Organization and Performance of Cotton Sectors in Africa ... - infoDev

■■■Be involved in setting research priorities.Monitor research performance and demand an accounting of how researchfunds have been used.Given that cotton research is often underfunded and suffers from the weakmanagement characteristics of many African public sector organizations,significant improvements in research performance could be expected ifginners were to be so involved. 66The main hypothesis derived from the typology of cotton sectors is thatsmaller numbers of ginners (within concentrated sectors or monopoly systems)should find it easier than large numbers of players in a competitive sectorto agree on their relative contributions to the funding of research. Thoseginners should have stronger incentives to monitor research performance inthe detail and for the length of time required to begin to see improvements inthe efficiency with which funds are used. 67 Thus, concentrated sectors andmonopoly systems could be expected to perform better than competitive onesin research. 68 However, competitive sectors with many players could overcomethis weakness through an effectively managed research fund to which all arerequired to contribute.In practice, the link between current cotton sector structure and researchperformance is weak (table 9.1). A key reason is that, despite much investmentaimed at improving the performance of public research institutions, overhaulingthe systems of incentives and accountability for scientists has not been possible.Most research programs remain firmly within the public sector, withresearchers appointed through normal public sector channels, paid on publicsector salary scales, and accountable primarily to national public sectorresearch managers. Some signs of renewed research vitality are observed wherethese conditions have been slightly relaxed. However, there is still a long way togo in most cases. At the same time, governments have been slow to allow privateginners to contribute to research management, even where ginners havebeen allowed to assume responsibility for most other aspects of national cottonproduction and marketing.In Tanzania and Mozambique, cotton companies have contributed toresearch funding through levies on seed cotton purchased or on lint exported.In Mozambique, there has been periodic pressure from some companies toreduce the value of the levy, which has contributed to a sense of instability andinsecurity within the research program; such instability is clearly detrimental toperformance. Meanwhile, other companies have opted to work directly withresearchers (both national and international), including on testing new seed varieties.The Mozambican company LOMACO was the main example during the late1990s, but its initiative was abruptly ended when parent company LONRHOceased its involvement in Africa in the late 1990s. In a promising development,the Mozambique Cotton Institute brought together researchers (governmentand university) and interested companies to multiply and disseminate seedCOTTON RESEARCH 109