Making SLARI a better institution for the 21st Century Sierra Leone

Role, expectations of a Research ScientistSLARI Retreat, 26-28 October, 2015

J.B.A. WhyteTechnical advisor - SLARI

IITA Country Representative

Scientist

A person who is engaged in systematic activity of applying scientific methods to acquire expert knowledge in a field of science. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science.

(Agricultural) Research Scientist Devotes him/herself to doing agricultural related research Knowledgeable in agricultural development issues

Global - UN’s Millennium Development Goals Regional - AU’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development

Programme (CAADP) Sub regional - ECOWAS’ Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) National - National Sustainable Agriculture Development Plan

(NSADP)

Value Chain Focus

- Production- Processing- Value Adding- Marketing

Value Chain Focus

- Production- Processing- Value Adding- Marketing

SLARI’s strategic objective/purpose

Objective: Enhance sustainable productivity, commercialization and competitiveness of the agricultural sector

Purpose: Generate and promote innovative agricultural technologies and empower stakeholders

NARC purpose delivery Appropriate product value chains technologies and

innovations generated and promoted. Appropriate markets and marketing strategies for

enhancing product value chains developed and promoted.

Appropriate policy options for enhancing value chains facilitated and advocated.

Capacity for implementing value chains research strengthened.

Appropriate mechanisms for managing, sharing and up scaling knowledge, information and technologies established and operationalized.

National Agricultural Research for Development System Ministries and allied Departments and Agencies Provincial, District and Local authorities Sierra Leone Chamber for Agribusiness Development International and local NGOs, FBOs National Farmers’ Associations Private sector actors (input, output and financial institutions) Value Chain Actors and Consumers Agricultural Research Institutions, Universities, and allied institutions

Multi sectorial, Multi institutional, Multi disciplinary, Consultative, Participatory

Collaborative Partnerships

Economic Development Model

Increased Purchasing

Power

Improved Human Capital

Better Practices

Better Technology

Effective Market

Demand for Ag

Production

Supply Side Factors:

ProductivityQuality

IncreasedEfficiency

Increased Income

Enterprises and

Services=

Income IncomeEnterprises

Jobs

Increased Income

IncreasedIncome

Increased Income

Increased Income

Consumers

Producers

Su

pp

ly

De

ma

nd

FarmersProducersBusiness

Associations

Inputs andTechnologySuppliers

BuyersAssemblers

Traders

TransportersStorage

Providers

IntermediateProcessors/

Handlers

Value added Processors/Exporters/

Importers

Final Distributors/Retailers

Business Model

Porter’s Competitiveness

Domestic/Regional Context for Competition(National/Regional

Agribusiness Strategies)

Market Factors

Core group of domestic, regional

and continental buyers

Quality/standards/certification

Local demandserving regional and continental markets

Factor (input)Conditions

Quantity Cost

Quality

(physical, human andknowledge

resources, infra-structure, financial

and socialcapital)

Related and Supporting Clusters/Institutionsresearch institutions – input suppliers – financial services –

business associations – private/public partnerships

Program develops a framework that encourages

appropriate forms of investment and competition

in target products and derivative in food, feed and

industry.

Competitiveness Model

Agricultural development domains: unique geographic areas with similar agro-ecological conditions (agricultural potential), population density, and distance to markets (market access) across a country or region.

• Agricultural potential• Population• Market access

LowMedium

High

Crop domains: gradients in potential for the production of a commodity when biophysical requirements for a crop are interpolated on socio-economic drivers for agricultural intensification and diversification

LowMedium

High

Framework of Value Chain Analysis

Chain Governance

Value Chain Actors

Value Chain Performance

(Financial) support services

Infrastructure

Research

Extension

(Inter) national policies and regulations

External Chain Stakeholders

ResourcesAdded Value

Distributed Benefits

EFFECTIVENESS :

Quality

Targets

EFFICIENCY:

Profitability

Lower Transaction costs

IMPACT:

Food security

Income

Gender Equity

Distribution Value

Added (i)

Access to market (ii)

SUSTAINABILITY:

Partnership

Natural Resources

Bio-diversity

Input supply

Production

Processing

International consumption

Marketing and trade

Local/national Consumption Export

Capacity building

Drivers of growtho Science and technologyo Markets and tradeo Value chain stakeholders organizationso Human and institutional capacityo Infrastructureo Sound environmental managemento Gender/Youth empowermento Policy

Value Chain Focus

- Production- Processing- Value Adding- Marketing

Infrastructural Innovation

TechnologicalInnovation

InstitutionalInnovation

IAR4D, Technology Generation and Innovation

Innovation Platform

• Research Themes

Productivity

Market

Policy

Product Development

Natural Resource

management

Nutrition

• Gender

Socio-economic Benefits

Capacity building/In-country training courses Value chain and innovation platform concepts in

IAR4D Gender and nutrition in value chain development GIS mapping Database development Statistical/biometric/socio economic analysis Policy Analysis Matrix Bankable proposal development Monitoring, evaluation, ex-ante/ex-post impact

analysis Technical report writing for different audiences

Goal (impacts)

Outcomes

Outputs

Activities

Inputs

* Long-term, widespread improvements in society

* Intermediate effects of outputs on target areas and populations

* Concrete products and services produced

* Tasks personnel undertake to transform inputs into outputs

* Financial, human and material resources

www.iita.org

“Impacting” Factors Infrastructures Human capital (education, information, and health) Technological changes Institutional changes Policy changes

“Impacted” outcomes Behavioral Outcomes (adoption, input demand, output

supply, consumption demand) Efficiency outcomes (technical, allocative, economic, profit) Welfare and Equity Outcomes (Health and Nutrition, Poverty,

Equity, Social welfare) Resource and Environmental outcomes (soil fertility and

erosion, deforestation, Human health hazards)

Research for Development

• Identification of researchable issues• Planning and design• Implementation• Monitoring and Evaluation• Impact assessment

Development and survival of value chain

• promoters (development organizations, etc.) • supporters (consulting firms, trainers, technical advisors, financial

services providers, business development services providers)• actors (private sector firms driving the value chain) • policy makers (ministries, departments and agencies)

If key components of chain are ahead or behind schedule it is quite possible that the supply chain will fail

Partnerships - models of collaboration• Ability to deliver tangible improvements in services or economic

goods • Enable needs expression• Build dialogue with other groups and institutions which may offer

complementary objectives and resources • Inspire groups to work together in support of own (and mutual)

development

Establishing partnerships

• Why a partnership is being established• What each partner seeks to gain from such collaboration• What it is likely to achieve

Risk factor: lack the resources, incentives and structures to achieve long term sustainability

Effective functioning of partnership: needs analysis • An estimation of the costs that each partner is able and willing to commit• An audit of the skills which each partner brings, including overlapping or duplicated skills• An outline plan for the strategic development of skills to meet the partnership’s evolving

needs

• Realistic and workable objectives• Definition of remit and input required from each member of the partnership• Clear boundaries with robust and transparent governance structures and communication

systems• Conflict resolution• Each partner’s ‘moving-on strategy’

Periodic evaluation and review of partnerships• Monitor the performance of the partnership • Inform and directly feed into the partnership process • Create a learning and developmental system that supports rather

than judge it

Types of partnerships

• Technical inputs: linkages with the national, sub-regional agricultural research organizations, Universities and Advanced Research Institutes – public goods

• Links with economic stakeholders will include producers, packers, processors, traders, distributors, retailers, and input, equipment and service suppliers – financial implication

• Services rendered by the non-economic stakeholders - national ministries, agencies and specialized institutions and the general public - request as needed

Adoption within a value chain system

• Markets, institutions, policy, technologies• Improvement in structure, conduct and performance

• Farmer adoption of external inputs

o integrate and adopt different types and levels of production factors based on their vulnerability, risk and asset

o effectiveness, availability, prices, volumes required and the technical capacity to use them efficiently

o effectiveness of supporting institutions, the quality of infrastructure and the performance of stakeholders within the given commodity chain

o natural resources base, level of risk (rainfall, price variation), availability of cash or farm credit (to buy inputs), and market options for farm products.

Expectations Government and the People of the Republic of Sierra Leone –

Economic development Ministries and allied Departments and Agencies – Food, nutrition

and income security Value Chain Actors and Consumers – Redress constraints along

segments of value chain; Business development; Access to available, affordable, nutritious, quality, safe food

Agricultural research institutions, Universities, and allied institutions – Contribute to institutional missions

Research Scientistso Infrastructure – Laboratories, Fields, Housingo Finance oPersonal development – Publications/Emoluments

Thank you