Posted March 1996
A Strategy for Agricultural Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
(extracted from a paper prepared by the Research and Technology Development Service [SDRR], FAO Research, Extension and Training Division)
1. The setting
In its study "African Agriculture: The Next 25 Years" (1986) FAO concluded that sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the potential to increase agricultural production. If the potential is properly mobilized, a number of SSA countries could become self-reliant and their economic situation would then be more manageable. One proven approach to mobilization is through agricultural research. Strategies for raising productivity of land and labour include, in the short term, wider local application of existing technologies, and in the long term, development or adaptation of new technologies for identified agricultural production systems.
Past development and research strategies have emphasised export and staple food commodities. Indigenous non-staple food and export commodities offer an opportunity for SSA countries to broaden their food resource base and to regain some of the lost share of the export markets. Therefore, research strategies and master plans will have to include the development of technologies for indigenous food crops and non-traditional export commodities.
To date agricultural research has been concentrated on rainfed production in relatively high potential environments. But production at current levels of output is already low and will be inadequate to meet increasing demands for food and agricultural products for domestic consumption and export. New and better production and resource management technologies are required to optimize and improve the use of lands and environments having high, intermediate or marginal potential for production.
2. Improving the capacity and productivity of the NARS
The needs are clearly recognized. It is also widely accepted that agricultural research can be an effective means to meet the needs. In other regions of the world, return on investment in agricultural research has been high and application of research results has led to increased production. In SSA, however, the National Agricultural Research systems (NARS) have by and large so far not demonstrated a productivity nor made the impact in farmers' fields to cause governments to come forward with the sort of funding needed. Nonetheless, the donor community, FAO and other technical assistance agencies are agreed that, given adequate support, agricultural research can provide SSA countries with the technologies required to increase and improve agricultural output at any scale of operation.
National policy and research objectives: the master plan
Thus it is incumbent on each NARS in SSA to present the case for agricultural research to its country's policy makers together with evidence that the national system has the propensity to invigorate the sector. The message to policy makers will have to show how a supportive policy environment, and in the end an adequate and reliable allocation of financial resources, will convert propensity to reality. The case is made through a master plan for development of agricultural research. This plan must spell out objectives and the strategy to reach them in line with national economic development goals.
The definition of research objectives is best arrived at through a more or less permanent high-level committee or council with representation or participation by all groups (in and out of government) whose activities or interests impinge on performance in the sector of agriculture (including fisheries and forestry) or are affected by it. The master plan should specify the mechanism and authority for assigning and coordinating broad areas of research, e.g. through a council which maintains links to the constituencies that participated in the definition of the objectives.
Funding
The effectiveness of the research effort, in the total and its parts, depends on timely and adequate provision of funds. Without these, the contribution of the existing research organization and management will remain at its current, normally unsatisfactory level. Temporary amelioration will, in most instances, yield temporary improvements for which the costs will be high. This has been the approach frequently used to address problems of the greatest urgency.
The commitment to support agricultural research at a level and in a manner likely to permit its effective organization and management will yield desired results. Such a commitment will not be forthcoming unless the master plan spells out what will be done to reach worthwhile objectives, how it will be done, when it will be done, and how progress can and will be demonstrated and used to justify continued investment.
A support level of 1-2% of AgGDP has been suggested as appropriate. Considering that agriculture contributes on average about one-third or $135 billion of the GDP of the SSA region, a commitment to support research at the 1% level would yield resources worth about $440 million, more than double the current level of funding.
Improved linkages and integration
The linkage with the Ministry of Agriculture is considered essential to ensure (a) that the research programme is oriented towards the solution of problems arising from constraints in implementation of the development plans of the Ministry, and (b) good cooperation with an effective extension service in the transfer of technology to farmers. The linkage must not destroy the degree of autonomy--of freedom from political and administrative control in day-to-day operations--needed for research to function effectively. Ministerial policy and programme control can be maintained by means of a higher level council or committee.
Universities and related institutions of higher education and training should be linked into the work of the NARS, given their great pool of highly trained research scientists. The FAO Expert Consultation (March 1991) on the "Role of Universities in National Agricultural Research Systems", besides considering universities to be a part of NARS, made a number of recommendations e.g. on a policy research role of universities, on mechanisms for strengthening university participation in the NARS, and on strengthening linkages between universities and NARS institutions. Universities should be a vital component of the NARS and should not be recognized and utilized solely for their role in manpower development.
Improved research output....
In its analysis of the agricultural crisis in SSA, FAO identified arable land expansion, increased yields and increased cropping intensity as potential sources of increased crop production. The percentage contributions were estimated to come 27% from arable land expansion, 51% from increased yields and 22% from increased cropping intensity. The necessary technological transformation will have to take into account the sustainability of production systems. Core appropriate technologies to be generated or adapted for use in local production systems will be high yielding varieties and breeds. These core technologies must be accompanied by others designed to conserve and manage the natural resource base, to provide low-cost disease and pest control and, as appropriate, to save time or labour.
...from improved research input
The current initiatives to improve the productivity and impact of agricultural research in SSA should include research policy formulation, research planning, and research organization and management. It should be directed at improving the capacity not only for technology development but also for technology assessment and transfer. These are important components of the technology development process that could promote the use of available technology, increase agricultural productivity and conserve the natural resource base. Capacity for technology assessment and transfer can also ensure that agricultural research is more demand driven, that it is based on needs of farmers and the nation, and that available resources and existing constraints are considered.
The capacity of the NARS to generate, assess, adapt and transfer appropriate technologies depends largely on the quality of the research staff. Unless the research environment is improved, a high rate of attrition among highly trained and experienced scientist will persist. Improvement is needed not only in remuneration but also in other conditions of service such as recognition of achievement and promotion based on contribution to agricultural production. For this to be possible, agricultural research institutions must have control over budgets and be exempt from restrictive career service rules that govern the recruitment and promotion of government staff.
3. Regional cooperation and international assistance
The history of the IARCs of the CGIAR has shown clearly that centralized research output, no matter how valuable, will have limited impact on agricultural production if the national systems do not have the capacity to be partners in the research and development of new and improved technologies for sustainable agriculture. FAO and ISNAR continue to stand ready to respond to requests of member countries for assistance in the review of NARS, the preparation of master plans and strategies, the improvement of research organization and management, and the provision of training in research management.
With effective NARS as integral partners, regional or sub-regional research collaboration offers opportunities for increasing the use of available technologies, reducing the cost of research on new technologies, and increasing agricultural production and productivity. However, existing sub-regional mechanism for research collaboration, for example IGADD, INSAH, IRAZ and SACCAR, appear not to be well utilized in the development of productive and sustainable NARS. A regional cooperative approach promises to be effective in bringing to bear, in national settings, the fruits of newer science and technology (including biotechnologies) on efforts to solve the complex problems in sustainable agriculture and rural development. The gains expected from integrated regional research cooperation are:
- increased exchange of available technology and information;
- better efficiency in resource allocation and more accountability (especially to donors) in resource utilization;
- greater capacity for and reduced costs of strategic and applied research;
- NARS with higher comparative advantage in research productivity and application of results;
- an opportunity to solve problems or meet training needs involving several countries;
- improved utilization of the work of IARCs and other external research centres.
Frameworks for action
Under its strategy for development of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Special Programme for African Agricultural Research (SPAAR), in collaboration with African Regional and National Agricultural Research Organizations and several donors, studied the systems in the member countries of the Comité Permanent Inter-Etats de Lutte Contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The outcome has been the creation of regional frameworks for action (FFAs) which are now being pilot tested in Mali and Tanzania. SPAAR is further assisting the development of FFAs for Humid and Sub-Humid Central and West Africa and for Mountain East Africa. With the completion of these FFAs, an overall regional strategy for agricultural research in SSA is expected to become available.
4. Conclusion
Sustainable agricultural and rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa depends very much on the strength of the national research systems. Both production and productivity in the agricultural sector must be increased urgently and substantially to avoid further marginalization in the region. Substantial improvement in the capacity and productivity of the NARS is a prerequisite and thus even more urgent. This improvement can and should proceed together with development of regional cooperation which can bring benefits to strength and productivity of the NARS, make savings through exploiting complementarities, and address complex problems as well as problems that extend beyond national borders.
