A tese trata dos arranjos institucionais e das formas de organização da pesquisa agrícola no Brasil e na Argentina. A análise é focada na forma de atuação da Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), no caso brasileiro, e do Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuária (INTA), no caso argentino. Analisam-se as principais características da indústria sementeira e do mercado de sementes referentes às culturas de soja, milho e trigo, as três principais cultivadas nos dois países. No caso da soja, observou-se nos últimos anos um forte avanço na utilização de sementes geneticamente modificadas (GM). Porém, os dois países adotaram estratégias distintas em relação à introdução dessa nova tecnologia em seu território: a Argentina adotou uma política liberalizante, apostando nos transgênicos como forma de ampliação de sua competitividade agrícola; o Brasil adotou uma postura mais cautelosa, mas acabou por liberar o plantio da soja GM em função, entre outras coisas, da já expressiva utilização dessas sementes pelos produtores rurais (que adquiriram as sementes no mercado paralelo). Ações diferentes são observadas nos casos do milho e do trigo, pelas diferentes dinâmicas técnico-produtivas dos dois segmentos de mercado. Os mercados de sementes analisados na tese passam por grandes mudanças nos ambientes técnico-científico...

A inserção dos Institutos Nacionais de Pesquisa Agropecuária no novo contexto de pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação impulsado pela transição da abordagem dos Sistemas Nacionais de Pesquisa Agrícola para a de Sistemas Nacionais de Inovação Agrícola nos países em desenvolvimento, constitui o tema central da tese. As mudanças em curso desde o início do século XXI nos ambientes tecnológico, político, institucional e organizacional afetaram significativamente a forma, o grau e a direção com que se organizam os Sistemas Nacionais de Inovação Agropecuária tornando-os cada vez mais complexos e dinâmicos alterando o papel dos Institutos Nacionais de Pesquisa Agropecuária (INPAs). Neste sentido, os Institutos vêm fazendo importantes esforços para consolidar e desenvolver capacidades de organização e gestão de pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação tendendo principalmente a uma maior articulação com os demais atores e à construção e implementação de mecanismos de gestão mais flexíveis. O presente trabalho motiva-se pela percepção de que há hoje um desajuste entre a forma como essas instituições se organizam e a evolução dos sistemas de inovação agropecuário. Percebe-se também que os mecanismos de monitoramento e avaliação de resultados e impactos que são empregados atualmente pelos Institutos para medir seu desempenho não conseguem medir sua participação relativa nos sistemas. Desta forma...

This paper presents a methodological model for the establishment of Open Access to scientific information at Embrapa, as a strategy for scientific information and knowledge management. The model consists of elements that speed up scientific communication processes and allow for the research output management. The aim is to provide the necessary mechanisms to capture, store, organize, preserve and widely disseminate the scientific knowledge produced by Embrapa and by the scientific community involved in agricultural research, through the implementation of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). It is our contention that effective information management improves institutional scientific communication, which contributes for the betterment of scientific research related processes.

We define and model the research production at Embrapa, the major Brazilian institution responsable for applied agricultural research. The main theoretical framework is Data Envelopment Analysis - DEA. We explore the economic interpretation and the statistical properties of these models to compute confidence intervals for output oriented efficiency measurements, based on a parametric flexible model, defined by the truncated normal distribution. These results provide a better insight on the efficiency classification and allow comparison among the DMUs involved int ehe evaluation process taking into account inefficiency random variation.; 2009

In this paper we measure technical efficiency for each of Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) research centers. We model DEA efficiency as a function of contextual variables: revenue generation capacity, partnership intensity, improvement of administrative processes, and impact of technologies generated by the research centers. Production is modeled with random and inefficient errors, in a manner similar to stochastic frontiers. The assessment of significance for the set of contextual variables is carried out by means of linear programming and goodness of fit tests and has a nonparametric basis. We conclude that there is joint significance of all contextual variables.; 2011

1987

Special Program for African Agricultural Research (SPAAR) was established in 1985 to foster collaboration in agricultural research and development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) between donor organizations and African agricultural research systems. It also sought to enable Africa to benefit from the accumulated knowledge of global agricultural research and technology generation and transfer. The SPAAR membership consists of twenty-three donor organizations, comprising of bilateral and multilateral donors, international, autonomous and regional agencies. Its Secretariat is housed in the World Bank. In 1994, SPAAR donors decided to open SPAAR membership to all the national agricultural research systems (NARSs) in SSA.

The problem which this report seeks to address is the slow rate of technology generation of the agricultural research system in the Sahel. To overcome this problem, the report proposes to strengthen the national agricultural research systems in the region through a three-pronged effort: (a) institutional reforms of the national agricultural research systems to evolve an enabling environment for creativity, innovation and improved performance; (b) new modes of regional cooperation based on the principles of comparative advantage and the relative strengths of national agricultural research systems; and (c) a series of cross-cutting actions to support the revitalized national and regional efforts. It is expected that a more demand-driven national/regional research agenda and more vibrant linkages between scientists and clients will lead to faster rates of technology generation, as was demonstrated by the success of cotton research in the Sahel.

After a period of strong support in the 1960s and 1970s, public funding for research and extension activities in LAC began to wane in the 1980s and 1990s. The strained economic context for many countries required the search for more cost-effective and efficient strategies for producing, disseminating and applying new knowledge and information in agriculture. At the same time, the demand for innovation became all the more pressing, as increased global competition required improvements in agricultural productivity. Consequently, many countries in the region in recent years have sought to revitalize their agricultural research and extension systems through a series of sustainability of funding for these services. Reflective of the drivers of reform, the focus has been on the following principles: 1) diversification in execution and funding; 2) allocation of funding on a competitive basis; 3) demand-driven financing; 4) empowerment of local communities; and, 5) increased private sector participation in implementation of the reform agenda. A series of case studies from the LAC region...

Economic development has brought about, the decline in contribution of the agricultural sector to the economy of Sri Lanka, and, consistent with this economic transformation, the structure of employment also changed. Thus, as labor migrates away from agriculture, the productivity, for those who remain in the land, needs to increase significantly. This report examines the constraints to promoting more rapid agricultural, and rural non-farm sector growth, and, reviews the recent performance of the agricultural, and rural non-farm sectors, in particular the non-plantation agricultural sector; scrutinizes the major policy, and regulatory barriers, that hinder a sustained growth in rural areas; and, proposes options for improvement in the key areas. A critical step to achieve this sector growth, and meet the changing demands of the overall economy, is the need to formulate, and implement a renewed rural development strategy, that builds on synergies in the agricultural, and non-farm sectors. This integrated rural development framework becomes an instrument that can complement a sustained growth in the non-farm sector...

In spite of many years of quality agricultural research and overall agricultural and economic growth, there has been slow progress in the reduction of rural poverty in many developing countries. There is agreement that technology alone is unable to solve the problem of poverty. There are many other issues that need to be considered - some are agroecological and some are social-economic-cultural-institutional-infrastructural. There has recently been fruitful discussion on poverty-focused agricultural research within national and international agricultural research systems. But the actual application of these new ideas and discussions in research has been limited. Although all agree that there is a need to discover ways to achieve greater impact on poverty from research that has been conducted, there is as yet no clear evidence of achievement based on practical experiences. There is little or no real discussion in the literature that demonstrates whether the approach to research affects poverty status. This thesis revisits different interventions and identifies gaps in the literature in understanding approaches to agricultural research. It examines whether working directly with poor men and women farmers in partnership with organisations can contribute to poverty reduction. It also explores a range of values...

Papua presents Indonesia with an intractable development challenge; while the province is the source of great national wealth from its extractive industries, 41% of population remains below the poverty line. Accordingly, the Papuan provincial government, with help from international donors, is enhancing community development through promoting a sustainable livelihoods strategy based on agriculture. During 2001-2006, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research funded a research project to improve the sweetpotato-pig systems of the Dani people in the Baliem Valley. This study evaluates the impact of this project on Dani livelihoods, and examines the value of the Sustainable Livelihood (SL) framework for the purpose of this evaluation. Surveys with semi-structured group interviews and other Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques collected primary bio-physical and socio-economic data, both quantitatively and qualitatively. ‘Before-'and ‘After-project’ information was collected from project participants (n = 38) and a comparison group (n = 190). The survey sample was determined using the propensity score matching method. A double difference statistical method was used to quantify the impact of the project in terms of relative changes in livelihood assets between project and comparison groups. A similar method was used to establish qualitative differences in vulnerability factors associated with sweetpotato and pig production. Silis – the fundamental social unit of the Dani community – was used as a unit of analysis. Impacts of the research project on the 5 categories of Livelihood Assets include: 1) improved sweetpotato genetic diversity...

Revitalizing agriculture is critical for rural Indonesia's economic prosperity. Historically, Indonesia's dramatic poverty reduction was driven by progress in agriculture and agriculture continues to be a potent driver of growth and poverty alleviation. Agricultural sector growth strongly induces non-agricultural sector growth in rural areas, particularly through demand for locally produced and services. Agricultural sector productivity growth (along with price changes) has remained the most important way out of poverty. To shift agriculture along these dimensions, Indonesia needs to transition from its current and ineffective public stance, growing subsidies and selective output protection, to a more aggressive provision of public goods and services that build support systems for farmers to achieve continuous productivity gains. This will require an enabling agriculture policy environment, significant improvement in the delivery of services, agricultural research and extension in particular, and supporting enabling investments...

This review's objectives were to examine the structure and performance of the agricultural research and extension systems (public and private) at the central and provincial levels, identify successes as well as constraints to improving the system s effectiveness for fostering innovation, and propose options for further policy and institutional development, drawing on lessons from international experience. The review focused principally on nonplantation crops, although its main recommendations apply across the agricultural sector. This synthesis report summarizes the main findings of the review and builds upon them by adding some new elements. The conflict in Sri Lanka is explicitly recognized. Additionally, the implications of changes in the wider agricultural context for agricultural research and extension are explored, and have led to the adoption of an innovation systems perspective to organize the major findings

The original mission of the CGIAR was a strategic, science-based focus on increasing "the pile of rice on the plates of food-short consumers," as characterized by a former chairman. It was to use the best science in advanced countries to develop technologies for the benefit of food deficit countries and populations. But a rapidly changing external environment has led to an expanded mission and mandate. The mission statement adopted in 1998 is "food security and poverty eradication in developing countries through research, partnerships, capacity building, and policy support, promoting sustainable agricultural development based on the environmentally sound management of natural resources." Several forces continue to influence the CGIAR's mandate. First, the rise of civil society organizations and the empowerment of marginal groups and women have increased donors' attention to social concerns. By restricting their funding to preferred programs and areas, donors are altering the composition of CGIAR activities. Second...

Revitalizing agriculture is critical for rural Indonesia's economic prosperity. Historically, Indonesia's dramatic poverty reduction was driven by progress in agriculture and agriculture continues to be a potent driver of growth and poverty alleviation. Agricultural sector growth strongly induces non-agricultural sector growth in rural areas, particularly through demand for locally produced and services. Agricultural sector productivity growth (along with price changes) has remained the most important way out of poverty. To shift agriculture along these dimensions, Indonesia needs to transition from its current and ineffective public stance, growing subsidies and selective output protection, to a more aggressive provision of public goods and services that build support systems for farmers to achieve continuous productivity gains. This will require an enabling agriculture policy environment, significant improvement in the delivery of services, agricultural research and extension in particular, and supporting enabling investments...

In recent years, the notion of doing research with multiple partners has become an important concept in international development. This reflects the belief that partnerships are important for solving complex problems, reducing costs and competition for the same resources, increasing efficiency and ownership, and ensuring greater accountability. The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) was established in 1993 by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in response to global concerns about the social, environmental and economic consequences of forest loss and degradation. CIFOR's statutes define its mission as 'to contribute to the sustained well-being of people in developing countries, particularly in the tropics, through collaborative strategic and applied research and related activities in forest systems and forestry, and by promoting the transfer of appropriate new technologies and the adoption of new methods o/social organizations, for national development: CIFOR research produces the knowledge and methods needed to improve the well-being of forest-dependent people and to help tropical countries manage their forests wisely for sustained benefits. This research is undertaken in partnership. At any given time...

From society's point of view, the question is whether investment in Agricultural research should be considered as a priority for the public sector. In other words, should a major objective be to. increase total funds allocated to agricultural research? This issue has been given inadequate treatment in the literature as upposed to establishing priorities for allocating available funds which has received considerable coverage in economic Iiterature.; 1984

There are three different uses of the term 'inoformation' in ordinary language: in the restricted sense, it means diverse types of material objects, such as data or documents ('information-as-thing'); alternatively, the term is used as in reference to the act of informing or becoming informed ('information-as-process'), or to equatge to knowledge ('information-as-knowledge'). Each of these connotations represents a legitimate view of information in its own right, being equally significant to information-intensive organisations. The literature lacks studies that approach information from an integrative viewpoint, however. The purpose of this study was to explore and develop the notion of 'information governance' as an integrative, systemic approach to information in the context of rsearch organisations. Soft Systems Methodology was used in a case study involving the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviwes with researchers and information/knowledge managers, followed by a thematic, two-level analysis. From a 'macro-level' of analysis (the wider Brazilian agricultural research system) it was found that, to solve increasingly complex research problems, collaborative, multidisciplinary networking is needed. On the other hand...

This study is intended to contribute to the setting of priorities for agricultural research in two regions of northern Syria. A whole-farm economic model based on production data from 8-year field trials, and market and farmer surveys for the same years,