MAURITANIA
• Mauritania’s agricultural R&D system is split: Fisheries research, led by the Institute of Oceanographic Research and Fisheries (IMROP), is relatively well-funded and benefits from modern facilities. Agencies engaged in crop and livestock research lack sufficient funding and well-qualified scientists.
• Fisheries research dominates agricultural R&D, and IMROP accounts for close to half of the country’s agricultural R&D expenditures and capacity.
• Renewal of fisheries treaties between Mauritania and the EU and Japan led to a large influx of funding, enabling IMROP to expand its human resource capacity. Funding should remain secure for many years.
• Since 2000, the country’s main agencies for crop and livestock research have seen their R&D budgets shrink. Staff training opportunities are limited and retiring researchers are not being replaced.
• Being a sparsely populated desert country, Mauritania’s agricultural R&D capacity and investments are significantly lower than those of many West African countries, but funding is sorely needed by those agencies that support the production of food crops and efforts to mitigate rural poverty.
MAURITIUS
• In 2008, Mauritius spent 4.1 percent of its agricultural GDP on research, which reflects the country’s high level of investment in sugarcane research. This was by far the largest share of agricultural output on R&D in Sub-Saharan Africa, where average levels are well below one percent.
• Public agricultural R&D spending fell by almost 25 percent from 2001–08, mainly due to declining expenditures by the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute (MSIRI), which is largely funded by a tax on sugar exports and was negatively affected by declining production and world sugar prices.
• Non-sugarcane research is mainly funded by the government.
• Total agricultural R&D capacity rose by 14 percent from 2001–08, and researchers’ average qualifications also improved, although the share of PhD-level staff is low compared with many other African countries.
MOZAMBIQUE
• Since the end of the civil war in 1992, Mozambique has made progress in rebuilding agricultural R&D.
• Agricultural R&D is highly dependent on volatile donor funding and government support, which has decreased considerably, is hindered by budget restrictions and unpredictable disbursements of funds.
• Agricultural research capacity grew steadily from 2004-08, but staff is younger and less well-qualified compared to other countries in the region and increased investment in training is greatly needed.
NAMIBIA
• Namibia’s research agencies are relatively well-funded by the government, and foreign donors play only a marginal role in financing agricultural R&D.
• The Directorate of Agricultural Research and Training (DART) accounted for roughly 60 percent of the country’s total agricultural R&D investments and staff in 2008.
• Despite numerous government-funded training efforts, Namibia’s agricultural researchers are still among the least qualified in Sub-Saharan Africa and the country lacks a critical mass of PhD-qualified scientists.
• The upcoming establishment of a National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) is likely to improve R&D investments and staff development by offering higher salaries and generating funds through its own activities. NARI will also focus more on addressing farmers’ needs.
NIGER
• The end of a World Bank-funded project in 1998 plunged Niger’s agricultural research into a severe financial crisis, from which it has yet to recover. Niger has one of the lowest rates of agricultural research investment in Africa.
• The Niger National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRAN) accounted for roughly three-quarters of agricultural R&D staff and two-thirds of spending in 2008. Its research program is entirely donor funded and government expenditures do not even cover all of the salary costs.
• A public sector recruitment freeze is causing the average age of researchers to soar. Attracting and training young researchers is of crucial importance to replace retiring scientists at government agencies.
• R&D investment is expected to soon increase with the national launching of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program(WAAPP), funded by a World Bank loan, and several large projects funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
• Sustainable funding and recruitment and training of agricultural R&D staff could have a more prominent place on Niger’s political agenda in future due to the recent establishment of a national advisory board.
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