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Zambia

The ASTI Data in Focus series provides additional background data in support of the 2010 Country Note on Zambia (asti.cgiar.org/pdf/Zambia-Note.pdf) prepared by the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative. Based on data collected by ASTI, these two outputs review major investment and capacity trends in Zambian public agricultural research and development (R&D) since 1971, providing important updates on agricultural R&D trends prepared by ASTI in 2000–03.

C. Human Resources

This section provides detailed quantitative information on full-time equivalent (FTE) agricultural research and support staff trends, including qualifications, gender and age distribution, and support-staff-per-researcher ratios. Complementary sections present detailed data on long-term trends (Section A), financial resources (Section B) and research allocation (Section D). Other supporting information provides macroeconomic trends, a list of agencies included in the study, data sources and estimation procedures, and ASTI’s methodology.

Figure /Table 1

Table C1—Total research staff levels, various agencies, 2008

Unsurprisingly, Zambia’s main agricultural research agency, the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), has the largest human resource capacity, employing 128 full-time equivalent (FTE) researchers in 2008 or 62 percent of the national total. The next-largest agency in terms of researchers is the University of Zambia (UNZA). Together its four units involved in agricultural R&D employed 25 FTE researchers in 2008 or 12 percent of Zambia’s agricultural R&D capacity.

Table C1—Total research staff levels, various agencies, 2008

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009.
Notes:  Figures in parentheses indicate the number of agencies in each category. For more information
on coverage and estimation procedures, see the Zambia country page on ASTI’s website at asti.cgiar.org/zambia/datacoverage; for a complete list of the agencies included in the sample, see asti.cgiar.org/zambia/agencies.

Figure /Table 2

Figure C1—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at ZARI by degree, 1991–2008

The number of FTE researchers active at ZARI varied dramatically during 1991–2008. Numbers grew from 98 FTEs in 1991 to 155 FTEs in 1997, thereafter declining due to a hiring freeze. Numbers quickly began to grow when the freeze was lifted in 2007, reaching 129 FTEs in 2008. Notably, junior (BSc-qualified) researchers dominated the pool of new recruits in 2007–08. As a result, even though researcher numbers returned to levels recorded in the late-1990s, the number of PhD-qualified researched was halved from 18 in 1998 to only 9 a decade later.

Figure C1—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at ZARI by degree, 1991–2008

Sources: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.
Note:   For more information on coverage and estimation procedures, see the Zambia country page on ASTI’s website at asti.cgiar.org/zambia/datacoverage.

Figure /Table 3

Figure C2—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at the five other government agencies by degree, 1991–2008

FTE research capacity at the other government agencies followed a similar trend to that of ZARI during 1991–2008, both in terms of FTEs and qualifications. In 1991, the Central Fisheries Research Institute (CFRI), the Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) and the three units under the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) together employed a total of 42 FTE researchers (5 with PhD degrees, 18 with MSc degrees, and 20 with BSc degrees). After much fluctuation, by 2008 the five agencies employed 31 FTE researchers (5 with PhD degrees, 8 with MSc degrees, and 18 with BSc degrees).

Figure C2—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at the five other government agencies by degree, 1991–2008

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.
Note:     For a complete list of agencies included in the sample, see asti.cgiar.org/zambia/agencies.

Figure /Table 4

Figure C3—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at GART and CDT, 2001–08

In contrast to the government agencies, at the two nonprofit organizations—the Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART) and the Cotton Development Trust (CDT)—both researcher numbers and qualifications grew during 2001–08. In 2008, of the 16 FTE researchers active at these agencies, 6 held PhD degrees, 6 held MSc degrees, and 5 held BSc degrees—the vast majority, however, were employed at GART. CDT employed only 1 FTE in 2008, down from 2 during 2001–05. Two other two trusts (the Livestock Development Trust and the Lyambai Agricultural Development Trust) were established in 2002, but they focus on training and commercial activities, not research.

Figure C3—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at GART and CDT, 2001–08

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.

Figure /Table 5

Figure C4—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at the University of Zambia, 1991–2008

During 1991–2008, the number of researchers at the four units under the University of Zambia (UNZA)—the School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS), the School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), the Department of Agricultural Engineering (DAE), and the Institute of Economic and Social Research (IESOR)—increased from 20 to 25 FTEs in 2008 (13 were PhD-qualified and 12 MSc-qualified).

Figure C4—Full-time equivalent researcher trends at the University of Zambia, 1991–2008

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.

Figure /Table 6

Figure C5—Distribution of researcher qualifications, various agencies, 2008

As is the case in most universities in Africa and other regions of the world, the four units under UNZA had the highest share of PhD-qualified researchers (52 percent). Researchers with BSc degrees accounted for about half the FTEs at the three units under NISIR and more than 60 percent those at CFRI and CVRI. Across all government agencies, shares of BSc-qualified researchers ranged from 25 percent at the Livestock and Pest Research Centre (LPRC) to 100 percent at the Sustainable Use of Underutilized Genetic Resources unit, both under NISIR.

Figure C5—Distribution of researcher qualifications, various agencies, 2008

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009.
Note: For a complete list of the agencies included in our sample, see asti.cgiar.org/zambia/agencies.

Figure /Table 7

Figure C6—Distribution of researcher qualifications by gender, 2000 and 2008 Shares of FTE researchers (%)

Although the number of female researchers with PhD degrees changed little in absolute terms during 2000–08, their share dropped significantly (as did the share of MSc-qualified female researchers) because the majority of female recruits were only BSc-qualified. As a result, the PhD- qualified share of female researchers fell from 13 percent in 2000 to only 6 percent in 2008. In contrast, the share of female researchers with BSc degrees grew from 13 to 61 percent during this timeframe, and the share of BSc-qualified male researchers grew from 29 to 47 percent.

Figure C6—Distribution of researcher qualifications by gender, 2000 and 2008 Shares of FTE researchers (%)

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.

Figure /Table 8

Figure C7—Shares of female researchers by degree qualification, various agencies, 2008

LPRC-NISIR employed the largest share of female researchers (58 percent of FTEs), whereas NISIR’s Post Harvest Food Processing and Nutrition (PHFPN) unit employed the highest share of PhD-qualified female researchers (17 percent). Women accounted for 20 percent of ZARI’s FTE researchers. Notably, women constituted only 16 percent of researchers employed at the nonprofit agencies, and all of them were only BSc-qualified.

Figure C7—Shares of female researchers by degree qualification, various agencies, 2008

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009.

Figure /Table 9

Figure C8—Age distribution by institutional category and gender, 2007

This figure illustrates the distribution of researchers by age at ZARI, GART, and two units under the University of Zambia, disaggregated by agency and gender. At these agencies, the majority of researchers were over 40 years old in 2007. In addition, male researchers were older than their female colleagues: in 2007, 60 percent of the male researchers were over 40 years old compared with only 28 percent of female researchers.

Figure C8—Age distribution by institutional category and gender, 2007

Source: Calculated by authors from ASTI–AWARD 2008/09.
Note:  Figures in parentheses indicate the number of agencies in each category.

Figure /Table 10

Figure C9—Trends in full-time equivalent support staff at ZARI, 2001–08

Overall, support staff numbers at ZARI—including, technicians, administrative, and other support staff—decreased slightly from 510 in 2001 to 473 in 2008. In 2008, the majority of technicians employed at ZARI held a degree or diploma.

Figure C9—Trends in full-time equivalent support staff at ZARI, 2001–08

Source:   Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009

Figure C10—Support-staff-per-researcher ratio by institutional category, 2001 and 2008

On average, the support-staff-per-researcher ratio fell from 5.6 in 2001 to 3.9 in 2008. Ratios were generally lower at the higher education agencies, as is usually the case given that research is a secondary mandate. Interestingly, the nonprofit sector had the highest support-staff-to-researcher ratio in 2008.

>Figure C10—Support-staff-per-researcher ratio by institutional category, 2001 and 2008

Sources: Calculated by authors from ASTI 2009 and Beintema et al. 2004.
Notes: Figures in parentheses indicate the number of agencies in each category. For more information on coverage and estimation procedures, see the Zambia country page on ASTI’s website at asti.cgiar.org/zambia/datacoverage.