How evidence is generated, shared and used underpins our drive to increase equity in knowledge production. We challenge knowledge hierarchies and explore ways to think more deeply about evidence and impact. Over the past year, that impact could be seen in IDS research influencing policy and practice for the better.
APRA rice research impacts take root in East Africa
The impacts of long-term IDS-led research on rice production have been ever more visible in policymaking and network-building in East Africa over the past year.
The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) generated evidence from 2016 to 2022 to identify more inclusive pathways to agricultural commercialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa including the rice sector, which has expanded rapidly in response to growing demand across the region. APRA researchers’ work has influenced six National Rice Development Strategies and the East African Community’s (EAC) Regional Rice Development Strategy.
The APRA programme used findings from in-depth, place-based, multicountry research and outreach activities to inform national and regional rice sector policy processes. APRA’s evidence raised awareness of the importance of rice – which is now being promoted as a ‘strategic commodity’ by the Government of Ethiopia.
Impacts on policymaking were particularly evident in Ethiopia, where the research informed the design of different rice-related public strategic documents. These include the National Rice Sector Development Strategy II (2020–30), the National Agricultural Investment Plan (2021–30), and the National Rice Flagship Programme (2022–27). The research also influenced the design of important rice sector development initiatives, such as the second phase of the EthioRice project (2022–27), which is supported by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and includes the establishment of a new National Rice Research and Training Centre.
Regional collaborations
Sustained partnerships and new collaborations among regional institutions related to rice research have gone from strength to strength since the East Africa Rice Conference (EARC), co-convened in 2021 by APRA, the Coalition for Africa Rice Development, the International Rice Research Institute, and the Africa Rice Center.
APRA’s work aligns directly with IDS’s commitment to forging more equitable research and knowledge production. Through regional workshops, virtual e-Dialogues, national dissemination events and more, APRA researchers shared their multi-faceted research with diverse policy, academic and business audiences, reaching out beyond sectors and geographies.
IDS expertise helps economic reforms work for Sri Lankans
Insights from a leading IDS specialist on Sri Lanka are helping the country’s politicians to chart a course out of economic crisis. IDS Professorial Fellow Mick Moore OBE has been a specialist on Sri Lanka for nearly 50 years. He is one of four members of the Sri Lanka Economic Policy Group formed by the country’s top thinktank, Verité Research. In this capacity, he has written policy notes and presented on tax issues at several high-level policy seminars, conferences and events in 2022–23.
Mick has used his high-profile role to test current thinking. At the ‘State of the Budget’ event in December 2022, he presented an alternative to the president’s proposal to register all adults for tax to an audience of MPs, the Chair of the Public Finance Committee and the Governor of the Central Bank.
Amid negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, Mick contributed directly to discussions on shaping the economic reform programme. He also briefed key opposition figures on tax issues ahead of parliamentary debates, and earlier this year the Leader of the Opposition directly cited Mick and other members of the Sri Lanka Economic Policy Group in parliament.
South Africa improves income support after expert input
A key form of income support in South Africa is closer to becoming permanent, following a strong recommendation by an expert panel on social protection that included IDS Fellow Stephen Devereux.
Echoing civil society campaigns, the panel strongly recommended that the Social Relief of Distress grant, introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, be continued to bridge coverage gaps in income support. The panel’s recommendation drew on Stephen’s research. He explored the paradox that South Africa produces and exports enough food and yet one in four South Africans are food-insecure. A quarter of its children suffer from stunting.
Much of Stephen’s work was as Research Chair in Social Protection for Food Security at the University of Western Cape (UWC), from 2016 to 2022, in tandem with work at IDS. As Chair, he highlighted the issue of severe seasonal hunger affecting farmworkers, a particularly marginalised, exploited group. He published widely on the issue and spoke at policy forums, including the National Conference on Farmworkers. He also convened the first-ever national workshop on the efficacy of the school feeding programme, with successful learning outcomes.
Stephen taught many UWC students, enabling some to experience study exchanges at IDS. Many now work in leading development agencies.