Survival in the Sahel

in Agricultural Research (SACCAR), programs in broader networks
had an impact at the country level.
While conceptually valuable, the network approach is being
overworked. About 60 agricultural research networks are
operating in Africa, and by no means all are working on topics of
highest priority. Some national agricultural research systems
have reported that providing inputs to several networks puts a
heavy burden on them. Some networks are not even headquartered
in the region and do not address priority needs. Networks,
often encouraged by donors, are not a panacea but a tool to be
used with discretion.
Problems in nationalagriculturalresearchsystems
The problems discussed so far have been largely outside
the immediate control of the managers of national agricultural
research systems. This does not necessarily mean that the systems
themselves cannot be blamed for poor performance. At the time
of writing, 12 African agricultuial research systems have no research
master plan, and another eight have only just initiated one.
Out of 45 countries, 37 have no consolidated funding mechanism
for their system. The eight who do are among the best-managed
in the regioa. Research tends to be overcentralized, with little
on-farm or farmer-responsive research. Scientists are therefore
often out of touch with demand and farmers' constraints and may
develop technology that is unacceptable or of little use to the end
user. Ways need to be found to make researchers accountable for
the adoption and impact of their work.
Public-sector research may be fragmented. Crop, livestock,
forestry, and, sometimes, irrigation research may be located in
different departments within ministries of agriculture, or even in
different ministries. This hampers effective inter-disciplinary cooperation
in priority setting and research. The public-sector research
service is also frequently self-contained, with poor linkages
to other research sources, including universities, the private sector,
and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Research findings
are often not presented and disseminated in a manner that is
96