3.1. Introduction
3.2. Cooperation with National Programmes
3.3. Training
3.4. Future Plans for ICD
The International Cooperation Division is responsible for the design and management of mechanisms for improving and strengthening collaborative research and training activities between IITA and the NARS. The NARS in IITA's mandate area are characterized by a high degree of diversity in respect of structure, size, population, agroecologies and, more importantly, institutional maturity. A mechanism of collaboration that will work well with a strong NARS, possessing a sizeable number of well-trained scientists may not be ideal for collaborating with a relatively weak NARS with a few trained staff and limited research facilities. IITA, over time, has therefore sought different ways of collaboration with the different NARS in the region.
The main mechanisms used by IITA for this purpose are the special projects (and the associated Resident Scientist Scheme); Research Liaison Scientists (RLS) scheme; research networks; training, and a variety of individual contacts. They are described and assessed in the following sections.
3.2.1. Special Projects and the Resident Scientist Scheme
3.2.2. Research Liaison Scientist Scheme
3.2.3. Networks
3.2.1.1. Overview
Special projects have small in-country resident scientist teams working on adaptive research within individual NARS. The team of scientists is utilized in building national capabilities for adaptive research to address pressing research issues, produce improved technologies and ensure feedback of scientific data to the core research programmes of IITA. This mechanism is best used (according to the first Medium-Term Plan of 1989-93) in countries where NARS are in early stages of development and where IITA technologies could be used to solve problems using adaptive research methods; or in those countries where NARS are moving to an intermediate stage of development, but where IITA has a long history of cooperation and which can serve as a relay in the dissemination of technologies to weaker neighbouring NARS. The resident team could help also to solve research problems of an applied nature.
3.2.1.2. Achievements
The resident scientist teams approach has been used in institution-building in the following projects:
National Cereals Research and Extension, Cameroon (1980-94)
The goal of the project was to increase food production and maintain Cameroon's food self-sufficiency and security through the development of institutional capacity to generate high-quality research on cereals (maize, rice, sorghum and millet) and improve research and extension linkages with farmers. Technology developed at IITA in maize and rice was tested for possible adoption.
The project enhanced the NARS capacity to conduct on-farm research to determine research priorities and to prepare strategic plans for agricultural research. In crop improvement, a number of improved varieties of maize for the highlands, mid-altitude and lowlands were released. Four high-yielding varieties of rice were released for general cultivation. The rate of adoption of the NCRE-released maize varieties is considered to be "high". The project also contributed to human resources development for agricultural research by training scientists to the following levels of qualification 11 Ph.D., 29 M.Sc., and 4 B.Sc. In addition, over 105 Cameroonians were sent abroad for short-term, non-degree courses, and over 1000 Cameroonians participated in locally organized courses.
Ghana Grains Development Project (1985-95)
The goal of the Project was to improve maize and legume production in Ghana. IITA was subcontracted by CIMMYT to implement the grain legume component. Initial efforts were on training of staff in on-farm research methods and development of improved and relevant production practices. Later the project emphasized intercropping systems and improving research-extension collaboration. The project developed six superior varieties of cowpea and four of soybean and strengthened legume research in the fields of entomology and breeding. The legume research team now has 5 Ph.D. and 25 M.Sc. staff members and over 6,000 extension workers who have received training on legume production.
National Root and Tuber Crops Improvement Project, Ghana (1989-93)
The objectives of the Project were to introduce high-yielding, disease- and pest-tolerant clones of cassava, develop improved technologies for production, use biocontrol methods for major pests of cassava; train NARS in root crop production techniques, and to develop improved postharvest technologies for processing, particularly for cassava.
The Project introduced IITA cassava materials in clonal and seed forms. Four of the clones introduced have been released following their demonstrated superiority in yield, resistance to diseases and pests, and acceptance in terms of food quality by people. Nine staff were trained in different areas of root crop production, 30 in biocontrol techniques, and over 900 extension officers and farmers in the minisett technique for producing seed yam. Local germplasm of cassava, yam, sweet potato and cocoyam was collected from IITA and is now being maintained at the Crops Research Institute, Kumasi.
Project to Strengthen National/Regional Economic Capacity in East, Central and Southern Africa
The objective of the Project was to reinforce socioeconomic capacity of the national root crops research programmes to increase the performance production systems with root crops. This Project started operations in October 1993 in Rwanda, but had to be terminated following the outbreak of civil war in April 1994. It has now been relocated in Malawi. However, because of shortage of funds, the project will end in May 1995.
SADC Cowpea Research Project, Mozambique (1990-94)
The objectives of the Project were to develop high-yielding cowpea varieties, develop improved production practices and strengthen NARS by training and networking. The project had extensive logistical and administrative problems caused by operating in Mozambique.
The Project defined cowpea agroecologies in the region. It evaluated over 700 cowpea accessions from IITA, out of which 10 were identified and distributed to NARS in the region. Through the project, over 100 NARS scientists and technicians received training at IITA and in-country. The project was closed in 1994 owing to unresolved difficulties, but may be restarted in 1996.
Special Projects with a Wide Geographic Coverage
These are established through formal agreement between IITA and a donor to work on projects of wide geographical application. Such projects provide material and information in support of several national and regional programmes. Two such projects were executed by IITA during the period under review. They were:
· On-Farm Adaptive Research Project for cassava, yam, maize, rice, cowpea and soybean in tropical Africa was funded by EEC. The overall objective of the Project was to improve the productivity of the resource-poor small farmers of West and Central Africa. A workplan and cost estimates were developed by four crop-based working groups and approved by the Steering Committee. The workplan encompassed farmer-managed variety trials. These activities, implemented by the participating NARS, were monitored and reports were made available to the executing agencies. At the end of each year, a monitoring team communicated its findings and recommendations to the appropriate NARS. Guidelines were developed for project preparation and forwarded to all the participating NARS. A Research Committee has now been appointed to review and make recommendations on the proposals that have been submitted by the NARS.· Regional Research Project on Maize and Cassava was funded by France and the CGIAR. An external evaluation of the first phase of the project conducted in March 1995 found that, in most cases, the project corresponded with NARS' research priorities, and that it had contributed to progress in national research on the two crops. Despite the fact that most of the research activities began later than planned, mainly due to delays in receiving equipment, they did however contribute to an increase in knowledge in the following areas: collection of ecotypes; variety improvement for local adaptation and regional evaluation of selected varieties; agronomy of cropping systems; postharvest activities; collection and evaluation of local cassava germplasm; and use of maize and cassava in human foods and animal feeds.
3.2.1.3 Assessment
The Resident Scientist Scheme has been an effective vehicle for improving the research capabilities of NARS and for training and technology transfer. It depends however on availability of special project funding. The scientists hired and assigned to the teams are not part of the IITA core staff. The Third EPR argued strongly against this, as the staff were regarded as not belonging to IITA and contributed little to IITA's core activities. IITA Board has come out against the Institute being involved in large institutional-building projects. However, projects involving a small number of scientists will still be accepted. The Panel agrees with this strategy.
3.2.2.1. Overview
The RLS Scheme was designed to link NARS priorities to IITA research and training programmes and thereby foster a "holistic, cost-effective and demand-pulled response to NARS1". The Scheme achieves collaboration through, among other things:
1 Suh, J.B. et al. 1992. Mechanisms for collaborating and strengthening NARS in sub-Saharan Africa. The Research Liaison Scientist, in Developing Appropriate Strategies and Organizations for Agricultural Research in Small Countries, ISNAR, 1992· helping to deepen understanding and broaden knowledge at IITA of the NARS in the region; their ecologies, organizational structures, resources, research and training programmes
· reinforcing NARS commodity improvement research on their key food crops through collaborative testing of germplasm generated at IARCs
· facilitating IITA's activities in each NARS and assisting IITA colleagues to focus on the most pressing problems in a holistic approach, to avoid fragmentation
· encouraging and assisting NARS to adopt and use a farming systems orientation in crop and resource management research
· assisting the NARS to strengthen linkages between their agricultural research and extension services, in order to promote more effective use of research information.
The Scheme was launched with the RLS being located "in carefully selected host countries on the basis of agroecologies, logistics and absorptive capacities for IITA technologies" (Suh et al.)1. Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and Congo were chosen as host countries for West and Central Africa, representing the moist savanna (Bouaké), forest savanna transition (Kumasi); coastal savanna (Cotonou) and the humid forest (Brazzaville) ecologies respectively. The RLS are expected to carry out liaison activities in the neighbouring five to seven countries. The humid forest assignment was closed in 1993, owing to financial and political difficulties.
1 Op. cit.
3.2.2.2. Assessment
In the Panel's view, the RLS Scheme on which IITA pinned most of its hopes for accelerating collaborative research activities with NARS appears not to have performed well - mainly because the mechanics of its funding and operations did not match its laudable goals. (This poor performance should not therefore be blamed on the incumbents.) More specifically, the reasons for an uneven performance ranged among financial resources not being available to back up the activities; lack of support from research programmes at IITA headquarters in some instances; poor communication facilities in the region; and more importantly, in some countries, political upheavals. However, generalizations across countries cannot capture the unique circumstance of each particular NARS-RLS relationship; and furthermore, these circumstances changed over time. On many occasions, the RLS did a commendable job, including arranging for NARS scientists to participate in courses, seminars, workshops, etc. However, the RLS have had little or no impact in other countries where they had "liaison duties". Even after more than two years since the Scheme was reviewed and relaunched in 1992, the RLS have not always been able to visit and initiate collaborative activities in the countries to which they are "assigned".
The last EPR noted strong misgivings about the likely effectiveness of this Scheme as a facilitating system for collaborative research activities. It noted that one scientist, who had been placed in a NARS with limited financial resources and expected to effect collaborative relations not only within the host NARS but also several with other neighbouring NARS, in an area with poor communication, lacking sufficient institutional support from IITA, could not be expected to succeed. The Panel concurs with this observation and wishes IITA had done so too, in 1990, when it was first put forward. Despite this, the Panel believes the Scheme, with suitable adjustments, could be of use in particular circumstances and for a more limited initiatives - and suggests that a few RLS positions could be redeployed for strengthening collaboration with NARS (see Section 4.2.7.).
3.2.3.1. Overview
There are three basic types of networks as defined by SPAAR:
· Information exchange networks - to organize and facilitate exchange of ideas and methodologies and report on the results of current research· Scientific coordination/consultative networks - to enable country-country or participant-participant focus on common priority research areas initiated and implemented independently by the participating institutions. These networks hold regular meetings which provide additional means of information exchange on research as "information" networks above;
· collaborative research networks - to enable joint intercountry planning and monitoring of research on problems of common concern to countries within a region.
Currently, IITA has been associated with the following collaborative research networks, and provides a variety of management, coordination and technical support, in varying degrees, to the collaborating NARS:
(1) Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD) phase II, for cowpea (RENACO); funding ended in 1993 and resumed for one year in 1995.(2) West and Central Africa SAFGRAD Maize Collaborative Research Network ran to mid-1993 and became the West and Central Africa Maize Research Network (WECAMAN) in late 1994, with funding for 1994-96.
(3) East and Southern Africa Root Crops Research Network (ESARRN) ran to late 1993 and then split to form networks 4 and 5 below.
(4) East African Root Crops Research Network (EARRNET).
(5) Southern African Roots Crops Research Network (SARRNET).
(6) Alley Farming Network for Tropical Africa (AFNETA).
(7) Soil and Plant Analytical Laboratories Network for Africa (SPALNA).
(8) Collaborative Group on Maize-Based Systems Research (COMBS).
(9) Collaborative Group for Root and Tuber Improvement Systems Research (CORTIS).
(10) Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA).
3.2.3.2. Achievements
The SAFGRAD commodity networks were externally evaluated in 19931; the evaluation was very positive for maize and cowpea. The networks had substantial impact on research on maize and cowpea in West Africa. It was estimated that the internal return to investment in public research through these networks was of the order of 73%. The networks had facilitated diffusion of new cultivars, and to a lesser extent, of improved agronomic technologies associated with the new cultivars of maize and cowpea. Even though the original SAFGRAD Project was terminated in 1993, the encouraging performance of the RENACO and WECAMAN networks, enable their lives to be extended.
1 See Impact Assessment of the SAFGRAD Commodity Network - USAID/AFR/ARTS/FARA/OICD OAU/STRC/SAFGRAD. J.H. Saunders, Taye Bezuneh and Alan C. Schroeder
The other networks which have been externally evaluated in the recent past are EARRNET and AFNETA. EARRNET (a successor to ESARRN in East Africa) was evaluated in November 1994, and received a positive assessment.1 The review found that the network was effective in addressing issues and constraints to development of high-yielding cultivars. It developed methodologies for the generation of improved varieties, including basic seed and planting materials; facilitated the strengthening of human resource capacities in the programmes of the participating NARS, in the areas of root crops research and biological control in pest management and facilitated ready exchange of germplasm varieties and research information among the NARS. It had also encouraged on-farm and farmer-participatory research, thus generating greater relevance of research and slowly providing adoption and impact indicators.
1 (see Phase II Evaluation of East African Networks funded by USAID - for USAID/G/EG/AFS IARC, Washington, D.C.) Oct. 23-Nov. 12, 1994. Review and Report by James C. Sentz, University of Minnesota, January 1995.
The network's leadership was praised for being responsive to donor efforts to give greater emphasis to technology adoption and impact potentials in relation to policy decisions in the region.
ESARRN, the predecessor of EARRNET and SARRNET, was reviewed in 1992.2 The report concluded that direct and in-kind project inputs, such as technical assistance, training and network co-ordination, had been delivered successfully and had contributed towards the stated project outputs. Operational support to NARS for regional research had been provided by IITA through the collaborative regional research projects. The NARS had also contributed to the projects in the form of staff time, research facilities and other logistical support.
2 (See IITA/ESARRN End of Project Review, Jan. 1992)
Technical assistance and technical training provided by IITA were found to be effective and had contributed greatly to strengthening on-farm research of the cooperating NARS root-crops programmes. The overall performance and impact of the network was such that the network had generated strong interest among farmers to obtain improved materials, and had encouraged adoption of rapid multiplication and the roguing and selection of planting materials. Yield estimates indicated that improved varieties of cassava and sweet potato, used with improved management techniques, had considerably out-yielded varieties used with traditional management techniques. The evaluation report summary concluded that "the project generated enough benefits to justify its costs, that the potential for measurable farm level impact and genuine progress towards meeting food security needs in the region were good, and future support to the network should continue".1
1 Op cit, p.v.
AFNETA was also reviewed in 1992.2 The evaluator found that "the network had encouraged NARS to conduct work on-farm and develop linkages with NGOs and other extension agencies, thus serving a pioneering role, and concluded that the network had largely been successful in developing strong institutional linkages between IARCs, NARS, donors, external institutions and extension organizations.
2 see CIDA/IDRC/IFAD Third Year Evaluation Report of the Alley Farming Network for Tropical Africa - AFNETA, IITA Aug. 1992, p. 4-5
Elsewhere in this report we have referred to the performance of COSCA (see Section 7.1.2.), of which it has been said that it "undoubtedly constitutes one of the best commodity studies implemented in Africa to date".
3.2.3.3. Assessment
The reports cited above indicate that the networks have been considered by other evaluators to be a useful vehicle for sustaining collaboration between IITA and the participating NARS. That is also reflected in the response to the survey questionnaire sent to collaborators (Appendix IV). IITA has also found networks to be a valuable means for receiving feedback, for setting research priorities, and for making improved technologies available to the participating NARS for further testing and adaptation in specific agroecologies. They thus enable IITA and the NARS to respond to the concern that technologies increasingly need to be developed within the region. Given the diversity of production environments even at subregional and national levels, technologies targeted to specific niches need to be tested at the national and subnational levels; and this targeting and local testing is facilitated by network activities.
The Panel commends IITA for the part it has played in successfully promoting networks as vehicles for partnership with NARS. However, the Panel also notes that some of them have been running for a long time. AFNETA is a network which is now in its sixth year of operation and has not yet provided evidence that alley farming technology is being accepted by the small-scale farmers. The work which led to this network was undertaken by IITA more than 16 years ago. The last evaluation report, quoted above, observed that alley farming is unlikely to be a solution for the millions of small farmers of sub-Saharan Africa, and that the prospects for its adoption are conditioned by cultural and biophysical zones. Unfortunately, the network participants continue to discuss network procedures and seem not to be adequately addressing the research agenda envisaged in the original project proposal. In the proposed Phase II, emphasis is placed in technology transfer through farmer-participatory approaches.
IITA has recognized this need to focus on both process and output and recently reviewed its policy with regard to the networks. The Panel supports the conclusion that IITA "devolve the responsibility for managing networks to national institutions as soon as they have the capacity and willingness to assume it". Regional bodies like SACCAR and ASARECA, in Southern Africa and East and Central Africa, respectively, have been set up and there are prospects of West and Central Africa having a regional body following the withdrawal of France from CORAF (Conférence des responsables de recherche agronomique africains). The Panel sees this as an opportunity for IITA to initiate the devolution of its responsibilities of running the networks to NARS. In addition, in the Panel's view, there is need to integrate more closely these IITA-supported networks with the Centre's other research and training activities.
In the light of the above, the Panel believes that recent review of IITA and its collaboration with NARS in respect of networks did not go far enough.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA review its policies and strategies relating to networks to ensure that these are adequately integrated with, and receive support from, the Centre's research and training programmes.
3.3.1. Introduction
3.3.2. Activities and Achievements
3.3.3. Assessment
In sub-Saharan African countries, increasing agricultural productivity is crucial to development process and institutions devoted to agricultural research and development have a vital role to play. The technologies generated in these institutions need to be adapted and adopted by the small-scale farmers who are the dominant group in agriculture in these countries, in order that they may increase their agricultural production. Unfortunately, the region has a critical shortage of trained agricultural scientists and technicians who need to work with the farmers to adopt improved technologies. IITA's Training Programme's main objective is to strengthen the capacities of national agricultural research systems to conduct the research and training regarded as essential to their own agricultural development. To this end, IITA, during the last 27 years, has provided training to over 8,000 research and extension staff - approximately 2,400 of whom were trained during the period under review.
The last EPR had made a series of suggestions about how the Training Programme could become more effective in serving the NARS in SSA. It called for, inter alia, giving emphasis to people involved in adaptive research; in individual research training, emphasis on African postgraduate fellows; and a deliberate effort to increase the number of African women trainees at all levels. It further suggested that IITA utilize the RRPMC to train more French-speaking technicians at the University Centre of Dschang in Cameroon. Due to administrative problems within the institution and the country, training planned in collaboration with University of Dschang under RRPMC funding was reluctantly transferred to Cotonou, Benin.
The Strategic Plan (1989-2000) commits IITA to:
· devote more core funds to training than before
· decentralize group training to national institutions
· shift emphasis at Ibadan from group training to individual research training; and
· increase the proportion of African women participants at all levels.
In order to implement the Strategic Plan and to respond effectively to the suggestions of the last EPR, IITA set up, in November 1991, an internal review panel on training. The panel drew members from NARS, one IARC (ISNAR), the IITA BoT, and the Centre itself. Its main recommendations were:
A. Individual Training1. Specialized training should be given greater emphasis.2. The Training Programme should take full responsibility for the management of this type of training as for the other types.
B. Graduate Research Fellowships
1. IITA should strive to train scientists of the highest calibre.2. The trainees' dissertation topics should be within the advising scientist's area of expertise and be an integral part of the adviser's programme.
3. Training Programme should provide an annual course for research fellows that will help them to be better researchers.
4. Training Programme should assist with finding accommodation for the Graduate Research fellows.
C. Group Training
1. IITA should develop a more systematic approach to determine NARS training needs and priorities.2. IITA research and training programmes should cooperate in developing effective means of assessing NARS priorities for both research and training.
3. Current courses should be disaggregated and reformulated into courses either on research skills for researchers (on-campus courses) or crop production and technology transfer skills (off-campus).
There were also other recommendations on production of Training Materials, Monitoring and Assessment of Training at IITA, Training Women at IITA and Inter-Centre Collaboration. Thus, this Internal Review gave the Training Programme a big inspiration by reinforcing the suggestions of the EPR, as well as the Strategic Plan.
3.3.2.1. Types of Courses
The Training Programme runs three types of programmes:
· The Graduate Research Fellowship Programme, intended for M.Sc. and Ph.D. candidates. Individual research scientists studying for a higher degree are selected for fellowships on the basis of their outstanding performance. Participants may be funded from IITA core or non-core funds or be self-funded· Non-degree participants (Research Training Associates): they receive specialized and individualized training to improve their professional proficiency, but are not working for a higher university degree
· Group training: as the name indicates, short courses involve working scientists and technicians and generally last between one and four weeks.
During the period under review, the group courses offered by the Training Programme included, among other subject areas, the following:
· Advanced Soils and Plant Analysis
· Alley Farming
· Biological Control of Insect pests
· Computer Application of MSTATC Statistical Package
· Cowpea and Soybean Research Technology Transfer
· Farmer-Participatory Research Methods
· Laboratory Equipment Maintenance
· Maize Research and Technology Transfer
· Plantain Research and Technology Transfer
· Postharvest Research and Technology Development
· Root Crops Research and Technology Transfer
· Training and Communications Skills for Researchers and Extensionists.
During the same period, a total of 30 course planning meetings and workshops were held. Of the 115 group training courses, 64 were conducted at Ibadan (53) and Cotonou (11), while the rest were off-campus. The number of regional courses involving other CGIAR centres has steadily gone up, indicating an increase in inter-centre collaboration in the area of training. IITA, along with ICRAF and WARDA, initiated an annual meeting of the CGIAR training officers - consequently the Training Programme has worked closely with the other CGIAR centres on initiatives to share resources and strengthen the NARS without duplicating their efforts. As a further demonstration of this inter-centre collaboration, IITA and ILCA (now ILRI) have taken steps to integrate their training activities, while leaving the door open for the other CGIAR centres to join them.
3.3.2.2. Participant Statistics
Since 1990, nearly 2,400 scientists and technicians have participated in training and professional advancement programmes of IITA. Of them, 119 were for Ph.D. students and 95 M.Sc. students. Non-degree courses were attended by 90 participants, while the group training courses covered over 2,000 participants. Most of the participants originated from the mandate area of IITA, with only 5% coming from countries outside of Africa. The number of women graduate students has increased appreciably. At the time of the last EPR, women who started graduate research constituted 22% of the Ph.D. students and 23% of the M.Sc. students among all trainees. In 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994, the percentage of women offered fellowships for Ph.D. and M.Sc. studies was 18, 23, 29, 36 and 16, respectively. The low figure for 1994 reflects the fact that IITA could not award any new Graduate Research Fellowships from core funds in 1994 due to budget restrictions. The number of African women graduate students is also impressive (34 in 1994 and 31 in 1995). This increase in African women graduate students is not matched in the group training courses, where the proportion of women has remained low (13%). There is no information on the courses which the 13% of women participants attended. Although IITA gives preference to women, the low number of women taking part in the group training course reflects the actual pool of women in agricultural research and the relatively low number of nominations by NARS.
3.3.2.3. Training Materials
The Training programme and the collaborating NARS have produced training materials to support the decentralized courses. A large proportion of the planned numbers of IITA Research Guides have been prepared and others are at an advanced stage of editing. These Guides are used by both researchers and trainers, and are provided to the national programme partners to help provide training of a high quality.
The Training Programme has also provided consultancies to national programmes on the preparation of training materials. To help improve the relevance of the courses to the national programmes and trainees, the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit asks all participants at the end of each course for their evaluation of the course objectives, design, relevance, quality of instructions and planning and management of the course. The feedback helps the course planners to improve the courses.
The close collaboration between the Training Programme and the Research Programmes is elaborated through the Technical Training Committee which meets quarterly to review and plan training activities. This ensures a well-programmed scheme for training at all levels. This internal partnership is a prerequisite for ensuring that quality training is imparted. The Training Programme in many instances surpassed the targets established in the first MTP (1989-93). The MTP provided for 30 graduate researchers on core funds and 70 non-core funds and self-funded; the actual annual average was maintained at 33 for core, and 82 for non-core and self-funded. As an indication of the Centre's concern for gender in its graduate training, the number of women trainees has doubled in comparison with the previous five years.
Other significant developments regarding individual training comprised:
· commissioning of a study of the pool of women agricultural professionals in 16 West African countries· securing of special funds for fellowships for East and West African agricultural women professionals
· improvement of the conditions of graduate research fellowships
· exercising of flexibility in granting extensions to research Fellows based on a more vigorous, three-step, programme monitoring and evaluation process.
With regard to group courses, the Programme implemented the recommendations of the 1991 internal review undertaken in 1991 by embarking on a vigorous decentralization of group courses. It has succeeded in reorienting the Group Training Unit towards strengthening the capacity of NARS to conduct their own research-related training. The decision to decentralize the group courses has been welcomed by the NARS, as it has given them an opportunity to provide resource persons and also helps NARS prepare themselves for eventual assumption of full responsibility for such training courses. The Panel commends IITA for having moved expeditiously to decentralize its group training courses. This is being carried out methodically, and is being accompanied by training of trainers and provision of Research Guides, among other measures.
In order to ensure the availability of funds for the decentralized courses, IITA has developed two proposals for special funding. The Programme has provided leadership in developing gender and end-user awareness, has helped develop skills in gender/end-user analysis among IITA training and research staff by hosting consultancies on gender analysis in training materials and research portfolio reviews for IITA scientists.
The need for trained agricultural researchers and technicians in Africa is enormous. IITA and other CGIAR Centres have a comparative advantage in training because of their involvement in agricultural research. The contribution of trained manpower to national development of the NARS will depend on the extent to which national governments give priority in resource allocation to agricultural research and training. Indeed, IITA has trained over 8,000 African men and women but it has not tracked them subsequently. The recent pilot survey questionnaire sent out to all former IITA training participants in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria is a beginning in the effort to collect information on impact of training. A fuller impact assessment will be carried out in the next 18 months.
The need for training African women scientists and technicians cannot be overemphasized. The African woman is at the forefront of agriculture and yet national governments do not nominate women to take advantage of the training programmes of IITA. Perhaps IITA should sensitize not only its staff to this, but also directors of research and extension of the collaborating NARS. Overall, however, the Panel concludes that the Training Programme has done a commendable job during the review period.
The need to strengthen the NARS research capabilities in the region is greater today than it was before. The IARCs should increase and strengthen collaboration with NARS to ensure that improved technologies are taken up by small-scale farmers. It must be recognized that the IARCs cannot solve all the problems of technology generation and transfer. The long-term requirement for strengthening research capacity in the region can ultimately only be met by greatly improving the national programmes to which IITA and other IARCs can devolve some of their roles.
The ecoregional approach to international agricultural research has been prepared by TAC for fostering NARS-IARC collaboration. It calls for improving the institutional arrangements involving NARS and IARCs in collaborative research on sustainability problems and integrating productivity research with national resources management research. IITA's ecoregional initiatives provide yet another opportunity for IITA to strengthen its collaboration with its NARS partners, to generate productivity-enhancing and environmentally sound technologies.
IITA within its ecoregional orientation has established research stations in key agroecological zones of the region (see Sections 1.4. and 2.3.). The benefits of decentralization are the closeness of the researchers to the problems to be addressed and increased contacts with the NARS. The regional visibility and accessibility leads to willingness to adopt and adapt new technologies and gives IITA more knowledge of and potential responsiveness to, the real problems faced by the NARS. Decentralization, therefore, has great potential in fostering collaborative, particularly on-farm, research activities within the host NARS and those in the neighbouring countries. The Panel is aware that the IITA management recognizes the potential benefits of decentralization as a mechanism of increasing cooperation with national programmes.
Training is a continuing process and even those who have passed through IITA courses may need to return for refresher courses, more likely as participants in the individualized non-degree training. Individual training needs to be emphasized even more in the future. The initiative taken by IITA to prepare funding proposals should be pursued, to secure funds for group training courses off-campus. The performance of IITA during the past five years in training activities and the growing inter-centre collaboration has created the expectation that more opportunities for training will be created. However, available projections indicate that Africa needs an additional 10,000 research scientists by the year 2000. Clearly, IITA and other IARCs cannot be expected to fill this need, and in the long-run, IITA must work towards reducing its role in training by phasing out its group training activities and individual short training courses. At the same time, there is a need to develop a more effective training strategy in which other IARCs and stronger NARS can participate.
Overall, the Panel notes that the International Cooperation Division must deal with a large and heterogeneous set of activities. The Panel recognizes that the Institute's role in institution-strengthening will remain important in the foreseeable future. In view of the new functions, including information services and public awareness, proposed to be assigned to ICD (Section 4.2.5), the Panel foresees a stronger institutional role for the Division both within IITA and with its external collaborators. Hence, given the commendable progress made by IITA in decentralizing its training activities, the new emerging Systemwide ecoregional initiatives/programmes within the region and the new potential modes of partnerships with NARS, the Panel recommends the following:
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that the International Cooperation Division undertake a review of its priorities, strategies and activities, in order to respond effectively to the emerging opportunities for increased partnership with NARS and other collaborators.
