The search for new models for organizing regional agricultural research in the post-colonial era: Rice in West Africa

ABSTRACT

The West African Rice Development Association (WARDA), created in 1971 as a regional network of rice research stations and governed by member countries, was unique within the system of international agricultural research centers that emerged in the post-colonial era. This paper reviews the actors, the actors, their motives, and the political and organizational debates involves in establishing WARDA. In particular, it traces the roles and interests of the former colonial powers, especially the French, the newly independent countries of the region, international organizations, and US foreign assistance and philanthropic agencies. Although all agreed that rice research was a priority for regional cooperation, the design of WARDA stimulated debates around centralization, governance, and funding of international research that continue until today.

KEYWORDS:

• WARDA
• rice
• West Africa
• agricultural research
• history of agricultural science

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Krige, Knowledge Flows in a Global Age, 4.

2. Mateos and Suarez-Diaz, “Development Interventions,” 296.

3. Krige, Knowledge Flows in a Global Age, 8.

4. The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, which was formed in 1961, held a high level meeting in 1966 attended by the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk – formerly president of the Rockefeller Foundation – which recommended that “member governments … encourage LDC’s to emphasize the agricultural sectors, (and) to give more emphasis to assistance to support domestic policies in LDC’s which would lead to greater productivity in agriculture.” https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v09/d124

5. Mateos and Suarez-Diaz, “Development Interventions,” 295.

6. Ibid., 298–300.

7. Ibid., 296.

8. Ibid., 297.

9. Hodge, “British Colonial Expertise.”

10. Rockefeller Foundation, Annual Report for 1963, 9.

11. Anderson, Rice Science and Development.

12. Moseman, Developing Agricultural Research Capacity.

13. See contributions by G. Soto Laveaga and N. Sackley in Kumar et al., “Roundtable.”

14. Harwood, Coming to Terms with Tropical Ecology.

15. Anderson, Origins of the International Rice Research Institute.

16. Byerlee, “Going Global.”

17. Richards, Coping with Hunger; See also Harwood, Coming to Terms with Tropical Ecology.

18. Krige, Knowledge Flows in a Global Age.

19. Byerlee and Lynam, “Development of the International Center Model.”

20. Davis, “Science for Africa,” 134.

21. FAO, Africa Survey, 135.

22. FAO, “Closer Cooperation in Agricultural Research,” 8.

23. Papadakis, Crop Ecologic Survey.

24. Devred, “Agricultural Research on Ecologic Basis,” 367.

25. Murphy, United Nations Development Programme.

26. The CCTA had been created by the major European colonial powers (Britain, France, Belgium and Portugal) together with the settler economies of Southern Africa (South Africa and Rhodesia) in 1951 ostensibly to build links across colonial empires within Africa in the realm of science and technology. See Henry, “A Functional Approach to Regional Cooperation.”

27. Vu, “Agricultural Innovation and Political Patterns.”

28. FAO, “La Structure et les Sites de l’organisation de Recherche.”

29. Lerner, “Climbing Off the Back Burner.”

30. USAID, US Overseas Loans and Grants.

31. Alex, “USAID and Agricultural Research”; Moseman, in Developing Agricultural Research Capacity notes: “… .the increasingly critical adaptive and protective research will require competent attention to localized agricultural conditions in the individual countries,” 92–93.

32. USAID, AID Research Program in Agriculture, 8.

33. Smith, “New AID Policies for Africa,” 18.

34. See note 29 above.

35. Smith, “New AID Policies for Africa”; and Nye, “United States Policy towards Regional Organization.”

36. US Department of State, “Review of African Development Policies and Programs.”

37. See note 29 above.

38. NAS, “Agricultural Research Priorities in Africa.”

39. Ibid.

40. Ibid., 35,39.

41. Ibid., 35.

42. Ibid., 11.

43. The IRC was one of several cereal research networks established by FAO, led by India. For further details see Byerlee and Lynam, “International Center Model.”

44. LeBeau, Internal Memo to Myer Cohen, Assistant Administrator, UNDP, 26 April 1968. [Memo]. Series 3–0553, Box 13, File 7, Acc. 1985/0033. UN Archives.

45. USDA/USAID, Rice in West Africa, 29.

46. Rockefeller Foundation, Annual Report for 1964.

47. Byerlee and Lynam, “International Center Model.”

48. Chandler, Adventure in Applied Science.

49. Chandler, “Observations on Rice Research,” 10.

50. Herrmann, Soil Fertility in the Tropics.

51. Rockefeller Foundation, Annual Report for 1969, 95. James Moomaw, a rice breeder running IRRI’s Ceylon program and a Rockefeller Foundation field staff, moved to IITA in June of 1970.

52. Jefferies, Review of Colonial Research, 25–27.

53. Zandstra, et al, “Rice.”

54. West African Rice Research Station, Annual Report, 1965.

55. Davis, “Science for Africa.”

56. General and more basic research was carried out by Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer (ORSTOM).

57. Conseil Scientifique pour l’Afrique au Sud du Sahara (CSA), “Repertoire des Instituts, Organismes et Services Scientifiques.”

58. Volper and Bichat, “Des jardins d’essai au Cirad.”

59. The stations were located Senegal, Mali, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger, and Côte d’Ivoire.

60. Chabrolin, “Research on Rice Growing.”

61. CIRAD-FRA, L’Institut de recherches agronomiques tropicales et des cultures vivrières.

62. Bour, Letter to WM Myers, Director Designate of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Project. December 1966. [Letter]. Creator: Centre de international en recherche agronomique pour le développement, Reference Code: 20030075/206. Archives Nationales: Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, France.

63. Chabrolin, “Research on Rice Growing,” 50.

64. Sauger, Letter to the Director General of IRAT from L. Sauger, Centre de Recherches, “Directeur des Services de l’IRAT/Senegal,” Re: “Relations Ford Foundation.” 11 December 1968. Creator: Centre de international en recherche agronomique pour le développement, Reference Code: 20030075/203. Archives Nationales: Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, France.

65. Bour, “Note: Sur la Réunion, Organisée par les Fondations Ford et Rockefeller à NewYork, à Propos de L’Organisation et du Financement de la Recherche Agronomique dans les Pays du Tiers-Monde.”

66. Cooper, Agricultural Research in Tropical Africa, 42.

67. USDA/USAID, Rice in West Africa.

68. NAS, Agricultural Research Priorities for Economic Development, 84.

69. FAO, Rice Development in West Africa, 3.

70. Vu, “Report on a Fact Finding Mission on Rice Production in West Africa,” [Trip Report]. Series 3–0553, Box 13, File 7, Acc. 1985/0033. UN Archives.

71. FAO, “Informal Meeting on West Africa Rice Development,” 6.

72. Ibid., 7.

73. Ibid., 9.

74. Ibid., 9.

75. The committee was made up of six West African country members (three English, three French), four founding donor countries (France, Netherlands, US, UK) as associate members, one member from the Foundations, and one of the three international organizations (FAO, ECA, or UNDP).

76. FAO, “Report of the West Africa Rice Development Conference.”

77. FAO, “Rapport sur la Structure et les Sites de l’Organisation de Recherche de l’Association pour le Développement de la Riziculture en Afrique de l’Ouest.”

78. Ibid.

79. Ibid.

80. FAO, “Report of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the Establishment of a West Africa Rice Development Association.”

81. Ibid.

82. FAO, “Report of the West Africa Rice Development Conference.”

83. Ibid.

84. Ibid.

85. Baum, Partners Against Hunger.

86. Chaufournier, Office memorandum from Roger Chaufournier to ‘Memorandum for record’, 27 October 1970. [Office memorandum]. Records of the Office of the President, Records of President Robert S. McNamara, Contacts – Member Countries files, Contacts with member countries: France – Correspondence 01, Folder ID: 1771033. The World Bank Group Archives: Washington, DC; Demuth, Office memorandum from Richard H. Demuth to Mr. McNamara, 23 October 1973. [Office memorandum]. Records of the Office of the President, Records of President Robert S. McNamara, Contacts – Member Countries files, Contacts with member countries: France – Correspondence 01, Folder ID: 1771033. The World Bank Group Archives: Washington, DC.

87. Memo by Charles Weiss, Back to Office Report (pers. comm.).

88. TAC Secretariat, The First Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee.

89. TAC Secretariat, The Sixth Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee, 19.

90. Ruttan, Agricultural Research Policy, 128.

91. The status of WARDA during this period in the CGIAR was ambiguous. It was considered a “special case” and it was not clear whether WARDA was a member of the CGIAR or not. WARDA came under the oversight of TAC, on the one hand, but it did not receive all the financial benefits of other centers in the system.

92. Walsh, Wide Crossing; and Osguthorpe, Life and Times of John E. Osguthorpe.

93. Osguthorpe, Life and Times of John E. Osguthorpe.

94. Walsh, Wide Crossing.

95. Walsh, Wide Crossing; and Terry, Footsteps.

96. Walsh, Wide Crossing; and Tollens, et al., “From WARDA to AfricaRice.”

97. Alex, “USAID and Agricultural Research”; and Ruttan, Agricultural Research Policy.

98. Byerlee and Lynam, “The Development of the International Center Model.”

99. Moseman, Developing Agricultural Research Capacity.

100. Roseboom, “Supranational Collaboration in Agricultural Research.”