Throughout Africa, agricultural development strategies often take a sectoral approach. But while research is key to such sectorwide strategies, little has been done to link these to countries' National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS). A new IFPRI discussion paper, Who Talks to Whom in African Agricultural Research Information Networks, examines Malawi's NARS in order to more explicitly link its research to the needs of the country's Agriculture Sector Wide Approach program (ASWAp). The paper finds that public agricultural research departments play a key role in facilitating information-sharing among research networks, while other actors play a key role in disseminating research to a wider audience. Both pathways are important in successfully implementing a country's agricultural development strategies.
