Future Directions of Asian Development B
Future Directions of
Asian Development
Bank Involvement in
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
Research
This unpublished précis excerpts selected arguments
put forward toward the definition of the Asian
Development Bank's policy on agriculture and natural
resources research, dated 1995.
Olivier Serrat
06/03/1995
1
Introduction
1.
Traditionally, the general goals of agriculture and natural resources research policy have
been growth, equity and food security. Agriculture and natural resources research contributes to
growth by increasing the productivity of farm resources. In the context of the Asia and Pacific
region, the benefits of such research have come through the spread of modern rice and wheat
varieties accompanied by increased use of fertilizer and irrigation. These innovations contributed
to equity by, for example, lowering the real cost of foods consumed by the rural and urban poor.
They correspondingly contributed to food security by enabling self-sufficiency for the countries in
the region.
2.
Currently, the food production versus population growth issue is the subject of some
debate but the issue is not viewed as critical, even though there are widely divergent views on
what the next 20-30 years will hold regarding the world's capacity to feed more than 8 billion
people. Research initiatives are defined by the problems they seek to solve, not the product they
hope to identify. The Asian Development Bank's Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the
period 1995–1998 defines the Bank's strategic development objectives and, accordingly, the
future directions of the Bank's involvement in agriculture and natural resources research are
determined by their potential contribution to the achievement of these objectives. The primary
areas concerned are rural development, including women in development, and natural resource
management and the environment.
3.
Economic growth is necessary to reduce poverty but, because many segments of society
can be bypassed in the growth process, it is often not enough to ensure that the deprivations
suffered by the poor are overcome. Although traditional growth-oriented agriculture and natural
resources research similarly offers a good chance that the poor will gain, past efforts have largely
benefited urban consumers and the better-off farmers. Because more than half of the Asia and
Pacific region's poor population resides in the rural areas, the Bank's strategic objective of poverty
reduction can only be met by explicitly targeting the rural poor and the complex interactions
between poverty, environment, and development.
Key Operating Principles
4.
While there have been reservations concerning the effectiveness of targeting agriculture
and natural resources research to contribute to rural development, such targeting can be effective
within a relatively new framework of conceptual approaches that has been working in recent
years. Some of the more important principles are:
(i)
Local Communities. Competing demands for the dwindling stock of natural
resources call for a careful consideration of alternative uses and appropriate
economic pricing of resources. The clarification of ownership rights is often a key
prerequisite for effective resource management. In the overall context of Bank
involvement in agriculture and natural resources research, efforts will be made to
use designs and technologies that acknowledge the role of local communities as
the de facto owners and the only potentially effective managers of the scarce
resources.
2
(ii)
Indigenous Technical Knowledge. Farmers possess an accumulated and mostly
unwritten fund of knowledge concerning, for example, plants, soils, climate,
seasons, and pests. This knowledge remains largely untapped and is largely
ignored by formal research systems and conventional approaches to research. It
has been ignored to the detriment of more rapid progress in solving the problems
of resource-poor farmers in difficult environments. The Bank will encourage greater
recognition of indigenous technical knowledge in adaptive, farmer first, and farming
systems approaches to agriculture and natural resources research.
(iii)
Women in Development. Agriculture and natural resources research to develop
more effective farming systems in difficult resource environments will not be
undertaken without the full involvement of the farmer who is key to the adoption of
new approaches. Within this context, the interaction with farmers involving steps
such as on-farm trials and feedback between farmers and research stations will
incorporate the role, needs, and objectives of women as full partners in finding
solutions for farming systems. The Bank recognizes the need to take gender into
account in research policy and will only encourage research initiatives by
international and national research institutes to improve farming systems that fully
incorporate the role of women.
(iv)
Market Information. The Bank will, to the extent possible, promote agriculture and
natural resources research that has a sound basis relative to market needs.
Incorporation of up-to-date market information can reduce the failure rate of new
technologies and enhance the efficiency of the research process.
Research Approaches
5.
In the development of approaches to promote rural development and protection of the
environment, the Bank will need to focus on adaptive research, while not ignoring original
research. Adaptive research is more suited to promoting rural development over a range of
socioecological conditions as it undertakes to find the needed adjustments of technology to a
particular set of farming conditions. This may take the form of further selection of variety attributes
of a different kind than those emphasized in the original applied research. National adaptations of
crop varieties released by international research institutes are of this form. Adaptive research also
includes the interactive process of on-farm trials and feedback to research stations that is a
feature of farming systems research.
6.
Farming systems research complements adaptive research and recognizes that
technology generation requires knowledge of on-farm constraints and priorities. Farming systems
research views small farmers as the clients of agricultural and natural resources research and
views the farm in a holistic manner. It first identifies technical and socioeconomic constraints to
improved production and then endeavors to develop solutions. It also involves multidisciplinary
on-farm research and steady feedback to research stations to allow for adjustments to be made in
technology design.
7.
To increase the probability of success in improving farming systems, it is necessary to see
the farmer as the key to adopting new approaches. Farmer first research is particularly useful
when oriented toward resource-poor farmers characterized by complex, diverse and risky farming
systems and livelihoods. In particular, farmer first research distinguishes between the farm
systems for which green revolution technology represented a major transformation and those of
resource-poor farmers that have seen little change. It emphasizes the indigenous technical
3
knowledge of resource-poor farmers and their experimental and innovative capability. It has
multiple points of entry and exit, puts farmers in control, and involves role reversals since it
requires scientists to learn from, consult, supply ideas to, support and collaborate with farmers.
Farmers, on the other hand, analyze problems, decide priorities, make choices, and undertake
experiments. Although farmer first research is difficult because of the absence of formalized
structure in its method and because it relies heavily on individual initiative by scientists and
researchers, the Bank will encourage this approach to enhancing the farming systems of
resource-poor farmers.
Diffusion of Agricultural Technology
8.
Research policy is about both generation and diffusion of new agricultural technology to
farm households. Generation of new agricultural technology refers to the factors that underlie the
supply of innovations. These include, among others, the forces determining the topics selected for
research, the institutional organizations of research, the resources allocated to research, the
management of research and the outcomes of research. Diffusion of new agricultural technology,
on the other hand, relates to the factors that influence the adoption of innovations by farmers.
These involve, for instance, farm-level and economy-wide constraints affecting technology
adoption, the adaptation of research findings to local conditions, off-farm and on-farm trials of new
crop varieties, interactive adaptive research involving farmers in the research process, as well as
the provision of extension services or other dissemination methods for diffusing information
between farmers. Thus, to be effectual, agriculture and natural resource research must be
complemented with an effective agricultural extension system and with efficient marketing and
input supply services. The Bank recognizes that these factors condition the effectiveness of
agriculture and natural resources research and will ascertain that the necessary conduits exist for
diffusion of new agricultural technology to farm households.
National Research Institutes
9.
While some of the products of agriculture and natural resources research can readily be
transferred across countries, many are site-specific and need to be developed or adapted within
the countries that will use them. This implies that only part of the required knowledge and
technology can be developed in international research institutes. At the same time, the Bank will
promote strengthened linkages between international and national research institutes. The Bank
will give greater recognition to national research systems and endeavor to advance further the
development of national research capacity, especially that of the universities and the private
sector.
The views expressed in this précis are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank, or its Board of Governors or the
governments they represent.
Asian Development
Bank Involvement in
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
Research
This unpublished précis excerpts selected arguments
put forward toward the definition of the Asian
Development Bank's policy on agriculture and natural
resources research, dated 1995.
Olivier Serrat
06/03/1995
1
Introduction
1.
Traditionally, the general goals of agriculture and natural resources research policy have
been growth, equity and food security. Agriculture and natural resources research contributes to
growth by increasing the productivity of farm resources. In the context of the Asia and Pacific
region, the benefits of such research have come through the spread of modern rice and wheat
varieties accompanied by increased use of fertilizer and irrigation. These innovations contributed
to equity by, for example, lowering the real cost of foods consumed by the rural and urban poor.
They correspondingly contributed to food security by enabling self-sufficiency for the countries in
the region.
2.
Currently, the food production versus population growth issue is the subject of some
debate but the issue is not viewed as critical, even though there are widely divergent views on
what the next 20-30 years will hold regarding the world's capacity to feed more than 8 billion
people. Research initiatives are defined by the problems they seek to solve, not the product they
hope to identify. The Asian Development Bank's Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the
period 1995–1998 defines the Bank's strategic development objectives and, accordingly, the
future directions of the Bank's involvement in agriculture and natural resources research are
determined by their potential contribution to the achievement of these objectives. The primary
areas concerned are rural development, including women in development, and natural resource
management and the environment.
3.
Economic growth is necessary to reduce poverty but, because many segments of society
can be bypassed in the growth process, it is often not enough to ensure that the deprivations
suffered by the poor are overcome. Although traditional growth-oriented agriculture and natural
resources research similarly offers a good chance that the poor will gain, past efforts have largely
benefited urban consumers and the better-off farmers. Because more than half of the Asia and
Pacific region's poor population resides in the rural areas, the Bank's strategic objective of poverty
reduction can only be met by explicitly targeting the rural poor and the complex interactions
between poverty, environment, and development.
Key Operating Principles
4.
While there have been reservations concerning the effectiveness of targeting agriculture
and natural resources research to contribute to rural development, such targeting can be effective
within a relatively new framework of conceptual approaches that has been working in recent
years. Some of the more important principles are:
(i)
Local Communities. Competing demands for the dwindling stock of natural
resources call for a careful consideration of alternative uses and appropriate
economic pricing of resources. The clarification of ownership rights is often a key
prerequisite for effective resource management. In the overall context of Bank
involvement in agriculture and natural resources research, efforts will be made to
use designs and technologies that acknowledge the role of local communities as
the de facto owners and the only potentially effective managers of the scarce
resources.
2
(ii)
Indigenous Technical Knowledge. Farmers possess an accumulated and mostly
unwritten fund of knowledge concerning, for example, plants, soils, climate,
seasons, and pests. This knowledge remains largely untapped and is largely
ignored by formal research systems and conventional approaches to research. It
has been ignored to the detriment of more rapid progress in solving the problems
of resource-poor farmers in difficult environments. The Bank will encourage greater
recognition of indigenous technical knowledge in adaptive, farmer first, and farming
systems approaches to agriculture and natural resources research.
(iii)
Women in Development. Agriculture and natural resources research to develop
more effective farming systems in difficult resource environments will not be
undertaken without the full involvement of the farmer who is key to the adoption of
new approaches. Within this context, the interaction with farmers involving steps
such as on-farm trials and feedback between farmers and research stations will
incorporate the role, needs, and objectives of women as full partners in finding
solutions for farming systems. The Bank recognizes the need to take gender into
account in research policy and will only encourage research initiatives by
international and national research institutes to improve farming systems that fully
incorporate the role of women.
(iv)
Market Information. The Bank will, to the extent possible, promote agriculture and
natural resources research that has a sound basis relative to market needs.
Incorporation of up-to-date market information can reduce the failure rate of new
technologies and enhance the efficiency of the research process.
Research Approaches
5.
In the development of approaches to promote rural development and protection of the
environment, the Bank will need to focus on adaptive research, while not ignoring original
research. Adaptive research is more suited to promoting rural development over a range of
socioecological conditions as it undertakes to find the needed adjustments of technology to a
particular set of farming conditions. This may take the form of further selection of variety attributes
of a different kind than those emphasized in the original applied research. National adaptations of
crop varieties released by international research institutes are of this form. Adaptive research also
includes the interactive process of on-farm trials and feedback to research stations that is a
feature of farming systems research.
6.
Farming systems research complements adaptive research and recognizes that
technology generation requires knowledge of on-farm constraints and priorities. Farming systems
research views small farmers as the clients of agricultural and natural resources research and
views the farm in a holistic manner. It first identifies technical and socioeconomic constraints to
improved production and then endeavors to develop solutions. It also involves multidisciplinary
on-farm research and steady feedback to research stations to allow for adjustments to be made in
technology design.
7.
To increase the probability of success in improving farming systems, it is necessary to see
the farmer as the key to adopting new approaches. Farmer first research is particularly useful
when oriented toward resource-poor farmers characterized by complex, diverse and risky farming
systems and livelihoods. In particular, farmer first research distinguishes between the farm
systems for which green revolution technology represented a major transformation and those of
resource-poor farmers that have seen little change. It emphasizes the indigenous technical
3
knowledge of resource-poor farmers and their experimental and innovative capability. It has
multiple points of entry and exit, puts farmers in control, and involves role reversals since it
requires scientists to learn from, consult, supply ideas to, support and collaborate with farmers.
Farmers, on the other hand, analyze problems, decide priorities, make choices, and undertake
experiments. Although farmer first research is difficult because of the absence of formalized
structure in its method and because it relies heavily on individual initiative by scientists and
researchers, the Bank will encourage this approach to enhancing the farming systems of
resource-poor farmers.
Diffusion of Agricultural Technology
8.
Research policy is about both generation and diffusion of new agricultural technology to
farm households. Generation of new agricultural technology refers to the factors that underlie the
supply of innovations. These include, among others, the forces determining the topics selected for
research, the institutional organizations of research, the resources allocated to research, the
management of research and the outcomes of research. Diffusion of new agricultural technology,
on the other hand, relates to the factors that influence the adoption of innovations by farmers.
These involve, for instance, farm-level and economy-wide constraints affecting technology
adoption, the adaptation of research findings to local conditions, off-farm and on-farm trials of new
crop varieties, interactive adaptive research involving farmers in the research process, as well as
the provision of extension services or other dissemination methods for diffusing information
between farmers. Thus, to be effectual, agriculture and natural resource research must be
complemented with an effective agricultural extension system and with efficient marketing and
input supply services. The Bank recognizes that these factors condition the effectiveness of
agriculture and natural resources research and will ascertain that the necessary conduits exist for
diffusion of new agricultural technology to farm households.
National Research Institutes
9.
While some of the products of agriculture and natural resources research can readily be
transferred across countries, many are site-specific and need to be developed or adapted within
the countries that will use them. This implies that only part of the required knowledge and
technology can be developed in international research institutes. At the same time, the Bank will
promote strengthened linkages between international and national research institutes. The Bank
will give greater recognition to national research systems and endeavor to advance further the
development of national research capacity, especially that of the universities and the private
sector.
The views expressed in this précis are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank, or its Board of Governors or the
governments they represent.