The Role of Libraries in Supporting Agricultural Policy Research in Nigeria

This short brief summarizes results from an IFPRI assessment of the capacity of Nigerian libraries within the National Agriculture Research System (NARS) to support agricultural policy research.

The main conclusions:

To support a transition to 'virtual libraries', the university libraries in Nigeria "need to develop appropriate infrastructure, strengthen their staff capacity, build consortia, and strengthen communications."

Infrastructure: The main impediments to Nigeria’s university library system are inadequate power and Internet bandwidth.

Capacity: It is evident that the staffing needs for supporting library users have not been met

Consortia: Efforts are needed to strengthen the few existing library consortia — or to develop a new consortium supporting agriculture research

Communication: The communication gap between library staff and faculty and students results in the underuse of library resources.

Agriculture needs better innovation, not technology

A recent article in Scidev.net argues that insufficient attention may have been given to the fact that the capacity for innovation in agriculture is influenced not only by farmers' skills and resources, but also by the wider network of links and relationships in which farmers are embedded, which help ideas to diffuse and find new uses.

These hypotheses are currently being tested by a research project in India and Nigeria on the long-standing problem of fodder scarcity, using what is widely referred to as an 'innovation systems' perspective.

Rather than focus directly on new fodder technologies — such as new varieties, fodder banks or alternative cropping patterns — the five pilot projects that make up the Fodder Innovation Project (FIP) concentrate on strengthening networks and changing working practices.

Zain and Ericsson bring mobile tech to rural areas in Nigeria

Middle East and African mobile network provider, Zain, and leading telecom equipment supplier, Ericsson, are working with the United Nations to help alleviate poverty and empower rural people in Nigeria.

Both companies are involved in the Millennium Villages Project, which is run by the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The chosen site for the project in Nigeria is Pampaida, in the Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Millennium Villages Project is a community-based initiative designed to help people in rural areas improve agricultural production, which is the foundation of the region’s economy. Additional benefits include improving access to health, education and infrastructure.

Read full article.

Related article: Ericsson, Zain team up to bolster UN project in Kenya

Agricultural research communication challenges in Africa

Addis Ababa, 22 October: At this week’s workshop to discuss how improved communication can help maximize the impact of agricultural research in Africa, participants profiled and mapped their research communication efforts: What type of organization do they represent? Who do they communicate with? Which communication tools do they use? Which ‘gaps’ do they need to cross? Each participant drew a picture of their situation.

As the photograph of the coloured cards reveals, we were a broad mix of organizations, with a strong interest in communicating with policymakers, researchers and academics, farmers and the private sector. We also use a wide range of communication methods such as face to face meetings, the media, publications, and the web.


What about the gaps, the challenges? These were summarized by the workshop facilitators and included: the ‘packaging’ of research – its relevance, quality and user friendliness; questions about data sharing; about how to reach many audiences beyond colleagues and c lose networks; about generating feedback and interaction with users; about the accessibility of web-based services; finding the right partners; having a real influence on policy implementation; stimulating media interest in research; and overcoming resistance to change.

Thereafter, participants worked in small groups on communication strategies and approaches to address the challenges. Reflecting on the workshop, Professor O. A. Omotesho, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria sets out some of the actions in his personal strategy…

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The Addis Ababa workshop is organized by the Global Development Network (GDN) in partnership with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the World Bank Institute (WBI), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), with support from the Information and Communications Technology – Knowledge Management (ICT-KM) program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Photos from the workshop
Video interviews at the workshop
more stories on this blog / on euforic blog / on ICT-KM blog
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R4D news on research communication

by Peter Ballantyne

CTA Info Service in Nigeria repositioning towards poverty reduction, food security and improved agricultural productivity

Nigeri'a Daily Trust newspaper has an article about the CTA-supported 'Nigerian Agricultural Question and Answer Service (NAQAS)' in which it is proposed that the service "needs to be repositioned to properly disseminate vital information to the farmers" and other stakeholders.

While NAQAS "has answered 3420 questions", the service is "lopsided as it is accessed more by students and teachers while the farmers for whom it was established are left out."

Tags: agricultural information nigeria cta