Policy, Innovation Systems and Impact Assessment

Program 3: Policy, Innovation Systems and Impact Assessment (PII) Program

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​In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the growing demand for rice provides a strong impetus to continue to improve growth and efficiency of local rice production, but also to develop policy recommendations to control large imports that can impede the development of the domestic rice sector. However, rice sector policies have focused mainly on improving production (area and productivity), with less attention to demand factors and markets.

 

AfricaRice plays a key role in advising policymakers in member states on critical rice production and marketing issues. The Center seeks to facilitate the development of the rice value chains by providing improved technologies, innovations and research-based policy options for reaching rice self-sufficiency in Africa.

 

The PII program generates knowledge that supports the development of rice technologies, policies and institutions to improve livelihoods, nutrition and economic development, and seeks to increase the effectiveness of processes shaping the development and dissemination of sustainable technologies.

 

The primary recipients of the research outputs of the PII program are NARES researchers, policy analysts at Government Ministries, policy analysts and advisers in donor countries, and the international development research community. The target beneficiaries include farmers’ organizations, development partners, rural entrepreneurs, and all rice stakeholders.

 

Purpose

• ​Generate evidence-based knowledge and information that support the development of demand-driven rice technologies, policies and institutions to improve livelihoods, nutrition and economic development.

• Increase the effectiveness of processes shaping the development and dissemination of sustainable technologies

 

Activities

• Policy research

• Production, resource and institutional economics research

• Value chain, marketing and consumer preferences

• Innovation systems, learning and collective actions

• Gender research

• Impact assessment research

• Monitoring, evaluation and learning

• Capacity development

 

Outputs

• Partnerships, regional rice development strategy and pro-poor rice policy

• Ex-post Impact assessment and strategic planning: Ex-post impact assessment of technological, policy, institutional and social changes in the rice sector and strategic planning of R&D interventions

• Agricultural education tools and learning modules

• Strategies and tools to strengthen the rice value chain

• Capacity building of NARS, national agricultural statistics and national policy analysts in evidence-based policy analysis and impact assessment

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