Transformation of Agricultural Research Systems in Africa: Lessons from Kenya

John K. Lynam is associate director of the Food Security Division, Rockefeller Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya. Cyrus G. Ndiritu was director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) from 1989 to 2000. He is currently a private consultant in agricultural systems and rural development. Adiel N. Mbabu is technical officer for planning at ASARECA in Kampala, Uganda.

Nowhere is the need for agricultural research greater than it is in Africa. Nowhere are the complexities of producing well-adapted agricultural technologies more daunting. Yet the basic institutions supporting agriculture are some of the weakest in the developing world. In Africa, the challenge of increasing the food supply to keep pace with population growth and rising urban demand, of producing the agricultural technologies that will fuel that process, and of designing the basic institutions that will create and deliver these technologies, remains largely unmet. Transformation of Agricultural Research Systems in Africa: Lessons from Kenya analyzes Kenya's experiences in transforming its Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) over time. Kenya is the third largest agricultural research system in sub-Saharan Africa, and it was reorganized to make it more efficient in serving the needs of small scale farms in national, regional, and global markets. The contributors to this volume are seasoned professionals with years of experience in crafting institutional innovation. This case study can be used to draw implications for other research systems in sub-Saharan Africa.