RESEARCH and development - or R&D as it's usually referred to - seems to be the magic solution to just about everything.

Climate change is on the march and there is general agreement on what needs to be done to prepare agriculture - lots of R&D.

The global food shortage, the "food versus fuel" debate, has also put a focus on the need to lift farm productivity. The answer? Boost R&D.

But just pouring more money into R&D will not guarantee effective results.

And by its very nature, R&D is a long-term activity. Fact gathering, testing, field trials, ensuring robust results, accounting for side-effects, commercial development - it all takes time, usually years.

And then it's getting the results out to farmers to make sure they're adopted - or what's usually referred to as extension.

In other words, it's a long, complex road to success, with plenty of scope for things to go off the rails.

The ill-fated $7 million Shear Express project to create a mobile shearing "conveyor belt" is a classic example.

And then there's the issue of who's doing what. In the area of rural R&D, there's a lot going on at the moment.

Fifteen R&D corporations across most agricultural sectors are beavering away at an industry level.

CSIRO is involved (notwithstanding the recent closure of several regional research centres), as are state governments, academic institutions and private companies.

The need for priorities and co-ordination is what springs to mind, especially with all the new R&D demands emerging.

As well, we are about to get a big funding boost.

The Rudd Government will spend an extra $46 million during the next four years on rural R&D focused on key climate- change challenges.

Finding ways of reducing farm emissions, getting a better grip on soil carbon, and helping farmers cope with warmer temperatures are priorities.

So too is an emphasis on on-farm research, and getting the results out rather than "left in a lab".

More than 200 proposals are in, an expert panel is working up the best for funding and the first projects are expected to start early next year.

The "usual players" in rural R&D will no doubt end up with much of the work and the money.

It's essential a close eye is kept on progress. Farmers need effective results fairly quickly. Emissions trading will start in 2010, and farmer involvement decided on in 2013.