Cape Town, South Africa
September 24, 2008
by Christina Scott,
SciDevNet
A lack of emphasis on agricultural research in development
policy over the last quarter of a century is one of the main
reasons for the deterioration of African farming, according to a
UN report released this month (15 September).
The UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) report on Africa's economic development
also cites the small size of each country's research stations,
isolated researchers and high staff turnover as other factors
that helped "prevent the attainment of a critical mass of
scientific and technical staff".
"In Sub-Saharan Africa there are problems with agricultural
research, which determines the rate of technological change,"
Sam Gayi, lead researcher of the report told SciDev.Net.
As a result, except for maize and more recently cassava, "most
of Sub-Saharan Africa has no immediately applicable crop
technology that might, with adequate price incentives,
substantially increase the profitability of investments in
agriculture," the report concludes.
"Only a quarter of the total crop area of Sub-Saharan Africa is
planted with modern crop varieties," says Gayi.
Credit provision for farmers, as well as investment in
infrastructure and research, were abandoned by donor-dictated
development policies in many parts of Africa, with long-lasting
detrimental effects, the report says.
The authors also criticise many state agricultural budgets for
being skewed towards administrative costs rather than research.
They say gaps in communicating research and policy developments,
combined with shortages of credit — particularly the dissolution
of marketing boards that often gave cash advances to small-scale
farmers — have made it more difficult for improved government
policies to be translated into improved yields in the fields.
The report singles out Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and South Africa as
countries that have managed to improve their agricultural
exports. Côte d'Ivoire continues to benefit from "huge
investments", including government funds for research, made in
the 1960s in a diverse range of crops.
The authors also say that restrictive standards on exports are
placing a burden on African nations, who struggle to meet them.
"Several African countries do not have the technical capacity or
resources to comply with the required standards," says Hezron
Nyangito, former director of the Kenya Institute of Public
Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and newly-appointed deputy
governor of the Central Bank of Kenya.
KIPPRA research suggests that Kenyan farmers would have to
increase agricultural spending tenfold and Uganda would need to
spend about US$300 million to upgrade its honey-processing
plants to comply with European Union standards.
Full report:
http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/aldcafrica2008_en.pdf |
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