Enhancing the use of research to better inform policymakers
The speed with which Africa is developing and urbanizing is palpable. In Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, it’s nearly impossible to drive down a street that isn’t alive with building or road construction sites.
The population of Addis Ababa is exploding as are the pressures on water and other natural resources. However, in just a short drive out of the city, farmland and pastureland stretch for hundreds of kilometers. It is within this context that the Board of Governors of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) hosted a High-level Dialogue with stakeholders in Addis Ababa, on April 25-27, 2014.
Jeremy Bird, Director General of IWMI, opened the High-level Dialogue alluding to a challenge highlighted by Yemi Akinbamijo from the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA): What bridges the gap between the test tube and the plate? According to Akinbamijo, the answer is policy.
“Ultimately, we have to make sure that the impact of our research is felt on the ground, or actually on the plate,” said Bird.
There are a number of challenges in bridging this gap. One of the biggest issues, notes Donald Blackmore, Chair of the IWMI Board of Governors, is that policy responses are not always informed by evidence of the ways agricultural systems operate.
For example, Blackmore explains that the perception in the Ganges River Basin is that major dams high up in the basin will control flooding and increase surface water for irrigation. However, the fact is that the next twenty or so major dams will have little impact on flooding and the surface irrigation value will be low. More information is needed so that governments can make political decisions rooted in facts, and “our job in the research community is to help governments close this gap,” said Blackmore.
This sentiment was echoed by others during the dialogue who felt that there is a great need for increased engagement among researchers and policymakers. For example, in the way that land degradation is addressed. Evidence-based policy making is becoming the “new fashion,” remarked Tumusiime Rhoda Peace from the African Union in absentia, through a written address to the group. However, policymakers often have limited access to factual evidence that is packaged for their use.
This means that researchers need to improve communication with policymakers and translate research findings into solutions that are more accessible to politicians, and stimulate them to start asking pertinent questions. Informed policymakers may help us set the research agenda, as they request and require additional facts on which to base decisions, advised Abdulkarim Seid from the Nile Basin Initiative. Lack of political will means the research community needs to ask themselves: Did we package our information and messages correctly?
Since agricultural water management is an interdisciplinary subject, discussions of food security and agricultural development require a dialogue between the ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Water Resources, Planning and Finance, advocated George Rothschild, Member of the IWMI Board of Governors, while many of the participants nodded in agreement. Without engagement across sectors, integrated sustainable management and the effective implementation of solutions will be foregone.
We have a finite set of resources, explained Andrew Noble, Director of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), so the management of our existing resources is vital in ensuring the sustainable food systems whilst also ensuring that we stay within clear boundaries of the Earth System. Noble put forward the proposition that a rethink of how we achieve sustainable intensification of agriculture is required, and stressed that solutions are available to achieve this.
Partnerships with regional initiatives such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Nile Basin Initiative will be critical in attaining sustainable natural resource management in this region. IWMI has an important role to play within these partnerships, stated Wagayehu Bekele from the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, by providing strong evidence-based research that contributes to improved livelihoods while ensuring the sustainability of natural systems.
Renewing the interest of youth in improving agricultural systems is also an area of increasing importance in Africa, highlighted Robson Mutandi of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). One participant also noted ruefully, “we have too many guys with white hair working in agriculture.”
Overall, the dialogue highlighted the information gaps between research outputs and development interventions. The themes discussed will be central to IWMI’s work, as the Institute continues to emphasize research uptake and partnerships.
