Key Trends from the 2004 country brief

• Despite steadily rising total spending and researcher numbers during 1991–2002, Gabon’s agricultural research capacity remains among the smallest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The three agricultural research institutes under CENAREST, Gabon’s primary agricultural research body, accounted for more than three-quarters of the country’s total agricultural research spending and staff in 2002.
• Capital investments in CENAREST’s institutes were nonexistent from 1991–1997; increased funding thereafter from the national government and through a CIFOR-led initiative enabled essential renovations to basic physical infrastructure.
• Unlike most other African countries, the overall share of Gabonese researchers holding PhD degrees decreased significantly throughout 1991–2002, mainly because of deteriorating average qualification levels of INSAB staff.

Gabon