This case study was conducted to provide a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to Egypt’s agricultural research and organizational development to draw lessons and develop supporting guidelines. This study aimed to enhance efforts exerted by Egypt’s NARS in the field of developmental research by formulating an integrated and coherent approach for research and dissemination of proven technologies and practices. Such approaches are expected to address key bottlenecks and provide the needed direction and means for sustainable improved implementation of AR4D. This can ultimately lead to enhancing and empowering the capacity of Egypt’s NARS to better inform and influence policies and facilitate institutional changes required in the agricultural sector. As part of the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support and strengthen NARS’ research impact and their links to extension service systems, the present assessment was carried out to establish a deeper insight into challenges and opportunities that are facing NARS in Egypt.

Workshop, held in Singapore on 7-9July 1986, which examined a number of case studies documenting the present level of evaluation of research management activities in different national programs and institutions. Participants used this case study material and their practical experience to reach consensus on some aspects relating to the different uses and users of evaluation, the role of evaluation in the planning process, and how to organize and implement an evaluation prgram in different types of research organizations, as well as reviewing the evaluation activities of external donor agencies. An alternative approach was suggested that would be more effective in the long run to both national programs and donor agencies. Areas of further collarboration were also identified.

As part of the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support and strengthen NARS’ research impacts and their links to extension service systems, the present assessment was conducted in Liberia to establish deeper insight into these challenges and opportunities. The results presented in this comprehensive report can be used to support the development and adoption of guidelines for use by the NARS. The present study was undertaken to assess the implementation of AR4D in Liberia and the key actors involved to better understand the performance and the intuitional linkages amongst them and other relevant institutions to help identify potentials for fulfilling the agricultural research for development needs of the country with the over-arching goal of supporting small-scale farmers.

How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

The perspective that informs this important book is that every evaluation of a capacity development effort should itself contribute to the capacity development effort and ultimately to the organization’s performance. This is a revolutionary idea in evaluation. With the idea have come the questions: Can it be done? And, if it is done, what will be the consequences? This book elucidates and deepens the idea, shows it can be done, and examines the consequences, both intended and unintended, of engaging in capacity development evaluation

Authored by an integrated committee of plant and animal scientists, this review of newer molecular genetic techniques and traditional research methods is presented as a compilation of high-reward opportunities for agricultural research. Directed to the Agricultural Research Service and the agricultural research community at large, the volume discusses biosciences research in genetic engineering, animal science, plant science, and plant diseases and insect pests. An optimal climate for productive research is discussed.