Increased Investment in Agricultural R&D Required in Middle East and North Africa

27 May 2015 --- Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa will have to double, triple, or even quadruple their investment in agricultural research and development to meet the targets recommended by the United Nations, according to new research findings by the International Food Policy Research Institute.

For decades, many governments in this region neglected to invest in agricultural R&D until the issue became a priority following sharp food price hikes in 2008 in the region. Since then, spending has increased in some countries. Nonetheless, only two of 11 countries—Jordan and Oman—included in the research currently invest more than 1 percent of agricultural output in agricultural research and development, as recommended by the UN.

Extensive research conducted over the past fifty years shows a strong correlation between agricultural R&D spending and agricultural productivity, food security, and poverty reduction. Yet mobilizing adequate levels of long-term R&D funding is often challenging, as agricultural R&D competes with other critical public domains, including health and education.

“This region is the most water scarce and food-import-dependent in the world,” said Gert-Jan Stads, senior program manager of the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) program, which is led by IFPRI.

“Food demand in this region is forecasted to grow at a rate of 2.1 percent per year until 2050, while annual growth in agricultural productivity has averaged just 1.9 percent since 2000,” Stads added. “This is a worrying trajectory. If current productivity growth remains unchanged in the next few decades, a widening food gap will emerge that will need to be filled through increased food imports. Governments will need to invest in agricultural R&D without delay to enhance agricultural productivity and combat the challenges posed by rapid population growth, climate change, and water scarcity.”

The lack of government funding for R&D has been exacerbated by a considerable exodus of highly-qualified agricultural professors and researchers from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon to Arab Gulf countries, where they can command more pay. In Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia, Sudan, and Yemen, more than half of the PhD-qualified researchers are due to retire in the next decade.

Private funding remains largely untapped in the Middle East and North African region due to a lack of private-sector tax incentives and the inadequate protection of intellectual property rights, among other factors.

On a positive note, ten out of the eleven countries included in the research reported increases in the number of PhD-qualified agricultural researchers, while universities in many countries have increased their involvement in agricultural R&D.

“It is imperative now more than ever that these governments better fund agricultural R&D,” Stads said. “Policymakers must ensure that new crop varieties and agricultural technologies are released and effectively disseminated to farmers.”