Publication cover

Authors:

Léa Vicky Magne Domgho, Sékou Doumbia, and Gert-Jan Stads

Year:

2017

Publisher

International Food Policy Research Institute and National Center for Agricultural Research

Back to:

Publications

Increased capacity

Côte d’Ivoire’s agricultural research capacity increased rapidly in recent years, both in the government and higher education sectors and both in terms of numbers and qualification levels. Between 2012 and 2014 alone, the country added 43 PhD-qualified agricultural researchers to its workforce. Moreover, as of 2014 a considerable number of researchers were undertaking PhD-level and other training, locally and abroad. Undoubtedly, these large-scale capacity upgrades will have a positive impact on the future quality of the country’s agricultural research.

Exemplary funding mechanism

Unlike most NARIs in West Africa, which are funded mainly by national governments and donors, CNRA is predominantly funded by private producers through FIRCA. FIRCA allocates at least 75 percent of the subscription fees raised by producers in a given subsector to research serving that commodity. The remaining funds are allocated to a solidarity fund to serve sectors (mostly food crops) unable to raise sufficient funding through their own subscription fees. FIRCA is unique and exemplary in Africa in that it promotes demand-driven research.

Stagnant spending

Growth in Côte d’Ivoire’s research spending was negligible in the decade preceding 2014 in inflation-adjusted terms. During 2009–2014, government funding accounted for just 16 percent of CNRA’s total funding, representing a much lower share than the 40 percent per year stipulated when the center was established in 1998. The government’s inability to meet its budget targets, combined with delayed disbursement of funding, make it difficult for CNRA to conduct its ongoing program of research and to successfully plan its longer term agenda.

Productive research system

Despite recent political turmoil and funding challenges, Côte d’Ivoire still has the most advanced and productive research system in francophone Africa. It has far better physical research infrastructure than most countries, its researchers publish extensively in international journals, its research agencies release a steady flow of improved varieties and other technologies, and a well-functioning extension system enables large-scale commercialization of newly released varieties and technologies.