The participants of the workshop
Agricultural stakeholders including research experts from across Africa have held discussions on new approaches in collecting agricultural research data to boost national agricultural research systems.
The three-day Agricultural Sciences and Technology Indicators (ASTI) Regional Workshop formed part of measures by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and its regional partners to create awareness about the ASTI and support long-term institutionalisation of the data collection instrument by countries.
The ASTI is a programme that provides open-source data on agricultural research systems in developing countries. The data is used by policymakers, research managers, donor organisations, and other stakeholders to assess the impact and performance of agricultural research, set priorities for investment and policy, and promote the recruitment and promotion of women in agricultural research.
ASTI Project Leader at the FAO,Hernán Daniel Muñoz, said the regional workshop provided stakeholders with technical insights on the ASTI methodology and introduce new approaches to the researchers.
“We want to find the best model to collect data because all countries have different settings and data collected in the past adopted one single approach not in an official manner.
“We expect to build in each country a national plan on how to implement the model according to the institutional settings, the capacity of the country and the relevance of the agricultural sector research,” Mr Muñoz said.
Director of Research and Innovation, West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), Dr. Emmanuel Njukwe, said data collection in the region is complex due to the different Ministries and Agencies that undertake agricultural research data collection, making it difficult to institutionalise specific research models.
“Human capacity is also a challenge. Some people are trained but are not working in specific fields where they were trained. The programme will address those challenges by encouraging specialisation,” he said.
Director, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Dr. Wilhemina Quaye, said the Council was working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to provide relevant data to famers to improve their productivity.
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