About ASTI

One of the few sources of information on agricultural research and development (R&D) statistics in low and middle income countries is the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative managed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Since 2001, ASTI has been active in compiling, analyzing, and publicizing data on institutional developments, investments, and capacity trends in agricultural R&D in low- and middle income countries worldwide, and has published a broad set of country briefs and regional synthesis reports. These outputs describe general trends in human and financial capacity in agricultural R&D at national, regional, and global levels, and provide comparative information on agricultural R&D performance across countries and regions. ASTI is generally recognized as the most authoritative source of information on the structure, financing, and capacity of agricultural R&D worldwide and its outputs have been widely cited in international agricultural research policy documents.

ASTI’s methodology is unique in that it collects substantial first-hand data from a very large number of agricultural R&D agencies in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, it also maintains access to relevant secondary high-income-country data for comparative purposes. In recent years, ASTI’s focus has primarily been on initiating institutional survey rounds in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America; developing and maintaining the ASTI website; and building a network of national and regional-level collaborators to facilitate data collection efforts. These partners have demonstrated a strong willingness to collaborate with ASTI and have continuously stressed the need for high-quality national and regional-level quantitative information on agricultural R&D capacity and investments.

The purpose of S&T indicators

Quantitative information is fundamental to understanding the contribution of agricultural science and technology (S&T) to agricultural growth. Indicators derived from such information allow the performance, inputs, and outcomes of agricultural S&T systems to be measured, monitored, and benchmarked. These indicators assist S&T stakeholders in formulating policy, setting priorities, and undertaking strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluation. They also provide information to governments, policy research institutes, universities, and private-sector organizations involved in public debate on the state of agricultural S&T at national, regional, and international levels. ASTI is the most comprehensive source of agricultural R&D statistics for low- and middle-income countries.

 

ASTI activities 2008-2011

In mid-2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) awarded ASTI a sizeable three-year grant to update its existing indicator set and to expand the regular ASTI indicator set with supplementary indicators. ASTI’s main activities include:

  • The initiation of a benchmarking survey rounds in 2009 in roughly 35 Sub-Saharan African countries to update previously collected data on public agricultural R&D capacity and investments. A similar benchmarking survey round in 5 South Asian countries is scheduled for 2010. In addition, a more in-depth separate survey round will be conducted in a limited number of South Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries to obtain a clear picture of the role of the private sector in agricultural research. In order to compare ASTI findings in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with those in other developing regions or globally, ASTI will also conduct basic monitoring surveys in a number of key low- and middle-income countries in other regions and analyze available S&T data for high-income countries from secondary sources.
  • Fostering cooperation and information sharing with stakeholders are key components of the current phase of ASTI, as are enhancing end-user service and policy relevance through partnerships. The upgrade of the ASTI website plays a particularly important role in this regard, especially in terms of increased functionality, improved downloading and dataset presentation features, and enhanced visibility. Over time, the ASTI website will become a platform providing links to other S&T databases of relevance to food and agriculture.
  • To better meet the needs of policymakers, S&T managers, donors, and other stakeholders, ASTI is undertaking a round of consultations to identify relevant supplementary indicators that can feasibly be adopted. Potential additions are indicators measuring output of research, emerging research areas, and capacity gaps.