Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 1/06
Who contributes efficiently to development? Evaluating agricultural R&D in Cameroon and Tanzania
Frank Hartwich
IFPRI, Washington D.C., USA, and
Matthias von Oppen
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract
The article presents results from an evaluation of the technical
efficiency of agricultural research and development (R&D)
activities at universities and government research organizations in
Cameroon and Tanzania. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to
measure multiple-input multiple-output relations in the R&D
process. The calculations are expanded with qualitative information
about the relevance of R&D to its users applying the Analytic
Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in which peers rate the relevance of
R&D outputs. The findings suggest that though the evaluated
universities did not have a mandate for development-oriented R&D,
they were as efficient in conducting agricultural R&D as national
agricultural research organizations or international agricultural
research centers. International research centers were found to generate
relevant R&D outputs, but at high costs, particularly with regard
to the international staff they use. The new process evaluation method
tested in the study allows to compare the efficiency with which
research entities operate in order to make better micro management
decisions, e.g., whom to involve and whom to encourage to become more
efficient. The method is complementary to economic impact assessment of
agricultural R&D which is ususlly conducted at the more aggricated
program level.
Keywords: technical efficiency, research production function, agricultural R&D, universities, sub-Saharan Africa
JEL: Q 010
Vol. 45 (2006), No. 1: 47-70