International Agricultural Research Centers Research Articles

THE LIMITING FACTORS DETERMINING THE INTRODUCTION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Commercial sources of biotechnology have enormously outweighted non-market sources (e.g. the International Agricultural Research Center) Thus it is most obvious that growing R&D costs and intensified internationa technology competition have financially disabled developing countries from access to the new technology. Furthermore, biotechnology is a typica interdisciplinary subject based on many different principles of newly developed life sciences such as biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and molecular biology, which limits number of personnel in developing countries who are capable of incorporating the new technological inovation o developed countries into their agricultural production system. The protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) of which private firms in developed countries have intensified put another limiting factor in the international flow of biotechnology. Financial aid, technical assistance for personnel training and execution of self-restrained IPRs towards developing countries wil enable developed countries widen the potential market and contribute to sustainable development in the Third World.

Biotechnology and biosafety developments at the international agricultural research centres

SynopsisAdvances in biotechnology are creating opportunities to increase food production in developing countries and reduce or eliminate the environmental problems associated with conventional farming practices. International agricultural research centres have used the techniques of modern molecular biology for more than a decade, mostly for tissue culture and the elimination of virus diseases in planting materials. As the centres expand their use of the new tools of biotechnology, the focus of their work is shifting. The centres are playing an even larger role in linking developing countries' scientists with colleagues in public and private sector institutions in the developed world. They are also using the new techniques to speed up the development of pest- and disease-resistant crop varieties. Whenever possible they are developing collaborative links with institutions that have the experience and infrastructure needed to carry out advanced molecular research, thus minimising the need for expensive, highly sophisticated in-house capabilities.

Sustainable and increased food production

In the next decades, Asian farmers—particularly rice growers—will collectively face the biggest challenge of their lives in trying to produce enough food for the very rapidly growing world populations dependent on them. For practitioners of the systems approach, primary attention must focus on how to help those farmers meet this challenge. Any narrow scientific or technical approach aimed just at providing productive and sustainable systems will not provide the answer to the complex question of how to make the very fundamental changes which are required. Scientists, particularly those at the international agricultural research centers such as IRRI and its national partners, accordingly must conceive of and carry out their research in a constantly broader framework. They must take into consideration the whole range of human problems that farmers face, problems which will differ substantially from region to region. Achieving real sustainability that not only produces enough food for the present, and protects the key assets for the future (i.e. water and particularly soil), but also does this without disrupting the age-old and usually healthy rhythms of rural life is indeed a mighty challenge. Although the adaptation of systems that scientists design to meet the needs of farmers in the thousands of different ecological and economic circumstances is a formidable challenge at the micro level, there is an even more daunting task still that requires the serious participation of scientists, i.e. devising country-specific strategies for attaining agricultural sustainability. Such strategies must address economic, political, environmental and social conditions and objectives. They can take many forms and be of varying sophistication, but must be based on a realistic analysis of such diverse aspects as trade, science, and demographics. Forming the partnerships that can facilitate the tough political decisions required from national leaders and international supporters must become one of the highest priorities of all those concerned with sustainable increases in food production.

New Plant Virus Problems in Developing Countries: A Corollary Of Agricultural Modernization

In plant virology, viruses are mostly dealt with as useful molecular biological tools in studies of the riddle of life. However, viruses were first detected and studied as incitants of disease, and those which damage crops, continue to cause considerable concern to society as major constraints in agricultural production. The pressure for agricultural development is especially high in the developing countries, most of which are located in the tropics, where agricultural productivity lags behind rapid population increases. Traditional subsistence agriculture on small-scale holdings, with a great variety of crops often grown in mixtures, is rapidly giving way to modern agricultural practices, with genetically more homogeneous monocultures grown over large acreages. The ensuing trade and transport of produce via complex peripheral organizations further allow and stimulate personal and regional specialization in agricultural production, in turn, leading to further change. Economically, such modernization is usually interpreted in terms of usefulness. But with increasing awareness of the complexity of nature and of agroecosystems, man is becoming increasingly alert that every coin has another side and that human interference is ambivalent. Through agricultural modernization, present day crops are often more vulnerable to a wide range of pests that, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) definition, include weeds and viruses. Most, if not all, crop diseases and pests are man-made and new problems arise as a corollary of agricultural modernization. These problems are discussed in this chapter, with special reference to viruses, which play an intricate, intriguing, and often incompletely understood role that has a high impact on human society. This chapter concentrates on the developing countries, and thus largely on the tropics, because agricultural progress is hoped to be especially rapid there and also because of the author's involvement in the activities of organizations, such as the FAO, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), and International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) that are committed to helping to increase crop productivity in developing parts of the world in order to alleviate food shortages and improve the living standards.

Plenary Lecture: Sustainable food production in Africa: The challenge to national agricultural research systems (NARS)

In the years prior to independence, farmers had access to the international market through the production of export crops which at that time received considerable input from research. Access to export crops has dwindled, support for research by national governments is disappointing, human resource development is inadequate, donor funding is uncoordinated, and the food crisis has taken on political dimensions. The assumption that direct importation of western technology can solve the problems of Africa is no longer valid in the face of several failures. The challenge to national agricultural research systems and the problems associated with the generation or adapting of farmer-oriented, location-specific technologies for sustaining agricultural production are discussed. Examples are drawn from India and an agenda for action, involving national governments, the international agricultural research centres and donors, in resolving these problems is presented.

Institutionalizing the Farming Systems Perspective in Multi-commodity Research Institutes: The Role of Systems-based Research Groups

SUMMARYResearch institutes in Africa have had limited success in producing new technologies appropriate to the needs of small farmers because of an inadequate understanding of small farmers' goals and resource limitations and over-reliance on the transfer of technologies from other regions. Farming systems research (FSR) is an effective way of improving the focus of scientists on the problems farmers face. Vertically segmented thematic research programmes make institutionalization of FSR difficult within multi-commodity research centres, particularly the International Agricultural Research Centres. The Farming Systems Research Group has proved effective at overcoming such difficulties at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Its organization, operation and effects on the performance of the research programmes are described.

Plants, Genes and People: Improving the Relevance of Plant Breeding in Africa

SUMMARYPlant breeders cannot respond to every quirk of farmers' circumstances but the relevance of breeding research in poor nations can be improved. Recent innovations in germplasm screening programmes for developing nations highlight important differences in selection criteria between farmers and scientists, and among farmers themselves. Drawing on the authors' African experience with International Agricultural Research Centres working on maize and potatoes, the paper explores how breeding programmes benefit from an understanding of farmers' own detailed knowledge about the crop varieties they already cultivate. Issues considered include farmers' use of cultivar diversity, the trade-off between yield and maturity class as selection criteria, defining appropriate experimental conditions, and innovative techniques to increase farmer participation in germplasm screening.

Building African scientific capacity for agricultural development

During Africa's first two decades of independence from 1960 to 1980, priority was given to increasing the size of national extension services because it was assumed that technology could be imported from industrial countries and the International Agricultural Research Centers. Over the past decade, donors have turned their attention to assisting national agricultural research systems (NARS). But many NARS are performing poorly and are faced with a high turnover of scientific staff and inadequate operating budgets. Moreover, the present donor-financed project by project and country by country approach to building African scientific capacity is seriously flawed. This paper examines Africa's agricultural research history over the past six decades and draws lessons for strengthening national and regional agricultural research systems over the coming 30 years.

Building African Scientific Capacity for Agricultural Development

AbstractDuring Africa's first two decades of independence from 1960 to 1980, priority was given to increasing the size of national extension services because it was assumed that technology could be imported from industrial countries and the International Agricultural Research Centers. Over the past decade, donors have turned their attention to assisting national agricultural research systems (NARS). But many NARS are performing poorly and are faced with a high turnover of scientific staff and inadequate operating budgets. Moreover, the present donor‐financed project by project and country by country approach to building African scientific capacity is seriously flawed. This paper examines Africa's agricultural research history over the past six decades and draws lessons for strengthening national and regional agricultural research systems over the coming 30 years.

The consultative group on international agriculture research—goals, accomplishments, and current activities

Abstract The international agricultural research centers that are supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research operate as essentially independent research institutions, but with research mandates that are agreed upon by the CGIAR membership and an independent Technical Advisory Committee. The CG centers have as their goal the improvement of agriculture in the developing nations, using research as the dominant tool for change. Research activities are a blend of biological, physical, and social science efforts, often in partnership with clients in developing nations and with advanced research institutions in developing countries. Many approaches to research are used, including new relationships and modes of operation with clients, research networks, and international training linked to specific research activities. The international centers play a major role in genetic resource conservation and use, in understanding and improving farming systems, and in training of developing c...

Kloppenburg, Jack R., Jr., ed. Seeds and Sovereignty: The Use and Control of Plant Genetic Resources. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1988, viii + 368 pp., $@@‐@@47.50

Seeds for economically important crops are big business indeed. As large seed companies continue to improve their product in various ways, they make use of the original gene pools of these plants, often located in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. With increasing recognition that plant germplasm is an important raw material, highly charged international disputes have developed over the exchange and use of this material, adding another point of contention between poor nations and the manufacturing wealthier ones. Twenty experts from several nations, representing both the natural and social sciences, consider the historical background, the issue of patent rights as applied to plant germplasm, the nature of global genetic interdependence, the internationalization of the seed industry, the implications of biotechnology on genetic resources, the Third World attitude toward the debate, and the viewpoints of the International Agricultural Research Centers.

Whither Farming Systems Research?

Book reviewed in this article: Perspectives on Farming Systems Research and Extension. Edited by P.E. HildebrandThe International Agricultural Research Centres, Proceedings of the Workshop on Farming Systems Research The Technology Applications Gap: Overcoming Constraints to Small Farm Development. By D. Merrill‐Sands

Introduced crops in developing countries: A sustainable agriculture?

Most developing countries rely for the greater part of their crop production on introduced crops, which show both advantages and dangers. To reduce the dangers, countries need effective plant quarantine services. To promote the advantages, national crop introduction and germplasm storage are needed, and plant breeding institutes can work with the international agricultural research centres, which provide plant germplasm and expertise needed for successful crop introduction and sustainable production. The continued improvement of introduced crops worth $100 bn annually to developing countries has been overlooked in the current international debate on plant genetic resources and may be placed in jeopardy by increasing emphasis on issues of conservation and ownership of plant germplasm, to the neglect of plant introduction.

The Legume Pod-Borer, Maruca Testulalis (Geyer): Past, Present and Future Research

The legume pod-borer, Maruca testulalis, continues to be a major limitation to successful cowpea cultivation in many countries. During the past decade, research on this insect has increased in scope and intensity at international agricultural research centres and a number of universities. The work that has been done on the biology and control of this pest at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is briefly discussed with emphasis on the development of a management strategy centred around host plant resistance, and some suggestions for future research direction are given.

Agricultural research for resource-poor farmers part II: A parsimonious paradigm

Part I of this paper 13 described the Transfer-of-Technology (TOT) model of normal agricultural research and its misfit with the needs of Resource-Poor Farmers (RPFs). Farming Systems Research (FSR) was seen as an adaptation of TOT which retained power and initiative in the hands of scientists. The Farmer-First-and-Last (FFL) approach proposed in this second part of the paper would transfer power and initiative to farmers, especially RPFs. The authors argue that FFL fits the diverse and complex conditions and needs of RPFs better than does TOT, and makes more sparing and cost-effective use of scarce scientists. A parsimonious form of FFL avoids multi-disciplinary teams and much data gathering and analysis by trusting farmers' knowledge and self-interest, and encouraging and enabling them to identify priorities for research. Parsimony and replicability come from relying on farmers' knowledge and abilities and on scientists as facilitators and learners. Widespread adoption of parsimonious FFL entails a turn around in behaviour and attitudes by scientists. Tested methods are needed for training scientists in reversals of attitudes and demeanour; for identifying and working with suitable RPF families; for farmer groups and panels; and for farmer innovator workshops. The International Agricultural Research Centres have some disadvantages in developing and practising parsimonious FFL. The main initiative will probably have to come from courageous and original national scientists and imaginative non-government organisations. Those who break the bounds of normal professionalism by developing parsimonious FFL can expect to be at a cutting edge of agricultural research methodology.

Impact assessment of international agricultural research centres

Impact assessment of research activities is a complex task and this is true, in particular, with respect to potential effects of the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs). These centres have been created to enhance the living standards of the poor in developing countries by focusing upon agricultural research. This paper points to the broad range of possible IARC impact areas and to the problems to identify, measure and evaluate them. Thus, a concise framework for IARC impact assessment is given.

International Research and Third World Agriculture: Discussion

Dalrymple, over the years, has done a yeoman's service in recording for the benefit of a wide range of interested parties the progress in adoption of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice in the developing nations. He is the recognized authority in this subject and has spent untold hours relentlessly tracking down the illusive data. I would like to suggest that Dalrymple add another string to his bow. It would be extremely useful if he would also record the world price trends for rice, wheat, and fertilizer and analyze how the relative benefits of technological change have varied over time between producer and consumer. For example, today, with the depressed world rice prices caused by the success of the new technology, many Asian farmers find themselves in a cost-price squeeze. The benefits have shifted to the consumers, and in light of this, the World Bank might reconsider applying pressure to national programs to have farmers pay for irrigation. Evenson is a data hound of a different sort. When he loses the scent, rather than circling, he sits down like a good economist and makes an assumption. Not all researchers will be comfortable with the Evenson-Pray assumption that the proportion of research expenditures allotted to specific commodities in a given country can be derived on the basis of data on the number of published articles reported by the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau. The authors set out to determine what impact the international agricultural research centers (IARCs) have had on the growth of research expenditures for agriculture in the national research systems. They develop a two-stage least squares model treating annual spending by commodity on research (RES) and on extension (EXTED) as dependent on foreign aid for research from all sources (AID) and a number of exogenous variables hypothesized to account forthe year-to-year variability in these expenditures in twenty-five countries over the period 1972 to 1980. The results of the regression analysis show that most of the signs of the coefficients are consistent with expectations. The results suggest that spending for research in the IARCs has had a positive impact on spending both for field crop research and for livestock and horticultural research in the national programs. Furthermore, the impact is positively associated with the size of the country. I do not have great confidence in the estimated magnitudes of changes in research and extension spending. However, the analysis does raise some extremely important questions that deserve further investigation. To what degree do research funds from foreign donors complement, supplement, or simply substitute for research funds in national programs? Does the bias reflected by the foreign donors have a positive effect on the national research program? As the authors suggest, their analysis is a useful start to understanding the complicated relationship between national and international research. Anderson, Herdt, and Scobie have written a brief summary of a very comprehensive evaluation of the contribution of international agricultural research and, more specifically, the international agricultural research centers (IARCs) to world agricultural development. The summary does not begin to do justice to the study itself, which contains a wide range of useful reports by noted scholars on various aspects of international agricultural research plus a number of country case studies. The earlier research reported by Dalrymple and by Evenson and Pray was commissioned as a part of the study. Not surprisingly some of the same themes are repeated. The major benefits to date have been in the major cereal grains, wheat, and rice. The IARCs are seen as having Randolph Barker is a professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University.

The Contribution of International Agricultural Research to World Agriculture

The system of international agricultural research centers has played a facilitating role in promoting a diversity of biological and institutional innovations in the Third World. These include germplasm collections and enhancements, new varieties of crops, changed agricultural and farming systems practices, and improved policies and institutional arrangements affecting agricultural sectors and their research infrastructures. As these centers work in collaboration with national research systems, perhaps the most important induced effect has been in enhancing the human capital of people working in these systems in the developing countries.

EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DESIGN OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The green revolution in developing countries magnified concern about the efficient allocation of agricultural research resources and the distributional consequences of alternative research resource allocation and technology design strategies. These concerns are being increasingly reflected in the planning, management and research activities of the international agricultural research centres. In this paper a description is given of how economists at one centre contributed their expertise to the ex ante analysis of some key issues in this complex milieu, such as the determination of research goals and priorities, the small‐large farm dichotomy or nexus, income distribution and employment effects, human nutritional considerations and farmer risk attitudes.

Plant breeders' rights and international agricultural research

Enactment of plant breeders' rights legislation has recently been a contentious political issue in several countries. An economic perspective to the issue is presented through consideration of the structure of the plant breeding and seed industries. A theoretical account is given of the probable economic effects of plant breeders' rights legislation in developing countries. Aspects which might be usefully considered when examining whether a particular developing country should enact plant breeders' rights legislation are also discussed. Finally, general issues faced by the international agricultural research centres with respect to plant breeders' rights are also outlined and some particular issues discussed.