TRACKING AGRICULTURAL R&D INVESTMENTSExisting evidence at national and international levels
Nienke BeintemaASTI program head | International Food Policy Research Institute
L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI) meetingWashington, DC | February 2-3, 2012
Outline presentation
• Measuring national efforts in agricultural R&D: ASTI data sets and analysis
• International agricultural R&D: CGIAR investments
• Measuring donor commitments: EIARD study on analysis of donor support to CAADP Pillar IV
• Recommendations for further discussion: Outcomes of the GFAR/EIARD/GDPRD workshop on tracking agricultural research for development
Importance of agricultural R&D indicators
• Key for understanding the contribution of agricultural R&D to economic growth
• Assist R&D stakeholders in formulating policy, setting priorities, undertaking strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluation
• Provide information to R&D stakeholders involved in the public debate on the state of agricultural R&D at national, regional, and international levels
• Importance of S&T indicators has increasingly been recognized by policymakers (e.g., African leaders and policymakers at the 2003 African Ministerial Conference on S&T)
Sub-Saharan Africa China
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Latin America-Caribbean
Middle East-North Africa
Eastern Europe-Former Soviet
High income
Global status of agricultural R&D
Public agricultural R&D spending, 2000
Trends for some regions/countries since 2000
China
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
Latin America-Caribbean
Low- and middle income countries = 46%
High income countries = 54%
Total public spending = ca. $25 billion (2005 PPPs)
0.0
1.1
2.2
3.3
4.4
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Tota
l pub
lic a
gric
ultu
ral R
&D
spen
ding
(in
billi
on 2
005
PPP
$)
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
50
100
150
200
250
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Tota
l G8/
EU fu
ndin
g (in
milli
on 2
0005
US
$
G8/EU
share in totalfunding (%
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1971
1976
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
2006
Tota
l CGI
AR sp
endi
ng(in
milli
on U
S $)
• In inflation-adjusted terms, strong increase in total CG spending/funding since 2005
• Increase in G8/EU contributions since 2001
• G8/EU share declined to below 40% in 2010 due to large injection of the Gates Foundation
International agricultural R&D: The CGIAR
Spending levels and G8/EU commitments until 2010
Inflation-adjusted $
Current $
Share
Funding
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
SSA
Agric
ultu
ral R
&D
spe
ndin
g(b
iilio
n 20
05 P
PP $
)
• Driven by only a few countries; however, declining spending levels since 2008 for some
• Declining spending levels for many countries (especially in francophone West Africa)
• Serious underinvestment in agricultural R&D in most African countries continues
Sub-Saharan Africa’s investment challenges (1)
Regional growth in public agricultural R&Dspending during 2000-08
0
20
40
60
80
100
Guin
eaEr
itrea
Ugan
daM
adag
asca
rBu
rkin
a Fa
soNi
ger
Mal
iBe
nin
Tanz
ania
Buru
ndi
Sene
gal
Mau
ritan
iaKe
nya
Gam
bia
Togo
Zam
bia
Côte
d'Iv
oire
Nam
ibia
Ghan
aSo
uth
Afric
aBo
tsw
ana
Mau
ritius
Shar
ein
tota
l fun
ding
, 200
1-0
8 (%
)
Sub-Saharan Africa’s investment challenges (2)
High volatility from year-to-year for many
Continuous high donor dependency for many
Average donor share
Spread of donor share
0110220330440
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005
01234
1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006
010203040
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005
010203040
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005
Agr
icul
tura
l R&
D sp
endi
ng (m
iilio
n 20
05 P
PP $
)
Burkina Faso
Nigeria
Gabon
Niger
Improve the relevance of agricultural R&D data
• Need to move from ad-hoc data collection to a sustainable monitoring system with regular updates
• Enhance ownership of the data and stimulate further advocacy and analysis at the national level
• Measure not only inputs (investments/capacity), but also output indicators required to assess performance of agricultural research institutions within and across countries
• Intensify further analysis of trends to make information more relevant for policymakers and other stakeholders
• But a sustainable system needs sustainable funding
EIARD analysis of donor support to CAADP-IV
• Objective of study: Identify the knowledge and processes required to better coordinate and harmonize support to CAADP Pillar 4, within EIARD and with other donors
• Key conclusions:– Information availability is poor: Problems not technical /
financial but in system design / political commitment to reporting ARD investments
– CGIAR is default donor support mode to ARD; donors provide little direct support to national agricultural R&D
– These and other imbalances weaken country ownership and their ability to act
GFAR/EIARD/GDPRD Berlin workshop
• Topic of tracking programs and investments in agricultural research for development (AR4D) to increase aid effectiveness was recognized by the 2010 Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD-1) as an issue of high importance
• Recent drive for international donors to demonstrate increased accountability under the G8 and G20 calls for adequate monitoring of investments in food security and agricultural development
• The Berlin workshop recognized the number of ongoing activities initiated worldwide by donors in this domain
Berlin workshop – recommendations (1)
1. Measuring global ODA flows (inputs) is insufficient to improve aid effectiveness in food security; it needs be complemented by measuring private flows, assessing specific investment in AR4D, and outputs/results
2. Better inform decisionmakers in bilateral and multilateral agencies on the design and functioning of the OECD/DAC tracking system and its setup
3. Improve data quality and reporting under the OECD/DAC system by including data on agriculture, and specifically AR4D
Berlin workshop – recommendations (2)
4. AR4D investments need to be more effectively embedded in in development investments; tracking systems also need to cover how AR4D investments are addressed and linked to development objectives
5. Task a network of practitioners to carry this agenda forward and help identifying the relevant data for tracking specific investments in AR4D
These issues are expected to be reported on and discussed further at the forthcoming GCARD-2 (Punta del Este, 29 October-1 November 2012)
THANK YOU
Agricultural R&D is crucial for food security
• Extensive evidence demonstrates that agricultural R&D have greatly contributed to agricultural development, economic growth, and poverty reduction (World Development Report 2008; International Assessment for Agricultural S&T for Development 2010)
• A much needed transformation of global agricultural R&D can only be achieved if institutional, human, and financial resources are greatly increased (2010 Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development-GCARD roadmap)
• Given the central role of food in human welfare and national stability, it is shocking how little money is spent on agricultural research globally (Bill Gates 2012)
Agricultural S&T Indicators (ASTI) initiative
• Collection of national-level investment and human resource capacity data on agricultural R&D:– Focus on low– and middle–income countries– Through institutional survey rounds (primary data)– 25–year history of data collection activities (although ad-hoc)– Measure who is performing agricultural R&D
• Aim is to provide:– Trends over time at country / regional levels; within countries– Comparisons across countries / regions; within countries
• Collaborative network with large number of national, regional and international partners; facilitated by IFPRI