dc.description.abstract | The agricultural economies of Africa have witnessed
three major changes during the past 10 to 15 years
that justify a reassessment of agricultural research
priorities. First, liberalization of macroeconomic and
trade policies has increased the relative importance of
tradeables in the commodity mix. Second, agricultural
input and product markets have expanded, broadening
the range of livelihood strategies available to rural
households. Finally, broader
partnerships for technology
development and dissemination are
creating new opportunities.
Many of Africa’s poorest and most
food-insecure farmers live in semiarid
areas. To survive in a harsh and
variable environment, they pursue a
range of livelihood strategies. Different households
pursue different development paths. But almost all
seek to diversify their income sources and investment
strategies as a means to reduce risk and respond to
changing market conditions.
How can R&D agencies improve the payoffs to
farmers’ investments? There are trade-offs between
different alternatives – should the farmer spend her
limited money looking for an off-farm job, or on
livestock, or on a bag of fertilizer? It is hard to evaluate
these trade-offs. But recent investment trends offer
some clues on the trade-offs involved, and on how
farmers’ investment decisions are influenced by
changes in policy, technologies, and market conditions.
In July 2002, ICRISAT sponsored a conference on
Targeting agricultural research for development in the
semi-arid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa to discuss how
best to link technology development, market
expansion, and agricultural growth in Africa’s semiarid
tropics (SAT). This meeting
• Examined and compared alternative growth paths
for poverty alleviation and development of
smallholder agriculture
• Reviewed the market and institutional factors
influencing technology adoption
• Assessed the current stock of available technologies
• Discussed institutional
arrangements linking national and
international research programs
and the public and private
sectors.
The meeting concluded with a series
of recommendations for better
targeting of agricultural research to
achieve faster development. This policy brief
summarizes the discussions and outputs from the
meeting. | en |