Publication cover

Authors:

John Lynam, Nienke Beintema, Johannes Roseboom, Ousmane Badiane, eds

Year:

2016

Publisher

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Further information

Individual book chapter downloads are available on the IFPRI website

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Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara is at a prospective tipping point. Growth has accelerated in the past decade, but is unsustainable given increasing use of finite resources.

Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests discusses the need to shift to a growth path based on increased productivity—essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a shift ultimately requires building on evolving improvements that collectively translate to deepening rural innovation capacity.

An essential component of innovation is a continuous supply of improved agricultural technologies and management practices stemming from an effective and efficient agricultural research system. The basic architecture of such a system is essentially in place, but it has yet to coalesce into a fully integrated system with clear divisions of labor and effective subsidiarity.

Increasing national agricultural research and development (R&D) investment remains a critical prerequisite for achieving balanced agricultural growth in Africa.

Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests offers a comprehensive perspective on the evolution, current status, and future goals of agricultural research and development in Africa, including analyses of the complex underlying issues and challenges involved, as well as insights into how they might be overcome.