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Authors:

Nienke Beintema, Demba Jallow, and Sandra Perez

Year:

2016

Publisher

International Food Policy Research Institute and National Agricultural Research Institute

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Volatile research spending

Over time, agricultural research funding in The Gambia has been volatile and highly donordependent. Spending increased from 2010 with the initiation of activities under WAAPP to enhance the country’s research on rice and other cereals. The World Bank loan–funded project focuses on capacity building and technology generation and adoption. Limited growth in the country’s total number of researchers mostly stemmed from increased capacity within the government sector. Capacity in the higher education sector is very small.

Underinvestment at NARI

NARI’s funding is primarily provided by the government, mostly for salaries. The institute depends on donor funding to cover essential operating costs and capital investments, but spending in these areas has fluctuated over time. In particular, capital investments were very low during 2009–2011, causing infrastructure and equipment to deteriorate. Although WAAPP is providing some funding for the rehabilitation of facilities, funding for infrastructure is still needed, particularly for laboratory space and equipment.

Capacity strengthening

As of 2011, only 9 percent of the country’s agricultural researchers were qualified to the PhD degree level. This share is one of the lowest among African countries and is of concern given that a critical mass of PhD-qualified researchers is necessary to ensure the quality and effectiveness of research. WAAPP will assist with some degreelevel training, but short-term on the job training is also needed. Within NARI, WAAPP is sponsoring three PhD, four MSc, and seven BSc degrees.

Aging researcher capacity

While The Gambia’s total number of agricultural researchers has remained relatively stable over time, a large number of senior researchers are set to retire. Maintaining high-quality research and avoiding capacity erosion will be crucial challenges in the coming years.