234 IAC Report Annexes

Transcription

1 234 IAC Report Annexes

2 Annex A. Priority issues that emerged from African regional consultative workshops The iac Study Panel conducted a series of joint consultative African regional workshops, in association with subregional organizations, during January and February Summary proceedings of these four workshops are accessible from the iac website, Sponsors, dates, location, and participant numbers for the four workshops follow: Eastern and Central Africa (Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa/InterAcademy Council (asareca/iac)), 31 January-2 February 2003, Inter-Continental Hotel Nairobi, Kenya; 43 participants. Northern Africa (Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (aarinena)/iac), 3-5 February 2003, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Rabat, Morocco; 30 participants. Southern Africa (National Department of Agriculture, Republic of South Africa/iac), 7-9 February 2003, Magaliesburg, South Africa; 32 participants. Western and Central Africa (Le Counseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles (coraf)/iac), February 2003, Dakar, Senegal; 45 participants. The aims of the workshop were twofold: (1) understand the regional constraints to improved agricultural productivity as a means of improving food security; and (2) identify explicitly the role of science and technology (s&t) in alleviating constraints and exploiting opportunities. Following are the priority issues that emerged from the regional consultative workshops. It should be noted that the listing does not imply any particular order of priority by the Study Panel. It represents the predominant views of those attending the consultative workshops. Institutional issues Markets Prices for outputs of smallholders are too low and those of inputs too high, such that their ability to become more market-oriented is severely constrained. IAC Report Annexes 235

3 Paucity of access by smallholders to market, technology and other information means missed opportunities. There is need to capitalize on the unique opportunity provided by information and communications technology to provide such access. National agricultural research systems and subregional organizations There is inadequate intersectoral strategic planning and priority setting for agricultural research and development (r&d) on both a national and regional basis. At best there are weak linkages between national agricultural research institutes and the universities, and often they are non-existent; this represents a failure to exploit synergies when there are acknowledged human and financial constraints to effective agricultural research and development in the national agricultural research systems (nars). Collaboration among the nars, subregional organizations, international agricultural research centres and the advanced research institutes needs to improve significantly in order to fully exploit synergies. There have been excessive and continuous reforms and restructuring of nars, with different approaches being suggested by different donors. Decentralization/devolution and increased stakeholder participation offer many attractions but also pitfalls. Farmers There are inadequate numbers of effective smallholder farmer organizations to ensure their full participation as key stakeholders in national, regional, continental and international agricultural r&d priority setting. Governments The quality and extent of science education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels is inadequate, which limits capacity building. A major boost in the priority accorded to science education at all three levels is required. There are weak or non-existent links between research and extension. There is a rejection of the linear model of the research-extension-farmer linkage and an expressed need for a fresh approach. Customary and communal land tenure systems are often poorly developed and as a result are constraining investments in agriculture by smallholders, especially in some countries of Southern Africa. 236 IAC Report Annexes

4 Private sector There are a limited public-private partnerships in agricultural research and development, which could be helped by investing in basic communications and transport infrastructure, as well as cultivating a climate of trust between the two sectors that is currently lacking. The policy environment Markets and trade Globalization and subsidies by countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (oecd) are placing undue challenges and constraints on African countries in pursuing an exportoriented agricultural marketing strategy. African countries will need to develop more effective international advocacy with the North, perhaps on a regional basis. Barriers are limiting African intra-regional trade opportunitiescountries must harmonize their intra- and inter-regional trade policies. Domestic agricultural markets are not functioning effectively due to poor infrastructure and inadequate availability of timely market information. Resources and governance There are inadequate incentives for the private sector to invest in the agricultural sector, resulting in underinvestment and capital flight. Poor governance is leading to a breakdown of the democratic institutions that are critical to a more participatory involvement of stakeholders in agricultural r&d agenda setting and resource mobilization. Science and technology strategies Constraints and opportunities Soil, water and fertility management represent key natural resources constraints; addressing these will require local, national and regional research and/or policy interventions, depending on the nature and extent of the particular constraints. Loss of genetic diversity of wild and domesticated flora and fauna requires enhanced conservation strategies, community participation, application of biotechnology, and capacity building. Sustainable food security is jeopardized by health issues, such as poor nutrition and/or diseases such as hiv/aids, malaria and TB, leading to IAC Report Annexes 237

5 loss of human capital among farmers, scientists and their families. The relative economic and environmental merits of large-scale compared to small-scale irrigation development remains an open question, and an appropriate strategy for irrigation development in the various agro-ecological zones of Africa is unclear. Is there sufficient agricultural technology on-the-shelf to increase agricultural productivity if only the policy regimes and infrastructure were conducive to adoption, or is more innovative research needed to identify viable productivity-enhancing technology options for the complex diversified agricultural systems of Africa? Should Africa embrace genetically modified organisms (gmos) and the associated biosafety protocols, as a desirable component of a strategy that aims to substantially improve productivity potentials of the major food and commercial crops and livestock species? Markets There is a need to adopt a proactive regional approach both to participation in the establishment of quality and phytosanitary standards associated with access to markets of oecd countries and in international conventions (desertification, climate change and biodiversity). The lack of an effective intellectual property rights regime especially hampers r&d activities of the private sector and reduces investment by both national and international firms. Capacity Weak and/or non-existent national academies of science and professional associations reduce the influence of scientists in the formulation of s&t strategies and policies and the mobilization of resources for agricultural research and development. Planning and incentives There is a need to articulate more coherently national s&t strategies and policies that integrate across sectors. Subregional organizations are reluctant and/or unable to enter into the political arena in a more proactive manner to influence the strategies of governments in ways that accord higher priority to agricultural research and development. Better incentives and mechanisms are needed to identify viable indigenous technologies and commercialize them; this relates to the issue of farmers rights, which can be promoted through farmer education and farmers schools. 238 IAC Report Annexes

6 The proposed increase in the extent of competitive grant funding is exacerbating the tensions among the various components of the national agricultural research systems: universities versus national agricultural research institutes; central versus zonal institutions; and strategic research versus applied/adaptive/participatory research. This encourages the research institutions to be competitors rather than partners. Universities need to become incubators for operational institutions such as agricultural enterprises and conservation organizations, and focal points for integration of national s&t activities with the changing global institutional ecology; they need to pursue academic excellence alongside an entrepreneurial orientation. IAC Report Annexes 239