Institution building to improve agricultural research and education : lessons learned from evaluations

Evaluations of these efforts reveal a number of successes but also explain why building institutions to pursue relevant research and training is generally a low priority within the Third World. The role of institutions conducting agricultural research and training has changed considerably. Currently, observers emphasize that increasing agricultural production depends less on technological breakthroughs than on political and socioeconomic support factors, such as government pricing policies and the responsiveness of smallholder farmers. The most important social and economic issue confronting agricultural institutions is the need to make research and training relevant to farmers. The institutional issue is whether the institutions are providing training and research that address the actual constraints that farmers face. Evaluations note that many institutions have had a positive impact on agricultural productivity, especially when there are: strong administrative leadership; an institutional sense of purpose and mission; close linkages between training, research and extension services to farmers; multidisciplinary emphasis; incentives for faculty to emphasize farming systems; supportive economic pricing policies; and adequate inputs and services. However, institutions have a hard time fulfilling these conditions. Universities emphasize disciplinary boundaries. It is logistically difficult to tailor research to farmers' immediate concerns. Political leaders tend to pursue policies that benefit urban consumers rather than rural producers and favor short term benefits. Governments lack resources to provide sufficient inputs and services. Ministries make it difficult for research and extension work to support each other. Because of these difficulties, such institutions depend on long-term support from external organizations. Donors, however, also find it difficult to provide assistance for activities where the benefits are only apparent in the long run. A.I.D. usually contracts with a U.S. university to establish a long-term relationship with a Third World institution and provide it with technical assistance (TA) and participant training. Many of these activities have been successful in building an institutional capacity, particularly when the assistance continues for a long time. Because it is difficult to build lasting and relevant institutions, however, A.I.D. should design its project assistance to deal with the constraints described earlier, such as encouraging universities to reward faculty for farming systems research, and developing linkages among those doing research, teaching, and extension work. (Author abstract)