Agricultural research in Africa and the sustainable financing initiative: Review, lessons, and proposed next steps

Abstract

While the Sustainable Financing Initiative (SFI) concentrates on Africa, it is part of a global wave of interest and experimentation in the financing of development goods and services. Around the world, donors, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations are looking for ways to assure that the resources for these goods and services will be available on a sustained basis. This paper thus has a triple focus. First, it looks at the selected sample of these experiments in innovative financing for agricultural research (AR) in other parts of the world, along with related activities and trends, and draws lessons relevant for SFI. Secondly, it looks back, taking stock of SFI technical assistance and analytic support activities, and summarizes the lessons from SFIs experiences. Third, the paper looks forward, providing some thoughts on future SFI issues, actions, and potential paths.