Richard Markham is an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR). He has a PhD in entomology and has had a forty-year career as a researcher and research manager, initially in classical biological control of invasive pests and weeds and then more broadly in integrated crop management and sustainable development, with a special interest in the conservation and use of genetic resources of tropical crops (especially banana, cocoa and coconuts). For most of his career he worked in the International Agricultural Research Centres, in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia. From 2008 to 2018 he worked for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), managing an extensive portfolio of horticultural projects centred in the Pacific islands but extending to South and South-East Asia and East Africa.
Throughout his time at ACIAR, Richard was involved in supporting Australia’s postgraduate agricultural scholarships program in the Pacific. He continues this involvement at the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research as a member of the team implementing the Pacific Agricultural Scholarships and Support Program, especially its Climate Resilience component (PASS-CR).
Richard is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Australia and resident of Fiji and Australia.
Research areas
- Agroforestry, as a foundation for more sustainable land management and inclusive, diversified livelihoods in the Pacific Islands
- Sustainable natural resource management
- Conservation and use of genetic resources of tropical crops
- Biological control of invasive pests and weeds