B.GOA.0002 - Scoping analysis of RD&A investment opportunities for the Australian goat industry

Summary

As a small and maturing industry, the Australian goat industry has unique requirements for strategic RD&A investments to enhance the productivity, sustainability, and long-term resilience of goat producers and the broader value chain. To support the efficient use of RD&A investment resources, MLA engaged AbacusBio to conduct a scoping analysis to identify investment gaps and opportunities that could guide the prioritisation of future RD&A investment within the Goat Productivity Program.

This project mapped historical and existing RD&A investments, gathered stakeholder insights through surveys and workshops, and reviewed the international RD&A landscape to identify potential investment areas.

An impact-ease assessment framework was subsequently used to identify priority RD&A investment opportunities. Key results and recommendations included improved extension resources for animal health management, economic benchmarking tools, environmental initiatives and reproductive efficiency strategies.

The assessment also identified ongoing need for industry communication, leadership development, and advocacy investments, which will need ongoing support. This project equips MLA and GIRDAC with insights to assist with future investment priorities within the Goat Productivity Program.

Objectives

The project was designed and implemented through a structured, multi-phase approach that considered the following components in the identification of subsequent RD&A investment priorities:

1. Investment mapping and gap analysis to map historic and current RD&A investment within the GPP against sector and industry strategic plans.
2. Stakeholder consultation was undertaken to obtain stakeholder perspectives on priority areas for RD&A investment.
3. International RD&A Scan was also undertaken to identify RD&A opportunities based on relevant areas of focus within international domains.
Findings from these phases informed the development of a suite of future RD&A investment opportunities.

Key findings

The project has recommended a range of RD&A priorities for future investment within the Goat Productivity Program. The recommended opportunities were identified via consideration of their potential impact on the Australian industry, and the ease of delivering adoptable outcomes to the industry.

The recommended RD&A priorities comprised the following topic areas:

• parasite management resources for vets and producers
• doe/nanny and kid survival studies building on P.PSH.1373
• adoption resources focused on management of doe/nanny body condition score
• enterprise analysis and benchmarking.

Benefits to industry

This project has undertaken an RD&A gap analysis to inform future investment priorities for the Goat Productivity Program. Outcomes from the project can contribute to improved RD&A investment prioritisation within the Goat Productivity Program based on the identification of recommended investment priorities that consider industry stakeholder needs, alignment with industry strategic plans, and novel opportunities identified through international RD&A scanning.

MLA action

The recommendations from this study have been presented to the GIRDAC committee and will serve as a reference guide for making future R&D investment decisions.

Future research

Based on the outcomes of the scoping assessment, the following research, development, and adoption (RD&A) areas are recommended for future investment to enhance productivity, sustainability, and profitability within the Australian goat industry.
1. Parasite management: evaluate off-label treatments and develop extension resources for improved parasite control.
2. Doe and kid survival: identify mortality causes, model economic impacts, and promote peer-to-peer learning.
3. Doe fertility BCS management: create adoption tools on BCS, supported by economic analysis and producer engagement.
4. Enterprise analysis and benchmarking: benchmark mixed enterprises to assess goat integration benefits and improve decision making.