Agricultural research in Africa: Investing in future harvests

16 August 2016. In Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests, researchers and other development specialists examine the state of agricultural research and development (R&D) in the region and how such R&D can be improved. The research is an output of Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI), led by the International Food Policy Research Institute within the portfolio of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets.

Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) is at a prospective tipping point. Shifting to a growth path based on increased productivity is essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a growth trajectory depends on deepening rural innovation capacity, which requires a continuous supply of improved agricultural technologies and management practices stemming from an effective and efficient agricultural research system. Key strategies are necessary to address current limitations and inefficiencies in agricultural R&D financing, human resources, organization and management, and systems-level structuring for continued growth.

1. Chapter 1 Agricultural Growth and Productivity in Africa: Recent Trends and Future Outlook [Download]
2. Chapter 2 The Evolution of Agricultural Research in Africa: Key Trends and Institutional Developments [Download]
3. Chapter 3 Economies of Size in National Agricultural Research Systems [Download]
4. Chapter 4 Investment in Agricultural Research and Development: An Account of Two-Speed Growth, Underinvestment, and Volatility [Download]
5. Chapter 5 Why Do African Countries Underinvest in Agricultural R&D? [Download]
6. Chapter 6 Changing Donor Trends in Assistance to Agricultural Research and Development in Africa South of the Sahara [Download]
7. Chapter 7 Private-Sector Investment in African Agricultural Research [Download]
8. Chapter 8 Ensuring Human Resource Capacity to Secure Agricultural Transformation [Download]
9. Chapter 9 African Faculties of Agriculture within an Expanding University Sector [Download]
10. Chapter 10 Network Innovations: Building the Next Generation of Agricultural Scientists in Africa [Download]
11. Chapter 11 The Role of Impact Assessment in Evaluating Agricultural R&D [Download]
12. Chapter 12 Monitoring and Evaluation to Strengthen the Performance of Agricultural R&D [Download]
13. Chapter 13 Integrating Agricultural Research into an African Innovation System [Download]
14. Chapter 14 Crossborder Collaboration in African Agricultural Research: The Political Economy of Technology Spillovers [Download]
15. Chapter 15 The Role of CGIAR in Agricultural Research for Development in Africa South of the Sahara [Download]
16. Chapter 16 Unlocking Africa’s Agricultural Potential [Download]