The development and diffusion of new technology is critically dependent upon the coordinated, cumulative performance of research, education and extension. Since the functions represent complementary investments, they should be planned and sequenced as a system rather than as separate activities. Also, since they are risky investments with long-term payoffs, the government is usually the main investor in all three pillars at early stages of economic development. Government investments in research produce public goods such as new technologies that generate spillovers and bring benefit to more than one socio-economic group now and in future generations. Thus a systems approach is needed to pragmatically craft agricultural knowledge systems that promote communication, interaction and cooperation between agricultural higher education, research, extension and the farmers.
Despite this logic, most donors in Africa have persisted in pursuing a pillar-by-pillar approach to strengthening rural institutions. Why? A former extension specialist in the World Bank states (Venkatesan, 1991):
"The Bank's involvement with the development of higher agricultural education at the university level in Africa has been minimal . . . within the Bank, the agricultural divisions have no responsibility for universities, which are the responsibility of the education divisions . . . it is not therefore surprising that the Bank projects in extension and research do not provide support to higher agricultural education."
The World Bank made only three agricultural higher education loans in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1987 to 1997 (Willett, 1998). Nevertheless, the World Bank prides itself as being a 'knowledge organization.' The Bank may need to take steps to shore up its credibility on the issue.
