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22 January 1993
Dr. Alex McCalla
Chair
Technical Advisory Committee
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
219 E Street, Suite 2C
Davis, CA 95616-4577, U.S.A.
Mr. Alexander von der Osten
Executive Secretary
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The World Bank
1818 H. Street, N.W.
Washington. DC 20433, U.S.A.
Dear Dr. McCalla and Mr. von der Osten,
It is my pleasure to transmit to you the Report of the Third External Review Panel appointed to assess the West Africa Research and Development Association. This is the first external review since the Association became a full member of the CGIAR System in 1987 and started to evolve from the 'old WARDA' to the 'new WARDA'.
As the Report makes clear, WARDA has been completely transformed during the past five years into a depoliticized, very well managed international centre, with a strategy that is intelligently designed and holds out the prospect of a significant impact within a reasonable time horizon. While the achievement of results will be the ultimate touchstone for a judgement on WARDA, the Panel believes that the Association in its new form has so far done very well indeed - in fact it is difficult to see how the changes of the last five years could have been handled better.
Credit for the transformation of WARDA goes to two sets of participants. In the first place we would mention the WARDA Member States, which have fully accepted the implications of the 1986 agreement with CGIAR. While continuing to support WARDA as a regional inter-governmental organization, they have left intact its status as an independent research centre within the CGIAR System. Secondly, credit goes to the Board, management and staff of WARDA, whose dynamism and commitment have brought about the impressive changes analyzed in our report.
At the operational level, an effective working partnership has been built up between WARDA and the national agricultural research systems of its Member States. The system of working groups and task forces known as the 'WARDA model' is well appreciated by NARS scientists, and appears to avoid many of the tensions that can arise between NARS and international centres.
WARDA has benefitted from the loyal support of a small number of regular donors. Nevertheless, the total response of the donor community has not been commensurate with the achievements of WARDA and its Member States in implementing the decisions of 1986. Instead of being rewarded, the Association has faced a steady erosion of its financial base. Currently, we believe that the level of operations is close to, or even below, the critical mass. The contrast between the effectiveness with which WARDA has engineered its own transformation, and the meagreness of the international support it has received, is the most striking single feature of the Review.
In our view, management will be unable to hold together the small but generally excellent team of scientists that it assembled in 1990-91 if the future of WARDA is not quickly placed on a secure financial foundation.
The Panel has been fortunate in receiving help and support from many sides. We are grateful to WARDA's Board, management and staff for giving us every assistance and enabling us to carry out our task smoothly and agreeably. We would like to thank the government officials and numerous agricultural scientists who shared with us their perceptions of WARDA and its activities - particularly those who extended their courtesies and kindness during the Panel's visit to Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Last but not least, I would like to express the Panel's thanks for the highly informed and able assistance of our Secretary, Amir Kassam of the TAC Secretariat, throughout the Review, and for the contributions of Don Plucknett and Elizabeth Field of the CGIAR Secretariat during the preliminary phase.
Yours sincerely,
Declan Walton, Chair
External Review Panel
