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Organizational and Institutional Barriers to the Effectiveness of Public Expenditures: The Case of Agricultural Research Investments in Nigeria and Ghana

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Abstract

Where investments in agricultural research do not yield positive impact on incomes and food security, organizational and institutional bottlenecks can be critical factors. We illustrate this point by using the cases of Ghana and Nigeria, two of the largest agricultural research systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This article combines elements of organizational design, institutional analysis and innovation systems literature to empirically measure organizational performance and its determinants. Findings suggest weak monitoring and impact-orientation in sample research organizations. Unstable funds, weak infrastructure and unconducive work environment are binding constraints in increasing research productivity and outreach in Ghana and Nigeria. Different priorities for these two countries emerged from this article: quality of human resources seems to be the priority for Ghana, while adequacy of physical resources and implementation of organizational management systems seem to be the priority for Nigeria.

Abstract

Lorsque les investissements dans la recherche agricole n’aboutissent pas à un impact positif sur les revenus et la sécurité alimentaire, les goulets d'étranglement organisationnels et institutionnels peuvent être des facteurs critiques. Nous illustrons ce point en utilisant les cas du Ghana et du Nigeria, deux des plus grands systèmes de recherche agricole en Afrique Sub-saharienne. Ce document combine des éléments de conception organisationnelle, d'analyse institutionnelle, et de la littérature des systèmes d'innovation pour mesurer de façon empirique la performance organisationnelle et de ses déterminants. Les résultats suggèrent la faiblesse du suivi et de l’orientation vers l'impact dans les organisations de recherche de l'échantillon. Des financements instables, la faiblesse des infrastructures et un environnement de travail peu propice sont des contraintes incontournables dans l’augmentation de la productivité de la recherche et de sensibilisation au Ghana et au Nigeria. Des priorités différentes pour ces deux pays ont émergé de cet article: qualité des ressources humaines semble être la priorité pour le Ghana, alors que pour le Nigeria, la priorité semble être l’adéquation des ressources physiques et la mise en œuvre de systèmes de gestion organisationnelle.

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Notes

  1. A national agricultural research system (NARS) includes all public sector, private sector and other non-governmental organizations involved in agricultural research. In this article, we focus on the public sector only – involving research institutes, universities, colleges and non-profit organizations that conduct agricultural research given the relative availability of data and information on the public sector and not the private sector and other non-governmental organizations.

  2. Investments during 1993–2002 were considered, and roughly correspond to most technologies generated during 1997–2008, assuming a 5-year research lag (from development to release) in the developing country context.

  3. An alternative is the negative binomial regression (NBR) model, which assumes underdispersion. Generalized Poisson Regression (GPR) allows for all types of dispersion. GPR has been a good competitor of NBR and in some instances it may also have some advantages (Famoye and Singh, 2006). Moreover, GPR has an edge over NBR for estimating parameters of the conditional mean (Wooldridge, 2002).

  4. Based on ASTI data, the average number of researchers employed at ARCN during 1990–2001 was roughly 500 FTEs, which would correspond to the researcher capacity contributing to producing new breeds released between 1997 and 2008.

  5. Based on ASTI data, the average research expenditure at ARCN during 1990–2001 was roughly $60 million per year or $720 million in total for 12-year period.

  6. The average number of researchers was about 240 (full-time equivalent (FTE) researchers from ASTI data set) between 1993 and 2002 (which would correspond to the human capacity of producing technologies released between 1997 and 2008) in CSIR.

  7. The average research expenditure in 1993–2002 was roughly $60 million per year (based on ASTI data set) of CSIR research spending (or $300 million total for 12 years).

  8. The rate at which new varieties enter the system and replace older varieties depends on varietal traits, seed availability and farmer preferences. The rate is computed as the average age of the modern varieties weighted by the area planted.

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  1. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Development Strategy and Governance Division, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Catherine Ragasa

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Ragasa, C. Organizational and Institutional Barriers to the Effectiveness of Public Expenditures: The Case of Agricultural Research Investments in Nigeria and Ghana. Eur J Dev Res 28, 660–689 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2015.41

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