Review of CGIAR Commitments in West Africa 1/
1
/ Extract from "Summary of Proceedings and Decisions - Report from the Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee II", CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting 1995, Nairobi, Kenya
From: The Secretariat
July 1995
CGIAR Secretariat · Mailing Address: 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. · Office Location: 701 18th Street, N.W. Tel: (1-202) 473-8951 · Cable Address: INTBAFRAD · Fax: (1-202) 473-8110 · E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting
May 22-26, 1995
Nairobi, Kenya
The Study of CGIAR Commitments in West Africa, requested by TAC, was conducted by a Panel chaired by Mr. John McIntire. The Panel found that the present organization of the CGIAR's work in West Africa is reasonably efficient and cost-effective and that there is no need for a major restructuring of the way the CGIAR is operating in West Africa. A key issue is how to incorporate the opinions of NARS into the formulation of Center programs.
Following are the main issues raised by the Panel:
· Policy and management research: The Panel recommended that IFPRI should be named a strong convening Center for socio-economics, policy, and management research in West Africa, with greater focus on its work in Nigeria than at present. Both IFPRI and concerned Center Directors objected to this recommendation.· Institution building, training, and information: The Panel recommended that the Centers, with the exception of ISNAR, should limit their activities in institution building to training and information and should abandon organization and management counseling because it is not their comparative advantage. The overall size of training and information activities should also be reduced. The Center Directors Committee did not share this point of view.
· Production systems versus germplasm development research: The Panel recommended that production systems and management research be devolved by IITA and ICRISAT to NARS in order to augment upstream work by the Centers on the conservation and management of natural resources and germplasm enhancement and breeding.
· Impact: The Panel felt that the current production impact of ICRISAT and ILRI in West Africa is low. Its recommendation is for a high-level review of ICRISAT's crop improvement program for sorghum and a shift of ICRISAT's research effort in millet improvement from the Niamey site to a less arid area where such management issues as inter-cropping, mechanization, complex cropping patterns, and rotations can be incorporated into millet improvement.
· An alternative organization: The Panel proposed a common Board of Trustees for WARDA and IITA with ex-officio representation of ICRISAT, ICRAF, and IRRI as a means of harmonizing research between the two institutions.
· Relations with partners: The contacts of Centers with national programs are on the whole efficient. The Centers have many mechanisms to inform themselves about national activities, to receive input into their research planning, and to collaborate substantively on common problems.
· TAC was pleased with the experience gained and with the outcome of the study. It intends to proceed by undertaking a similar study in Latin America and subsequently in Asia and West Asia/North Africa.
Members of Ad Hoc Committee II thanked the Panel for a thought-provoking report. The report's difference from other CGIAR reviews was found to be refreshing.
The Committee was pleased to note that the Panel found the present organization of the CGIAR's work in West Africa to be reasonably efficient and cost-effective. The Committee also noted the Panel Chair's assurance that the CGIAR's investments in this region are productive and that no major institutional reforms are necessary.
A number of issues identified by the Panel led to a lively dialogue between the Panel and the Centers operating in West Africa. These included the following:
· What the impact of the Centers had been on the region.
· How impact assessment could be enhanced.
· Production systems versus germplasm development research.
· Coordination of policy research at the regional level.
· Role of the Centers in institution building and training.
· Harmonizing governance and activities of the Centers operating in West Africa.
The Committee concluded that this experiment with a regional review of CGIAR investments was a success, and encouraged TAC to commission reviews of other regions. Lessons learned from this review should be used in designing future reviews. These include possibly larger panels, earlier dialogue with Centers and NARS, and reports that are frank - where one does not need to read between the lines.
The Committee proposed that the Group should recommend the review report for farther consideration by Centers, NARS, donors, TAC, and other actors, and encourage TAC to continue experimenting with similar regional reviews for other regions. The Group agreed.
