Africa south of the Sahara

Slow funding recovery

The completion of the World Bank–funded PNRA in 1998 plunged Niger’s agricultural research into severe financial crisis lasting more than a decade. Since 2009, agricultural research capacity and investment levels have gradually begun to recover, in large part due to another World Bank loan–funded project, WAAPP, which is intended to support the country’s livestock research; various capacity building initiatives; and the generation, dissemination, and adoption of new technologies.

Ongoing underinvestment

Volatile spending growth

Namibia’s agricultural research spending was volatile during 2001–2014, mostly due to fluctuations in the government’s contributions to DARD, the country’s main agricultural research agency. In 2014, Namibia invested about 3 percent of its AgGDP in agricultural research, which is not uncommon for arid countries with small populations. After a short period of decline in the early 2000s, the country’s total number of agricultural researchers rose steadily, mostly in response to growth at the Fisheries Department and at UNAM-FANR.

Spending and capacity increase

Constant spending levels

Agricultural research in Mauritius is mostly funded by the government, supplemented by limited donor and specific project funding, and revenues from the sale of goods and services. Government funding primarily covers salaries and day-to-day operations. Total agricultural research spending (adjusted for inflation) has fluctuated somewhat over time but remained fairly stagnant during 2000–2014. The country’s intensity ratio is high, reflecting the dominance of sugar research.

Capacity concerns

Spending volatility

Compared with many other countries in West Africa, crop and livestock research play a relatively minor role in Mauritania given its arid climate. IMROP, which focuses on fisheries research, accounted for the bulk of the country’s agricultural research spending in 2014. IMROP’s funding, which has fluctuated considerably over time due to the expiration and renewal of various fisheries treaties with the European Union, was the main driver of significant longterm volatility in the country’s total agricultural research investment.

Strong donor dependency

Agricultural research in Mali is among the most donordependent in Africa. Strong reliance on short-term projects funded by donors and development banks, combined with modest levels of public funding, have driven significant fluctuations in agricultural research spending over time. Events like the 2012 military coup and unrest in the country’s north—which prompted a temporary freeze on aid—highlight the country’s vulnerability to funding shocks and, hence, its need to diversify its sources of agricultural research funding.

Inflation-driven spending decline

Since 2012, Malawi’s agricultural research spending has fallen substantially in inflation-adjusted terms in response to slowing economic growth, caused by a currency devaluation and a suspension of donor aid over corruption allegations. The country’s agricultural research intensity ratio declined as well; in 2014 agricultural research spending as a share of agricultural GDP was 0.53%, its lowest level since 2008.

Funding constraints at DARS

Declining research spending