Returns to R&D investment to inform priority setting in the One CGIAR and NARS
Returns to R&D investment to inform priority setting in the One CGIAR and NARS

Author: Nin-Pratt, Alejandro

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2022-02-10

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The 2019 report of the Global Commission on Adaptation for accelerated action to adapt to climate change included a call for increased allocation of resources to international agricultural research. The production and adaptation challenges faced by agriculture will be most acutely felt in Africa and South Asia, focus regions of the CGIAR, the world’s largest public food systems research network. These challenges come at a time when the CGIAR is undergoing a transformation of its partnerships, knowledge, assets and global presence, emerging as One CGIAR, aimed at sharpening its mission and impact focus to 2030 and beyond, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Evidence on the impacts of CGIAR research since the 1980s have consistently found high rates of return to investment. How could this evidence on the performance of the CGIAR and its partnership with NARS in developing regions be used to inform investment priority setting and to achieve the One CGIAR goals in the coming years? We used detailed R&D investment data from the CGIAR, NARS (ASTI) and evidence from the literature on returns to CGIAR investment by crop and region to develop and calibrate a model of R&D investment that allows us to conduct priority-setting analysis of alternative CGIAR investment across research activities and regions. The model developed can be linked to global partial equilibrium and economy-wide forward-looking models to analyze the effect of different CGIAR investment options under alternative future scenarios. We checked the plausibility of the results obtained by the model calculating the Benefit-Cost ratio of historical CGIAR investments and found that each dollar invested by the CGIAR between 1971 and 2018 returned almost 10 dollars in output as the result of increased productivity, which is within the range of returns found by most recent meta-analyses impact of CGIAR investment. An application of the model to SSA shows that the best results for the CGIAR are obtained from investments in cassava and potato in Southern Africa; yams, sorghum, cassava and groundnuts in West Africa; cassava in East Africa and groundnuts and shoats in the Sahel.

Agricultural R&D investments and policy development goals in Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing prioritization of value chains in Senegal
Agricultural R&D investments and policy development goals in Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing prioritization of value chains in Senegal

Author: Benfica, Rui

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2022-01-28

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This paper looks at the prioritization of agricultural value chains (VCs) for the allocation of R&D resources that maximize development outcomes (poverty, growth, jobs, and diets). Considering that growth in VCs affects those various outcomes differently, as expansion pathways result in the diverse use of production factors and inputs, trade-offs from linkages across sectors, and changes throughout the agri-food system, this analysis uses (i) the RIAPA dynamic computable general equilibrium model to identify which agricultural VCs, when expanded through TFP growth, provide the strongest effects on the development outcomes of interest; (ii) the perpetual inventory model (PIM) to represent the lagged effect of research through knowledge stocks of agricultural R&D investments; and (iii) information on the elasticities of VC agricultural activity TFP with respect to agricultural R&D knowledge stocks, to discuss the VC priority allocations of R&D resources in Senegal. Results indicate that no one VC (crop- or livestock-related) is the most effective at improving all development outcomes. When accounting for policy preferences that attribute relative priority weight to development objectives, results (based on a ranking scale) indicate that R&D investments for maximizing development objectives can be most effective in Senegal’s VCs for traditional export crops (growth, diets, jobs, and to some extent poverty), groundnuts (poverty, diets, and jobs), rice (poverty and jobs), poultry/eggs (diets and jobs), sorghum/millet (poverty and growth), and cattle (diets and growth). Other promising VCs with potential effects at scale if strategically targeted include vegetables (poverty, diets, and jobs), oilseeds (poverty and growth), and fruits (diets and jobs). While these results can inform strategies aimed at improving multiple development outcomes, future modeling needs to focus on deepening the standardization and integration of R&D investments costs into the framework, disentangle the relevance of different types of R&D investments sources, and bring together other factors and complementary agrifood system investment dimensions relevant to sustainable and inclusive agricultural VC growth.

Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach
Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach

Author: Benfica, Rui

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments and rural poverty reduction, and the prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set of internationally comparable poverty dis-aggregated by urban and rural areas, country level undernourishment, and ASTI data on R&D investments and derived indicators. The study uses agricultural R&D knowledge stocks (KS) to account for the lagged effects of research through depreciation and gestation period of investments, and applies causal mediation analysis to assess the impact of KS on poverty and hunger and measure the relative contribution of KS-induced agricultural productivity growth on those outcomes. Evidence suggests that, while SSA growth in KS has been relatively slow, it helped reduce rural poverty and undernourishment – the percentage point reduction in rural extreme and moderate poverty of a 1% annual increase in KS is 0.218 and 0.146 percentage points per year, respectively. Mediation analysis indicates that a fifth of the KS effect on extreme rural poverty, and a quarter of the KS effect on moderate rural poverty, can be attributed to KS driven gains in agricultural labor productivity. Likewise, KS growth reduces undernourishment – a 1% annual increase in KS leads to a drop of 0.132 percentage points per year in the prevalence of undernourishment, with about 40% of that effect mediated through gains in agricultural land productivity. These results indicate that KS supports poverty and hunger reduction through benefits on-farm and beyond it. They also suggest that there is room for strengthening the role of R&D KS productivity enhancing innovations. Given the current low levels of investments in R&D and resulting KS, increasing its levels will be critical, but that alone is not sufficient. Policy makers will have to rethink the way the innovations from R&D get scaled up and pay attention to the necessary complementary policies and investments that enable a sustainable pathway leading to greater productivity growth and development impacts.

Agricultural Research in Africa
Agricultural Research in Africa

Author: Lynam, John

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2016-09-06

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 0896292126

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book—prepared by Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI), which is led by IFPRI—offers a comprehensive perspective on the evolution, current status, and future goals of agricultural research and development in Africa, including analyses of the complex underlying issues and challenges involved, as well as insights into how they might be overcome. Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara is at a prospective tipping point. Growth has accelerated in the past decade, but is unsustainable given increasing use of finite resources. The yield gap in African agriculture is significant, and scenarios on feeding the world’s population into the future highlight the need for Africa to expand its agricultural production. Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests discusses the need to shift to a growth path based on increased productivity—as in the rest of the developing world— which is essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a shift ultimately requires building on evolving improvements that collectively translate to deepening rural innovation capacity.

Agricultural Research Management
Agricultural Research Management

Author: G. Loebenstein

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-09-04

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1402060572

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Quite simply, this is required reading for anyone involved in managing agricultural research. With a wealth of practical solutions and advice, it offers a how-to guide for managers as well as highlighting the differences in the way that different nations approach this key area of research – one of the most widespread forms of inquiry in the world. The lessons that can be learned from this brilliant study apply in equal measure to developed and developing nations.

Prioritizing Agricultural Research for Development
Prioritizing Agricultural Research for Development

Author: David A. Raitzer

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1845935667

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Priority assessment for commodity improvement programmes has received methodological attention, yet innovation is needed for other, newer areas of research which have impact pathways that are harder to predict. Focusing on priority setting practices utilized in different international agricultural research institutes, this book discusses real world experiences and innovations with priority assessment methods. Chapters present approaches that have been used to articulate, explore and assess impact pathways and research priorities, while also considering their strengths and weaknesses and drawing together methodological lessons.

Strengthening National Agricultural Research Systems
Strengthening National Agricultural Research Systems

Author: Derek Byerlee

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 9780821341735

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This report provides a brief review of recent trends and key policies in strengthening national agricultural research systems. Chapters provide a brief overview of the recent evolution of national research systems and a synthesis of policy issues and good practices for developing these systems including the involvement of universities and the private sector. They also focus on key policy and institutional reforms for strengthening public research institutions including funding, research management, and client orientation. Finally they discuss implications for the World Bank in its ongoing efforts to strengthen national research systems.

The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop
The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop

Author: Minten, Bart

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-07-19

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 0896292835

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Considerable poverty and food insecurity in Ethiopia, combined with the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, make agricultural transformation a crucial development goal for the country. One promising improvement is to increase production of teff, the calorie- and nutrient-rich but low-yielding staple. The Economics of Teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s Biggest Cash Crop examines key aspects of teff production, marketing, and consumption, with a focus on opportunities for and challenges to further growth. The authors identify ways to realize teff’s potential, including improving productivity and resilience, selecting and scaling up new technologies, establishing distribution systems adapted to different areas’ needs, managing labor demand and postharvest operations, and increasing access to larger and more diverse markets. The book’s analysis and policy conclusions should be useful to policy makers, researchers, and others concerned with Ethiopia’s economic development.