North African governments urged to diversify agricultural R&D funding

Agriculture R&D in North Africa is almost entirely dependent on government funding, and low salaries for scientists outside academia are hampering the uptake of research in farming, a report has warned.

Gert-Jan Stads, manager of the environment and production technology division of the International Food Policy Research Institute, authored the report, ‘Agricultural R&D in West Asia and North Africa’.

Stads analysed data between 2009 and 2012 from the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators programme. Of 11 countries examined, six are in North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.