Agricultural research in Africa and the sustainable financing initiative : review, lessons and proposed next steps

After an introduction, Section 2 outlines an analytic framework for reviewing the experiences, accomplish- ments, and issues raised to date in the implementation of SFI. This framework situates sustainable financing mechanisms within the overlapping organizational and policy environments that influence the selection, use, viability, and effectiveness of these mechanisms. The three categories of variables (financial mechanisms, organizational components, policy issue areas) can be thought of as nested systems, each sitting within a larger system. This framework reveals the factors that affect the viability of a particular financial mechanism, as well as the organizational and policy implications raised by various mechanisms. Using this framework, Sections 3 and 4 focus on USAID-funded SFI activities and on other experiences with financing mechanisms. USAID has supported assistance to the Southern Africa Centre for Cooperation in Agricultural Research and Training (SACCAR) in Botswana, the Network for Environment and Sustainable Development in Africa (NESDA) in Cote d"Ivoire, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Ghana, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) in Uganda, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Research and Spe- cialist Services (DRSS) in Zimbabwe, the Madagascar Environmental Endowment Fund (Tany Meva), and two Southern Africa regional commodity research networks: the Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program (SMIP), based in Zimbabwe, and the Southern Africa Root Crops Research Network (SARRNet), based in Malawi. Section 5 summarizes numerous lessons learned from both SFI and broader experience in regard to financial mechanisms, organization, policy, and operations. Section 6 identifies possible next steps for the SFI in these areas. Includes references.