary producers, i.e. understanding and adapting to a variable climate. The program is making progress and is being undertaken in a manner consistent with relevant plans and contracts. Satisfactory governance arrangements are in place. Investor partners are mostly engaged and most reasonably satisfied with progress of the program. The program, which includes a major investment in the Forewarned is Forearmed (FWFA) project, has been designed in close consultation with researchers involved in climate, seasonal climate forecasting and farming systems as well as with industry.

The review of FWFA concluded it to be a valuable research, development and extension project, targeting a critical issue for Australian primary producers, i.e. understanding and adapting to a variable climate. The project is being undertaken in a manner consistent with relevant plans and contracts. Satisfactory governance arrangements are in place. FWFA partners are mostly engaged and satisfied with project progress. The project has been well designed with few research gaps.