Professor Jaquie Mitchell

Discipline Lead – Crop Science of School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability & Director of Research of School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, University of Queensland

Jaquie Mitchell is Professor of Agronomy and Director of Research in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability at The University of Queensland. She leads transdisciplinary research focused on climate change adaptation, sustainable intensification, and global food security. With over 30 years’ experience in Research for Development (R4D) across Southeast Asia, her work has focused on enhancing productivity, resilience, and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Her research centres on rice-based cropping systems, integrated weed management, and improving crop tolerance to abiotic stress through pre-breeding.

Jaquie leads major initiatives in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Australia, including innovative public–private partnerships to develop sustainable, traceable rice value chains in the Mekong Delta. She also leads AgriFutures-funded projects to improve water productivity and stress resilience in rice for Australian production systems. Committed to mentoring future leaders, she supervises students in crop physiology, plant breeding, and agronomy, fostering innovation, practical skills, and leadership for global agricultural challenges.

ABSTRACT

Climate-smart premium rice: securing future value chains in the Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta produces 50% of Vietnam’s rice and 90% of its rice exports, making it central to national food security, regional trade, and global rice supply. Yet many smallholder farmers remain trapped in fragmented value chains characterised by unstable markets, fluctuating incomes, and increasing climate and environmental pressures. As food systems across Southeast Asia confront climate change, shifting consumer demand, and evolving trade requirements, market-led approaches that integrate smallholders into high-quality export market value chains are increasingly important for achieving resilient and food-secure futures.

This presentation highlights the findings from our Research for Development initiative delivered through a Public–Private–Producer Partnership between ACIAR, SunRice and The University of Queensland. The initiative established a traceable, contract-based tropical short-grain rice value chain that connects smallholder farmers directly to premium export markets. Using participatory co-design, systems thinking and sustained multi-stakeholder collaboration, the project aligned incentives across the value chain, strengthened farmer organisations, standardised production practices, and improved market coordination.

The results demonstrate the value of integrating research, innovation and market demand to drive agricultural transformation. Agronomic and technical advances included shorter-duration, disease-resistant varieties, a 14.2% reduction in fertiliser costs, a 9.8% reduction in pesticide active ingredients, widespread farmer adoption of AWD water management, and optimised post-harvest drying that lowered energy use and reduced food loss. These advances translated into strong market and economic outcomes:  a reduction in dependence on spot-market exports to only 7%, 95% compliance with maximum residue limit standards, a 2.7% increase in farm-gate prices, a 10.5% rise in farmer incomes, and a 5.6% reduction in production costs. These gains were accompanied by more efficient input use, greater export reliability, and strengthened climate resilience.

This project highlights how market-led regional integration can amplify emerging voices, particularly those of smallholder farmers, while building climate-smart, profitable and resilient rice value chains that contribute to food and nutrition security across the Mekong region and beyond.