Key Components

AGRODEP consists of four key components. Three focus on policy research and analysis, and one focuses on policy debate.

 

A Shared Modeling Infrastructure

AGRODEP provides a platform for sharing existing core economic models dealing with sector, national, and international policy isues as well as long-term projections in areas such as agricultural growth and poverty, trade, nutrition, climate change, natural resources management, and science and technology.

Initially, the shared modeling infrastructure will be based on six categories of simulation and estimation models:

  • Multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the world economy such as MIRAGE (Modeling International Relationships in Applied General Equilibrium).
  • Single country CGE models, primarily the models of IFPRI and of the Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) network.
  • Multi-market agricultural partial equilibrium (PE) models, focusing on spatial modeling and on non-spatial partial equilibrium modeling.
  • Partial equilibrium trade models, dedicated to the analysis of trade issues at the tariff line level and aimed at providing key tools for supporting trade negotiations.
  • Econometric models, including different types of gravity models.
  • Supply and Demand estimation models, in particular standard supply/demand estimation models and price and income elasticity estimation models.

These models will be customized as needed. The goal of AGRODEP is to give its members access to a set of high-quality, adaptable tools that can be used to address research needs responding to demand emanating from country- and regional-level priorities.

The modeling component of AGRODEP will expand with the inclusion of new models in the future in order to address specialized needs in such areas as agronomy, animal sciences, health, and education. The shared modeling infrastructure will thus provide a window on innovations in modeling.

A Community Of Practictioners

AGRODEP seeks to establish a set of specific, thematically or technically focused interest groups to serve as a forum for scientific exchange, training, and capacity building. The objective is to use the expertise across the Consortium to strengthen policy research and analysis capacities and to use the members’ research findings to raise the quality of policy debate and broaden it beyond the traditional sphere of policymakers and researchers to include other stakeholder groups.
  

A Common Database Platform

AGRODEP seeks to bring together dispersed and disparate statistical, economic, and geospatial data in Africa in one central clearinghouse with a Web data portal. It links existing key data sources, complements them as necessary, and develops shared standards, formats, and exchange protocols that facilitate access by Consortium members to high quality and consistent datasets. AGRODEP also provides data quality checking and certification.

A major goal of AGRODEP is to facilitate access to databases or portions of databases that are otherwise not easily accessible to individual researchers due to costs and/or access restrictions. It will cover the types of data that are used for economic analysis and policy research related to growth and development in Africa. These include agricultural statistics, household survey data, social accounting matrices, firm-level data, food supplies and balances, national accounts, macroeconomic data, bilateral trade data, market access data, transport costs, migration data, geospatial data, and various development indicators.

A Network Of Experts

AGRODEP’s activities center around collaboration and the exchange of data, modeling techniques, joint analysis, reporting, and strategic debate. Networking activities will encourage collaboration around the following:

  • Development of a family of state-of-the-art models and high quality modeling databases for use by individual researchers.
  • Facilitation of joint research activities on specific issues of great strategic importance to Africa, including technical and logistical support, fundraising assistance, and joint publishing.
  • Organization of technical meetings and outreach events to promote scientific exchange among experts and interaction with policy practitioners, the latter in collaboration with leading organizations at the country, regional, and continental levels.
  • Organization of training workshops and seminars to support young scientists, upgrade skills of Consortium members, and promote technical and methodological innovation to ensure that the Consortium remains a world class entity.