(IFPRI) was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting food needs of the developing world on a sustainable basis, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. While the research effort is geared to the precise objective of contributing to the reduction of hunger and malnutrition, the factors involved are many and wide-ranging, requiring analysis of underlying processes and extending beyond a narrowly defined food sector. The Institute's research program reflects worldwide collaboration with governments and private and public institutions interested in increasing food production and improving the equity of its distribution.

Over the past three decades the development of agricultural research staff in sub-Saharan Africa has been impressive. There were significant increases in the number of researchers (a sixfold increase if South Africa is excluded), in Africanization (from about 90 percent expatriates in 1961 to 11 percent in 1991), and in education levels (over 60 percent of national researchers held a postgraduate degree in 1991).Developments in agricultural research expenditures were less positive. After INVESTMENTS IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH * **

Following two decades of increasing investments, growth in public agricultural research spending in Sub-Saharan Africa stagnated during the 1980s and 1990s at an average rate of about 1% per year. Nonetheless, this continent-wide trend masks significant variation among countries. During 1991-2000, about half the countries in the authors' 27-country sample experienced negative annual growth in total agricultural research and development (R&D) spending. Declines often resulted from political unrest or the completion of large donor-funded projects. The majority of African agricultural research is still conducted by the government sector, with the private for-profit sector accounting for only a small, but seemingly increasing, share of total research expenditures.

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Agricultural research and development (R&D) investment is positively associated with high returns, but these returns take time -often decades -to develop. Consequently, the inherent lag from the inception of research to the adoption of new technologies calls for sustained and stable R&D funding. This article introduces a quantitative measure to assess volatility in agricultural R&D spending. It reveals that agricultural R&D spending in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been substantially more volatile than in other developing regions, which is the consequence of low levels of government funding, coupled with a high dependence on short-term and ad hoc donor and development bank funding. Rather than relying too much on external funding, SSA governments need to clearly identify long-term priorities, design focused and coherent agricultural R&D programmes accordingly, and commit sufficient funding for their implementation, while donor funding needs to be better aligned with national priorities. Moreover, diversification of funding sources is needed to better absorb funding shocks.L'investissement en R&D agricole est positivement associé à des rendements élevés, mais ces rendements prennent du temps, souvent plusieurs décennies, à se développer. Par conséquent, le décalage inhérent entre le début de la recherche et l'adoption de nouvelles technologies rappelle le besoin de financements soutenus et stables pour la R& D. Cet article introduit une mesure quantitative pour évaluer la volatilité des dépenses en R&D. Il révèle que les dépenses en R&D agricole en Afrique sub-saharienne (ASS) sont beaucoup plus volatiles que dans d'autres régions en développement, ce qui est la conséquence du faible niveau de financement du gouvernement, allié à une forte dépendance sur les financements à court terme et ad hoc des bailleurs de fonds et des banques de développement. Plutôt que de trop compter sur un financement externe, les gouvernements d'Afrique subsaharienne doivent définir clairement leurs priorités à long terme, concevoir en conséquence des programmes de R&D agricole ciblés et cohérents, et engager des fonds suffisants pour leur mise en oeuvre, tandis que le financement des bailleurs de fonds doit être mieux aligné sur les priorités nationales. En outre, la diversification des sources de financement est nécessaire pour mieux absorber les chocs de financement.