In September 1993 the Management Committee of the National Program for Irrigation R&D requested the authors to prepare a briefing paper on Technology Transfer. The Committee had identified technology transfer and adoption as a key issue for the R&D program to address.

The goal of this project was to determine a process for successful technology transfer and adoption at a pilot scale, in relation to attempting to identify and evaluate technologies to enable farmers to make informed decisions that impact on net recharge and water use efficiency. Maximum emphasis was placed on the use of participative processes to try to ensure that the research and its outcomes were relevant, adoptable, wanted and owned by the farming community

Early in 1997, the Land and Water Resources R&D Corporation (LWRRDC) decided to experiment with the application of the process of foresighting across a range of its programs. Its purpose in this was to improve the framework within which management, policy and investment decisions were made in dealing with Australia's natural resources. The specific objectives of the foresighting exercises were to: identify future scenarios for

This case study looks at prototyping the automated soil solution sampling and measurement tool to locate salt in the soil profile.

This case study looks at root zone and salinity monitoring and the potential impact of seasonal conditions on vineyard production.

This report outlines the results of a consultancy to 'Determine a Framework, Terms and Definitions for Water Use Efficiency in Irrigation'. An issues paper was prepared in May, 1999 outlining the background, a simple framework, possible definitions for water use efficiency, examples of the most recent definitions of irrigation efficiencies and other issues considered relevant.

1. OBJECTIVES:i. To determine, across a range of soil types and watertable conditions, the effect of increasing the irrigation water salinity on the infiltration properties of rice soils. ii. To determine the potential use of groundwater, pumped for watertable control, within a rice rotation. iii. To develop and publish practical strategies for the management of groundwater, channel water and salinity in rice-based cropping systems.

The 'Know The Flow' project was initiated in 1997 to address issues relating to the accurate measurement of the delivery of irrigation water to farms. The current most common method, the Dethridge Wheel, was perceived to have problems in some applications. The project was conceived to research solutions to these problems.

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation was a unique collaboration as it involved governments, irrigators, water providers and researchers from across Australia. It covered every aspect of irrigation from dam management and water delivery, through on-farm management, to sustainable landscape environmental measures

Irrigation education and training in Australia is characterised by fragmented, sporadic and diverse attempts at provision. However, there is no lack of goodwill, nor a lack of recognition of the need for education and training provision. Indeed, the concentration on identifying and refining the need in the last few years has overshadowed and delayed the provision of onground courses and training provision.