Crawford Fund board members John Anderson and Joel Fitzgibbon lobby for international agriculture research

John Anderson and Joel Fitzgibbon come armed with a simple message; "by helping others, we help ourselves".

The two Crawford Fund board members are also backed by two reports, which show international agricultural investment has a benefit-cost ratio of 10:1, along with many less quantifiable social, environmental, and diplomatic benefits abroad and at home.

At the moment, only 2.5 per cent of Australia's aid budget goes towards agricultural research. Mr Anderson said even a modest increase would produce a tenfold uptick in tangible benefits to Australia.

"By integrating ourselves to a deeper degree in the exotic world of pests and diseases from the rest of the world, we get a much earlier understanding than we otherwise would of emerging threats," Mr Anderson said.

"The classic example at the moment is African swine fever. We've got people on the front line, helping other countries deal with it as it moves towards us. We're learning a lot about it, we're also tracking its movements. That's obviously very valuable."

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The Crawford reports are littered with examples of Australia reaping the benefits of sending its scientists abroad in the name of supporting agricultural development in neighbouring countries.

A project to develop the Vietnam oyster industry lifted the country's production from 100 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes, while providing incomes for 2500 families. The same project allowed Australian scientists to develop molecular tools now being used to breed Sydney rock oysters with improved disease resistance, growth and meat condition.

More than 90pc of the nation's wheat varieties can be traced back to varieties from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, which Australia invests through its international aid budget. A recent variety, Borlaug 100, promises to be a game changer for our farmers, offering a big increase in yield, even in drought.

Along with biosecurity benefits and scientific knowledge, Mr Fitzgibbon said international ag research improved global diplomatic reputation through "soft power".

"In our own backyard, particularly the South Pacific, there's strategic competition - there are lots of ways to win hearts and minds of our neighbours and none could be more basic than helping them with food security," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

"We are acutely aware of the intense competition there is for limited aid money, but given the return on investment - $10 for every dollar invested - we think there is scope to do a little bit more."

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While China is attempting to wield influence through the region by cutting cheques, Mr Anderson said there "no one can do ag research better than us".

"There are seven heavy hitters globally - six countries and Bill Gates - and Australia is one of those six," he said.

"That's on 2.5 per cent of the aid budget. I suspect if you doubled that, we could have a huge impact."

Mr Anderson and Mr Fitzgibbon held meetings with several high-profile politicians. Mr Fitzgibbon was particularly confident he could sway his former Labor colleague, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt.