Mali:AG. RESEARCH

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The objective of the project is to implement the first 6-year phase of the National Research Agricultural Research Institute's (IER's) Strategic Plan for National Agricultural Research. The principal objective of this Plan is to ensure that adequate technology will become available to farmers as a means to increase agricultural growth and to reverse the decline in the productive capacity of the natural resource base. The project will aim at improving the performance of the national agricultural research system by improving research coherence, quality, relevance and accountability for results through institutional reforms. To meet these objectives, the project will: (a) support the establishment of a National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) which will integrate research users and through which all official funding for agricultural research will be coordinated and screened; (b) support the transformation of IER into an autonomous institution with an independent Board of Directors, and reorganize and strengthen it to improve research efficiency and accountability for results; (c) improve interactions between researchers, farmers and extension staff through farmer participation in setting research objectives and evaluating its results, and through the establishment of a pilot research fund available to contract for research; (d) support the participation of Malian institutions and scientists funded through NARC in regional and international collaborative research programs; (e) provide funding for priority research themes through the gradual introduction of research contracts; (f) strengthen scientific, experiment station, financial and human resources management, and provide in-country and overseas training; and (g) rehabilitate and renew experiment station and equipment.