SOUTH AFRICA
• Agricultural research in South Africa is far better funded than most Sub-Saharan African countries.
• South Africa has one of the highest ratios in the region with regard to both spending per scientist and research intensity, or total spending on public agricultural R&D as a percentage of agricultural output.
• The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) is by far the largest provider of agricultural research and accounts for more than one half of the country’s public agricultural research expenditures and staff.
• Since 1997, government funding to ARC has been contracting and research staff has decreased by one-third.
SUDAN
• The agricultural sector was largely neglected during the 1990’s and early 2000’s, due to a focus on large-scale oil production, and agricultural R&D investments fell precipitously during this period.
• Public agricultural R&D investments doubled from 2001–08, but the country’s total spending as a percentage of agricultural GDP remained among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Human resource capacity increased steadily after 2000, but this capacity could erode as experienced senior scientists retire and are replaced with junior researchers who are not highly trained.
• Agricultural R&D is largely funded by the national government and donor funding is limited.
TANZANIA
• Spending on agricultural R&D rose significantly in 2008 after many years of relatively low investment.
• Agricultural research was traditionally dependent on funding from donors and development banks, but after 2004, when this funding plummeted, the government prioritized agricultural research and increased spending to bridge the gap.
• In 2009, the government committed to developing the agricultural sector and increasing investment in all research. Agriculture and livestock research are allocated 60 percent of funding for 2010-11.
• In July 2010, the government increased researchers’ salaries by more than 80 percent, but there is a dearth of well-qualified senior staff.
• Despite recent positive trends, many years of underinvestment in agricultural research have taken their toll and rectifying these issues will require time and ongoing commitment.
TOGO
• During the past decade, funding for agricultural R&D in Togo has been very unstable. Since the closure of a World Bank-funded project in 2003, agricultural research has been financed largely by the government.
• In 2008, the Togolese Agricultural Research Institute (ITRA), the main R&D agency, accounted for approximately two-thirds of agricultural research capacity and spending.
• From 2000-08, R&D capacity decreased by one-third, mainly due to the loss of ITRA researchers who retired but were not replaced. In 2009, ITRA recruited—and is currently training—several young scientists.
• Investment is expected to increase with the 2011 launch of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) funded by a World Bank loan. In the long run, the government will have to ensure secure funding to avoid fluctuations in investment and capacity levels.
UGANDA
• Investments in public agricultural R&D quadrupled from 1995–2008, primarily as a result of increased donor and development bank funding, along with increased government spending after 2005.
• After recruitment restrictions were lifted in 2005 and salaries increased by 100 percent, research staff increased considerably at the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), the main R&D agency.
• Research capacity at the major higher education institution, Makerere University, also grew in recent years, strengthening the role of this sector in agricultural R&D.
• Despite advancements, challenges remain: agricultural R&D is dependent on donor and development bank funding, the role of the nonprofit and private sectors is small, and income from the commercialization of research is limited.
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