Open Access

Getting African agriculture moving is the most complex and demanding task facing policy makers, agricultural scientists, and donors over the coming 25 years. This publication, based on the text of a presentation given at the CIMMYT Economics Program's Third Distinguished Economist Lecture, examines Africa's empty harvest in historical perspective and analyzes the failure of agricultural institutions imported from other continents (e.g., T&V extension and the land grant university model). The author argues that there is an urgent need for African agriculturalists to experiment with different agricultural institutions and to craft national "agricultural knowledge triangles" that include research, extension, and agricultural higher education. Africa's universities are the weak link in the agricultural knowledge triangule. The lecture then analyzes the reasons underlying the erosion in the capacity of Africa's faculties of agriculture to offer high quality graduate training in agriculture. Taking the long view of building sustainable agricultural institutions, the author outlines eight challenging puzzles that require debate and further study: creating a good institutional environment; crafting agricultural knowledge triangles; the case for long-term scientific assistance; the expanded aid agenda; changing roles of public and private institutions and NGOs; institution building versus marginalist approaches; strategic issues in improving the quality of graduate education; and "whither the CGIAR"

Text in English

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