Institute of Development Studies

Revitalising Agricultural Research in Africa

4 February 2011 - David Hughes

Agricultural development in Africa is hampered by a lack of investment in the physical, scientific, financial and human capacity required to transform the continent into the breadbasket of the world that it has the potential to become. Global financial and food crises have brought agriculture into even sharper focus reminding us again of the close link between poverty and food insecurity and signalling a need to reinvest (and prioritise) agriculture.

But without agricultural researchers advancements will be slow. The trickle of newly-qualified agricultural scientists away from Africa is growing - with the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimating that since 1990, at least 20,000 skilled Africans leave the continent annually, according to UNESCO statistics, 'Africa has just 2.3 per cent of the world's researchers, while North America and Europe have over 50 per cent.'

More programmes to train and support the next generation of agricultural researchers are needed, particularly in the area of policy research that sets the policy and planning context for other public and private investments in the agricultural sector. Yet the drain continues to stymie African research advances because:

• local expertise to kick-start and manage development is lost
• there is no 'return on investment' from African education, challenging additional/new local research support
• there is a widening gap in research expertise between Africa and other continents (Africa's share of global scientific output fell from 0.5 per cent in the mid-1980s to 0.3 per cent in the mid-1990s - there are more African scientists and engineers in the USA than in the whole of Africa)

As well, this 'zero-sum game' with developed countries gaining what is lost from Africa means pro-poor development suffers because agricultural solutions are not being generated evenly across the globe. This often leads to one-dimensional perspectives, policy solutions, or public and private investments in the agricultural sector that may be unfair or inefficient. And despite the apparent 'brain circulation', in which migrants return to home countries with new knowledge and expertise from abroad, more needs to be done locally to train and retain African scientists.

Reinvesting in human capacity

One such programme is sponsored by IDS' Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) and supported by DFID. The annual call of the Early Career Fellowship Programme (ECFP) is designed for professionals who have recently completed post-graduate studies and are beginning their careers. The programme is a key step toward strengthening the research capacity of young graduates to carry out high-quality research and engage in pro-poor policymaking.

The first ECFP call (in 2010) resulted in fellowships awarded to researchers from nine countries including Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and France. These researchers are working on a variety of important African agricultural issues including land grabs, gender and social protection, political economy of cotton, Maasai pastoralism, and legume value chain innovations.

More information about the ECFP and it current call for applications can be found on the FAC website: www.future-agricultures.org

David Hughes is Communications and Networking Officer at the Future Agricultures Consortium.

Related Projects

• Future Agricultures Consortium - The DFID funded Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa. The Consortium is a partnership between research-based organisations in Africa and the UK, with work currently focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya and Malawi. (Ongoing)