impact assessment report series - Grains Research & Development ...

5 Benefits
This section considers the various categories of benefits and how benefits align with
research priorities.
Economic Benefits
Most of the projects can be categorised as discovery projects with limited outcomes
expected on-farm within the life of the project. Some projects were simply designed
to establish proof-of-concept to inform decisions on further investment. The cluster
included projects that established potential yield increases in laboratory or field trials
but which required further development post-project to establish delivery methods
and commercial potential.
In order to determine benefits for the cluster, the projects have been re-allocated
into three sub-groups based on their economic benefits and pathways to adoption.
The three groups are:
• Inoculants (yield increasing)
• Disease Control (including by inoculants), and
• Nutrient Balance
The main differences between the three groups are in the investments required, the
probability of success, degree of attribution, and the time lag before outcomes occur
in the form of increased yields. The information for each group together with
assumptions on the timing and costs are developed in the Section 7 on the
Measurement of Benefits.
A summary of the principal economic benefits from the groups in the Cluster is
reported in Table 8.
Table 8: Summary of Principal Economic Benefits by Project Group
Project Group Summary of Economic Benefits
Inoculants (nutrient
increasing)
Disease Control
(including by
inoculants)
Increased profits from higher yields and reduced N and P
fertiliser costs from the application of P solubilising
microbial inoculants to cereal crops in southern Australia,
including in combination with rhizobia inoculants for N
fixation in association with grain and pasture legumes.
Increased profits following reduced yield losses from
rhizoctonia and pythium in southern Australia as a result
of changed disease control strategies including use of
microbial inoculants
Nutrient Balance Increased profits in southern Australia from N and P
applications more in line with crop requirements as
determined by the season and nutrient availability.
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