Making a Difference with Agricultural Research

Evaluation News

OED 16 April 2008

Making a Difference with Agricultural Research

"As economies transform, ‌, the contribution of agriculture to national economic growth is diminishing. Yet the majority of the poor still lives in rural areas, and agriculture remains a source of productivity improvement, seasonal employment, and income growth." Source: ADB. 2008. Strategy 2020: The Long-Term Strategic Framework of the Asian Development Bank 2008–2020. Manila.

In 1995, ADB forged an approach to supporting research for agricultural development and natural resource management in its developing member countries. Its Policy on Agriculture and Natural Resources Research recommended that ADB focus on reducing poverty, sustainable management of Operations Evaluation Department Asian Development Bank

agriculture and natural resources, and increasing the productivity of agriculture.

GEORGE BESTARI

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In a world where 75% of the poor depend on agriculture, it is essential to achieve sustainable food security and reduce poverty. Currently, 2.1 billion live on less than $2 a day and 880 million on less than $1 a day. In Asia and the Pacific, some regions continue to have prevalent food insecurity even though overall growth in some countries has been impressive.

Scientific research and research-related activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fishery, livestock, policy, and environment have a record of significantly increasing food supply to curb hunger on large scale. It was science that made possible the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, itself largely the work of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and its national agricultural research partners. Since then, many of the countries with the strongest agricultural sectors have sustained investment in agricultural science and technology. The evidence is undisputed: research for development generates agricultural growth and reduces poverty.

In 2000, the Operations Evaluation Department conducted a Special Evaluation Study on Policy Implementation and Impact of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research. The study concluded that the policy's objectives were generally relevant and that the modalities used in supporting research were effective in achieving ADB's overarching objective of poverty reduction. It identified opportunities to refine, and more closely focus on, the research agenda. It recommended that ADB adopt a two-pronged approach to research that would entail (i) using regional technical assistance to international agricultural research centers to focus on cutting-edge research aimed at bringing about a quantum leap in yield and productivity, and (ii) providing continuous support to the same for networking projects for effective dissemination of results to national agricultural research centers. It advised also that ADB should make use of technical assistance clusters. In 2005, the Regional and Sustainable Development Department in ADB reviewed the extent of adoption of the study's recommendations in the operations departments, and flagged slow progress.

Over the coming decades, global change will have

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CHANG CHING YU

significant, yet highly uncertain impacts on food and water security. In 2007, the World Development Report 2008 recognized that agriculture continues to be a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction, and called for greater investment.

More recently still, leaders have urged immediate action to deal with the world's growing food-price crisis, which has caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Lastly, the promise and risks of biofuel should be assessed—with the price of petroleum near an all-time high and with few alternative fuels for transport, biofuel offers a potential source of renewable energy and could lead to large new markets for agricultural producers; however, few current biofuel programs are economically viable, and most have social and environmental costs, viz., upward pressure on food prices, intensified competition for land and water, and possibly deforestation. Their contribution to the mounting food prices is being scrutinized. Not surprisingly, hunger, malnutrition, and food policy formed a recurrent theme at the 2008 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

There have been several changes in the agriculture and natural resources sectors of developing member countries since ADB adopted the policy. Emerging concerns include increasing scarcity of land, labor, and water for agriculture; the likely impact of trade liberalization; global climate change; and biofuel development. In addition, ADB has also made several changes in policies, institutional set-up, and operational guidelines since 2000 in relation to agriculture and natural resources sector approaches. Under Strategy 2020: The Long-Term Strategic Framework of the Asian Development Bank 2008–2020, sustainable

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management of natural resources is placed high on the agenda for addressing concerns arising from climate change, among others. Further, recent emphasis among the donor community in making aid more effective makes it appropriate to assess whether support to agricultural research is in conformity with commitments vis-à-vis the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

" … population growth, pressure on natural resources, competing food crop use, and the effects of extreme weather and climate change increase risks to future food security." Source: ADB. 2008. Strategy 2020: The Long-Term Strategic Framework of the Asian Development Bank 2008–2020. Manila.

Against this background, the Operations Evaluation Department is updating the special evaluation study of 2000. The specific objectives of the update are to  establish the extent of adoption of the first special evaluation study's recommendations, and ascertain their continued relevance or otherwise in the current context;  determine the relevance and effectiveness of research support provided since 2000, and key determinants of effectiveness;  assess the extent to which ADB has used the findings of research projects and included these in country operations, and disseminated the knowledge acquired; and  appraise the future relevance of support for research in the context of current issues, ADB's present and emerging corporate strategies, and the evolving international aid architecture, specifically with regard to commitments under the Paris Declaration.

See Also: Special Evaluation Study on Pathways Out of Rural Poverty and the Effectiveness of Poverty Targeting.

Available: www.adb.org/documents/ses/reg/ruralpoverty-targeting/ses-poverty-targeting.asp Rural Asia: Beyond the Green Revolution. Available: www.adb.org/documents/books/rural_asia/default.asp Future Agricultures: A Learning Consortium.

Available: www.future-agricultures.org/index.html ADB. 2008. Ongoing Evaluations. Special Evaluation Study on Policy Implementation and Impact of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research. Manila. Share your views: evaluation@adb.org For Inquiries: Olivier Serrat; Tel +63 2 632 6710; oserrat@adb.org