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Evaluation of agricultural research in Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa

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Knowledge, Technology & Policy

Abstract

Research and Development (R&D) evaluation within agriculture is becoming increasingly important as a planning tool in the research management process in eastern, central, and southern Africa. Evaluation of agricultural research in the region is performed at various levels for different purposes. This article traces the evolution of R&D activities, and looks at the current status of the agricultural research evaluation and the capacity to undertake such evaluations as a part of research management-both at the national and regional levels. It critically examines the experiences of the region in evaluating agricultural research and the efforts made to promote such activities, summarizing the lessons learned. Finally, the article analyzes the critical constraints impeding the successful adoption of the agricultural research evaluation process and offers suggestions, which could alleviate these constraints.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FAO-FARMESA, P.O. box 3730, Harare, Zimbabwe

    P. Anandajayasekeram (Methods Specialist in the regional program)

  2. USAID/REDSO/ESA, P.O. box 30261, Nairobi, Kenya

    D. R. Martella

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  1. P. Anandajayasekeram
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  2. D. R. Martella
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Correspondence to P. Anandajayasekeram.

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From 1993 to 1997, he was an advisor on impact evaluation and policy analysis to the Southern Africa Center for Cooperation in Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training (SACCAR), in Botswana. Graduated in agricultural economics from the University of Guelph, Canada, he started his professional career in Africa, at the University of Dar-es-Salaam in 1979. From 1982 to 1991, he worked for CIMMYT, and was then a senior economist at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics in Canberra. He has worked and published in a range of subjects, including agricultural policy and development, agricultural marketing, production economics, farming systems research, capacity building, and impact assessment. Anandajayasekeram is the current president of the Association for Farming Systems Research and Extension and the Southern African Association for Farming Systems Research and Extension.

Dr. David R. Martella has, since 1991, been Regional Agricultural Advisor at the United State Agency for International Development, Regional Economic Development Support Office for East and Southern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. He previously worked as an agricultural economist and advisor for USAID in Mozambique. Martella has fifteen years of experience in farming and related enterprises as owneroperator in California, in Mexico, and in Swaziland. He also has sixteen years of research and program management experience in Africa. His areas of specialization include economic theory, econometrics and quantitative methods, and experimental design. Martella has a graduate degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University.

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Anandajayasekeram, P., Martella, D.R. Evaluation of agricultural research in Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. Know Techn Pol 11, 13–41 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12130-999-1002-8

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