Gary Alex - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Gary Alex
CABI Publishing eBooks, 2002
This chapter examines the emergence of national agricultural research systems in developing count... more This chapter examines the emergence of national agricultural research systems in developing countries, and highlights the changes taking place in the financing and organization of public research in these countries. Key elements that underlie the restructuring of public research systems are outlined.
Strengthening National Agricultural Research Systems - Policy Issues and Good Practice, Feb 1, 1998
This report has been prepared by the staff of the World Bank. The judgments expressed do not nece... more This report has been prepared by the staff of the World Bank. The judgments expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors or the governments they represent. Cover: Pigeonpea farmers near Makindu, Kenya, learn that they have much to gain from adopting extra-short-duration varieties. Photo from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semni-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Seven Decades Building Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems – USAID Contributions over Time, 2021
The paper analyzes a data set of estimates of USAID funding for agricultural research, extension,... more The paper analyzes a data set of estimates of USAID funding for agricultural research, extension, and education over the period 1950 to 2017. For most of this period, agriculture was a priority investment area for USAID as a means of preventing famine, spurring economic growth, reducing rural poverty, promoting political stability, and conserving natural resources. Agricultural research, extension, and education together came to be considered the core of the agricultural knowledge and information systems (AKIS), key to innovation necessary to increase production and productivity.
The three AKIS sub-sectors accounted for about 30 percent of
USAID agricultural funding. Total USAID funding for AKIS sub-sectors amounted to 8.3billioncurrentUSdollars(equivalentto8.3 billion current US dollars (equivalent to 8.3billioncurrentUSdollars(equivalentto15.6 billion constant 2012 dollars) – 61 percent for research, 29 percent for extension, and 10 percent for education. This involved 1472 projects in 119 countries. Funding estimates include both direct delivery of the services and investments in development of local capacity for their provision. In early years, emphasis was on extension and education with establishment of agricultural universities and government extension and research programs.
After the successes of the Green Revolution, investments increased with the 1980s representing the peak years for AKIS investments. Funding declined substantially in the 1990s until rebounding around 2010. Broad trends are not surprising. Early projects often featured the transfer of US technologies and institutional structures. By the 1980s, projects became more tailored to local country conditions with more participatory approaches, better understanding of rural societies and farming systems, and greater integration with broader rural development efforts. By the late
1980s, focus had shifted from working exclusively with public technical agencies to more pluralistic systems with entities in both the public and private sector. A later shift saw projects with AKIS funding included as part of a wide range of activities across the broader agricultural innovation system (AIS) or a specific commodity value chain. In later years, funding for education declined; extension emphasized direct service provision through private sector providers; and research shifted to global programs.
Contracting for agricultural extenison: international case studies and emerging practices, 2002
This chapter reproduces much of the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems Thematic Group... more This chapter reproduces much of the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems Thematic Group's Good Practice Note on contracting for extension. The general findings of case studies are presented along with a review of the policy issues relevant to contracting for extension services and the requirements suggested in the case studies for successful extension contracting. It is suggested that, in general, successful contracting of extension services requires: political will for extension programme reform and contracted extension; clarity in institutional roles, opportunities, and benefits of contracted extension; adequate capacity of service providers; and effective demand for extension services.
Contracting for delivery of agricultural extension services is a widespread strategy used in many... more Contracting for delivery of agricultural extension services is a widespread strategy used in many countries and situations. In developing countries, contracting often shifts delivery of extension from public to private providers. In some cases, this is reversed, with private sector entities contracting with the public sector for specialized services. Analysis of 26 case studies from 19 countries on five continents underscores the variability in approaches to contracting for extension services. Continued economic liberalization is likely to result in a growing number and greater diversity in extension service providers, as demand for new products, information, and services develops and incomes rise. Farmers and rural dwellers already have access to an increasing number of information sources. Steady improvement in rural infrastructure and rising standards of literacy will change the nature of demands, and continued government fiscal restraint will force reduction of subsidized state ...
Twelve case studies are described where privatization has been a feature of national or regional ... more Twelve case studies are described where privatization has been a feature of national or regional reform processes over the past 10-15 years. Cases come from Chile, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany-Brandenburg, Honduras, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Venezuela, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. What is clear from the experiences across these countries is that privatization, in the context of national reform of rural extension services systems, is an important strategic component of these complex and pluralistic processes rather than an ideological mantra imbuing the overall endeavor. Also emerging from the studies and other related international experience is the fundamental difference in both principles and policies between reform processes involving the privatization of agricultural enterprises and those involving the privatization of rural services. Privatization of enterprises involves the ceding of total or substantial ownership and operational control from the government to the p...
Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Papers is an informal series produced by the Agricul... more Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Papers is an informal series produced by the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank. These papers raise concepts and issues for discussion in the broader development community and describe ongoing research and/or implementation experiences from the Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the author's own and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its management, its Board of Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Some of the numbers quoted are estimates or approximations and may be revised at a later stage.
Human Resource Development Review, 2008
Greater commercialization of agricultural systems and increasing trade liberalization dictate the... more Greater commercialization of agricultural systems and increasing trade liberalization dictate the need for better capacity on the part of the agriculture workforce in the 21st century. Global changes in the roles of the public and private sectors and the dramatic advancements in technology have also strongly affected agricultural workforce development needs. These evolving changes have important policy, institutional and programmatic implications. This article therefore places human resource development in the context of current concerns for the development of national knowledge economies and “education for the knowledge economy.” First, the territory is defined. Then the part training plays in capacity development within organizations in the agriculture workforce is examined and suggests, in the view of the authors, the need for new and necessary policy, institutional, and program reform. Agricultural education systems, including extension, formal education, in-service training, an...
Support for building agricultural research systems has been a priority of many development assist... more Support for building agricultural research systems has been a priority of many development assistance agencies, including bilateral and multilateral donors,1 private agencies, and the development banks. On reflection, it isn’t surprising that these agencies have given such attention to agricultural research. First, in the 1960s, it became apparent that in low-income countries, broad-based agricultural growth could be the engine for overall economic development. Technical change in agriculture, especially in basic food crops, is now accepted as a prerequisite for rapid increases in agricultural productivity. The Green Revolution in rice and wheat in Asia and some parts of Latin American beginning in the late 1960s was a vivid demonstration of this effect. Second, at about the same time in the 1960s, several economists began to estimate the rate of return to investments in agricultural research. These studies, which soon extended to the developing world, provided convincing evidence that investment in agricultural research paid high returns in many settings and was an outstanding investment, both for national governments and external assistance agencies.
Against a backdrop of changing public policies and other pressures forcing fundamental change in ... more Against a backdrop of changing public policies and other pressures forcing fundamental change in public extension services, the World Bank, USAID, and the Neuchatel Group convened a workshop 1 of extension experts to review recent approaches to reform of extension services 2 (World Bank 2003). The objective of the workshop was to provide donors, practitioners, and policymakers an opportunity to discuss and identify commonalities in their approaches to agricultural extension. Sessions were organized around issues of institutional pluralism, new funding sources and mechanisms, new extension challenges, and the public sector role in supporting pro-poor extension services. Participants were generally optimistic about new directions for extension, especially because donor representatives reported that agriculture is back on the agenda, and that within agriculture, a revitalized and expanded role for advisory and information services is seen as central to pro-poor agricultural growth. Participants generally agreed that a key element in reforms has been the need to strengthen client demand for services through participatory approaches. Lessons from past experience with reforms would indicate that (World Bank 2003): q Extension is a knowledge and information system whose function is broader than just providing agricultural advice.
Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 2004
This article draws on the workshop and the case-study findings produced under the aegis of the 20... more This article draws on the workshop and the case-study findings produced under the aegis of the 2002 Extension Workshop hosted by the World Bank, USAID and the Neuchatel Initiative. We highlight three general observations, summarize twelve main findings, and discuss a number of future challenges to extension and rural development. We note in particular that changes in funding, management, and delivery of extension services reflect a new vision of extension as being the ultimate responsibility of the client (the farmer) based on a set of new creative partnerships among government, the private sector, and civil society for service provision, and that the current stage of extension’s transformation is from innovation to execution.
Part 1 focuses on several features of extension services that are referred to as "characteristics... more Part 1 focuses on several features of extension services that are referred to as "characteristics" in the best-fit framework (Chapter 1): governance structures and legal status of providers, capacity in terms of staffing, management, and extension methods and clientele. Chapter 2 presents a global landscape of extension services, followed by a comparison of the best-fit characteristics at country and regional levels in Chapter 3.
is an Agronomist with a MS in plant protection and integrated pest management (IPM). He began wor... more is an Agronomist with a MS in plant protection and integrated pest management (IPM). He began working at CIAT in 1981 and has worked on the development of participatory research approaches since 1985. He was part of the IPRA participatory research project Spanish acronym team that first developed and introduced the CIAL methodology into the Cauca Department in Colombia, and he is now the IPRA project leader. Boru Douthwaite is a Technology Policy Analyst with a PhD from the University of Reading, Reading, U.K. He joined CIAT's Rural Innovation Institute and IPRA in May 2003 after working at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. He specializes in the study of rural innovation processes and he has written a book titled Enabling Innovation: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Fostering Technological Change.
CABI Publishing eBooks, 2002
This chapter examines the emergence of national agricultural research systems in developing count... more This chapter examines the emergence of national agricultural research systems in developing countries, and highlights the changes taking place in the financing and organization of public research in these countries. Key elements that underlie the restructuring of public research systems are outlined.
Strengthening National Agricultural Research Systems - Policy Issues and Good Practice, Feb 1, 1998
This report has been prepared by the staff of the World Bank. The judgments expressed do not nece... more This report has been prepared by the staff of the World Bank. The judgments expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors or the governments they represent. Cover: Pigeonpea farmers near Makindu, Kenya, learn that they have much to gain from adopting extra-short-duration varieties. Photo from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semni-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Seven Decades Building Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems – USAID Contributions over Time, 2021
The paper analyzes a data set of estimates of USAID funding for agricultural research, extension,... more The paper analyzes a data set of estimates of USAID funding for agricultural research, extension, and education over the period 1950 to 2017. For most of this period, agriculture was a priority investment area for USAID as a means of preventing famine, spurring economic growth, reducing rural poverty, promoting political stability, and conserving natural resources. Agricultural research, extension, and education together came to be considered the core of the agricultural knowledge and information systems (AKIS), key to innovation necessary to increase production and productivity.
The three AKIS sub-sectors accounted for about 30 percent of
USAID agricultural funding. Total USAID funding for AKIS sub-sectors amounted to 8.3billioncurrentUSdollars(equivalentto8.3 billion current US dollars (equivalent to 8.3billioncurrentUSdollars(equivalentto15.6 billion constant 2012 dollars) – 61 percent for research, 29 percent for extension, and 10 percent for education. This involved 1472 projects in 119 countries. Funding estimates include both direct delivery of the services and investments in development of local capacity for their provision. In early years, emphasis was on extension and education with establishment of agricultural universities and government extension and research programs.
After the successes of the Green Revolution, investments increased with the 1980s representing the peak years for AKIS investments. Funding declined substantially in the 1990s until rebounding around 2010. Broad trends are not surprising. Early projects often featured the transfer of US technologies and institutional structures. By the 1980s, projects became more tailored to local country conditions with more participatory approaches, better understanding of rural societies and farming systems, and greater integration with broader rural development efforts. By the late
1980s, focus had shifted from working exclusively with public technical agencies to more pluralistic systems with entities in both the public and private sector. A later shift saw projects with AKIS funding included as part of a wide range of activities across the broader agricultural innovation system (AIS) or a specific commodity value chain. In later years, funding for education declined; extension emphasized direct service provision through private sector providers; and research shifted to global programs.
Contracting for agricultural extenison: international case studies and emerging practices, 2002
This chapter reproduces much of the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems Thematic Group... more This chapter reproduces much of the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems Thematic Group's Good Practice Note on contracting for extension. The general findings of case studies are presented along with a review of the policy issues relevant to contracting for extension services and the requirements suggested in the case studies for successful extension contracting. It is suggested that, in general, successful contracting of extension services requires: political will for extension programme reform and contracted extension; clarity in institutional roles, opportunities, and benefits of contracted extension; adequate capacity of service providers; and effective demand for extension services.
Contracting for delivery of agricultural extension services is a widespread strategy used in many... more Contracting for delivery of agricultural extension services is a widespread strategy used in many countries and situations. In developing countries, contracting often shifts delivery of extension from public to private providers. In some cases, this is reversed, with private sector entities contracting with the public sector for specialized services. Analysis of 26 case studies from 19 countries on five continents underscores the variability in approaches to contracting for extension services. Continued economic liberalization is likely to result in a growing number and greater diversity in extension service providers, as demand for new products, information, and services develops and incomes rise. Farmers and rural dwellers already have access to an increasing number of information sources. Steady improvement in rural infrastructure and rising standards of literacy will change the nature of demands, and continued government fiscal restraint will force reduction of subsidized state ...
Twelve case studies are described where privatization has been a feature of national or regional ... more Twelve case studies are described where privatization has been a feature of national or regional reform processes over the past 10-15 years. Cases come from Chile, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany-Brandenburg, Honduras, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Venezuela, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. What is clear from the experiences across these countries is that privatization, in the context of national reform of rural extension services systems, is an important strategic component of these complex and pluralistic processes rather than an ideological mantra imbuing the overall endeavor. Also emerging from the studies and other related international experience is the fundamental difference in both principles and policies between reform processes involving the privatization of agricultural enterprises and those involving the privatization of rural services. Privatization of enterprises involves the ceding of total or substantial ownership and operational control from the government to the p...
Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Papers is an informal series produced by the Agricul... more Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Papers is an informal series produced by the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank. These papers raise concepts and issues for discussion in the broader development community and describe ongoing research and/or implementation experiences from the Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the author's own and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its management, its Board of Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Some of the numbers quoted are estimates or approximations and may be revised at a later stage.
Human Resource Development Review, 2008
Greater commercialization of agricultural systems and increasing trade liberalization dictate the... more Greater commercialization of agricultural systems and increasing trade liberalization dictate the need for better capacity on the part of the agriculture workforce in the 21st century. Global changes in the roles of the public and private sectors and the dramatic advancements in technology have also strongly affected agricultural workforce development needs. These evolving changes have important policy, institutional and programmatic implications. This article therefore places human resource development in the context of current concerns for the development of national knowledge economies and “education for the knowledge economy.” First, the territory is defined. Then the part training plays in capacity development within organizations in the agriculture workforce is examined and suggests, in the view of the authors, the need for new and necessary policy, institutional, and program reform. Agricultural education systems, including extension, formal education, in-service training, an...
Support for building agricultural research systems has been a priority of many development assist... more Support for building agricultural research systems has been a priority of many development assistance agencies, including bilateral and multilateral donors,1 private agencies, and the development banks. On reflection, it isn’t surprising that these agencies have given such attention to agricultural research. First, in the 1960s, it became apparent that in low-income countries, broad-based agricultural growth could be the engine for overall economic development. Technical change in agriculture, especially in basic food crops, is now accepted as a prerequisite for rapid increases in agricultural productivity. The Green Revolution in rice and wheat in Asia and some parts of Latin American beginning in the late 1960s was a vivid demonstration of this effect. Second, at about the same time in the 1960s, several economists began to estimate the rate of return to investments in agricultural research. These studies, which soon extended to the developing world, provided convincing evidence that investment in agricultural research paid high returns in many settings and was an outstanding investment, both for national governments and external assistance agencies.
Against a backdrop of changing public policies and other pressures forcing fundamental change in ... more Against a backdrop of changing public policies and other pressures forcing fundamental change in public extension services, the World Bank, USAID, and the Neuchatel Group convened a workshop 1 of extension experts to review recent approaches to reform of extension services 2 (World Bank 2003). The objective of the workshop was to provide donors, practitioners, and policymakers an opportunity to discuss and identify commonalities in their approaches to agricultural extension. Sessions were organized around issues of institutional pluralism, new funding sources and mechanisms, new extension challenges, and the public sector role in supporting pro-poor extension services. Participants were generally optimistic about new directions for extension, especially because donor representatives reported that agriculture is back on the agenda, and that within agriculture, a revitalized and expanded role for advisory and information services is seen as central to pro-poor agricultural growth. Participants generally agreed that a key element in reforms has been the need to strengthen client demand for services through participatory approaches. Lessons from past experience with reforms would indicate that (World Bank 2003): q Extension is a knowledge and information system whose function is broader than just providing agricultural advice.
Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 2004
This article draws on the workshop and the case-study findings produced under the aegis of the 20... more This article draws on the workshop and the case-study findings produced under the aegis of the 2002 Extension Workshop hosted by the World Bank, USAID and the Neuchatel Initiative. We highlight three general observations, summarize twelve main findings, and discuss a number of future challenges to extension and rural development. We note in particular that changes in funding, management, and delivery of extension services reflect a new vision of extension as being the ultimate responsibility of the client (the farmer) based on a set of new creative partnerships among government, the private sector, and civil society for service provision, and that the current stage of extension’s transformation is from innovation to execution.
Part 1 focuses on several features of extension services that are referred to as "characteristics... more Part 1 focuses on several features of extension services that are referred to as "characteristics" in the best-fit framework (Chapter 1): governance structures and legal status of providers, capacity in terms of staffing, management, and extension methods and clientele. Chapter 2 presents a global landscape of extension services, followed by a comparison of the best-fit characteristics at country and regional levels in Chapter 3.
is an Agronomist with a MS in plant protection and integrated pest management (IPM). He began wor... more is an Agronomist with a MS in plant protection and integrated pest management (IPM). He began working at CIAT in 1981 and has worked on the development of participatory research approaches since 1985. He was part of the IPRA participatory research project Spanish acronym team that first developed and introduced the CIAL methodology into the Cauca Department in Colombia, and he is now the IPRA project leader. Boru Douthwaite is a Technology Policy Analyst with a PhD from the University of Reading, Reading, U.K. He joined CIAT's Rural Innovation Institute and IPRA in May 2003 after working at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. He specializes in the study of rural innovation processes and he has written a book titled Enabling Innovation: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Fostering Technological Change.