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Authors:

Kathleen Flaherty, Roland Asare, George Essegbey, and Nienke Beintema

Year:

2018

Publisher

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Key trends

  • During 2012–2016, agricultural research spending declined by more than one-third, in inflation-adjusted terms. This was the result of declining government funding to CSIR institutes.
  • On average, Ghana's agricultural researcher numbers rose slowly over time,  but numbers at various CSIR institutes fell between 2014 and 2016. The distribution of CSIR researchers by qualification level also shifted in response to policy changes that initially required a minimum MSc-degree qualification but more recently require a minimum PhD qualification.
  • Donor funding in support of CSIR institutes—both for operating and program costs and for capital investments—rose significantly during 2014–2016, mostly as a result of the World Bank-funded WAAPP. However, this increase was insufficient to offset the decline in government funding. 

Current challenges at CSIR

  • Donor funding and internally generated revenues from the sale of goods and services are critical to CSIR institutes to meet the gap resulting from the decline in government funding. Nevertheless, this source of funding is insufficient, especially to meet necessary capital investments in infrastructure and equipment.
  • Funding is also needed for PhD-level training at the CSIR institutes in light of the recent policy change requiring that all its agricultural researchers hold not just an MSc qualification, but a minimum of a PhD qualificaiton. 
  • The decline in researcher numbers at several CSIR institutes stems from the government’s freeze on the recruitment of new researchers to replace retiring and departing staff. Current agricultural researcher numbers at CSIR are inadequate. 

Policy developments and options

  • The government has proposed the creation of a Science, Technology, and Innovation fund, allocating 1 percent of GDP to Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation. The fund has yet to be implemented, however.
  • In late 2017, the government approved limited staff recruitment by both the CSIR institutes and higher education agencies. The concern is whether this will be sufficient to fill key vacancies and enable the ongoing functioning of viable agricultural research programs across the various institutes.
  • Overdependance on donor funding to support agricultural research in Ghana is a challenge requiring immediate action by policymakers.