Abstract:

Beginning 2001, Abi ZARDI has been receiving World Bank support through the
second phase of the Agricultural Research and Training Project (ARTPII). The
project was aimed at tackling specific issues of the west Nile region, since the
region had for long been neglected in research prioritization. Specifically, ARTPII
funding was to improve the capacity of the ZARDI to develop and disseminate
technologies which would empower resource-poor farmers to make more effective
demands on the services and to participate in the provision of the services.
This study was undertaken to assess the extent to which ARTPII funding has been
instrumental in enhancing the capacity of the ZARDI in achieving the set outcomes
including: the capacity of Abi to provide effective and relevant client oriented
research services enhanced (ZARDI rehabilitated and operational); capacity of
zonal research teams, NARO secretariat outreach staff and institute scientists to
carry out client and market oriented research in partnership with stakeholders
strengthened; capacity of ZARDI scientists to participate successfully in
competitive grants enhanced; livelihood systems of households understood,
documented, regularly updated and findings disseminated; technologies that
address zonal specific problems of small farmers identified tested and
disseminated to uptake pathways; effective learning process based on client
driven monitoring and evaluation procedures operational; partnerships
development/client interface strengthened.
Study findings have revealed that the capacity of the ZARDI has been improved
over the period of the funding. It is also important to note the ZARDI's success
has been due to ARTPII funding and also spillovers and buy-ins by many other
programmes and donors.. The institute has boosted its revenue collection through increasing the
sale of crop and livestock products produced at the institute. FurthermoreThrough workshops, seminars and trainings
organized under the renewed partnerships, the adoption rates of most
technologies have been found to be high, Lastly the institute needs to focus research to combating striga and
tailoring staff training in areas of report writing, data capture, and analysis.