While the overall aim of the DRD is to promote sustainable food self-sufficiency, income generation, employment growth and enhancement of export; with the degenerating financial capability, in future, we plan to carry out few, but well focused and cost-effective research topics with the aim of maximizing farm productivity.
Taking into account the current era of new developments in science and technology, the department has set up strategies for providing smallholder farmers with better and improved technologies that are environmentally-friendly, in the twenty-first century. We are emphasizing, among other things, environmental protection, and ensure sustainability of the production processes. We are also putting emphasis, organizing and sustaining linkages with the technology transfer agents, as well as with the farmers. To facilitate this, the information and documentation services will be strengthened to enhance awareness and thus fostering actions.
The immediate future sees the need to further strengthen and operate the proposed new organisational structure, particularly at the zonal level, that will be the focus of our new research vision. This would pave the way for an effective management, coordination and the actual execution of research.
With a scientific cadre of over 350 research scientists, 550 technicians, and some 750 research assistants, improvement of their skills is of vital importance in the process of developing appropriate technological packages. Skills improvement of the DRD staff is being done and more effort will be made in the future so as to create a critical mass of scientific staff.
Agricultural Research Fund (ARF)
The main objective of the ARF is to provide a transparent financial mechanism for the DRD to receive and disburse funds. This is in support of agricultural and livestock priority research activities as recommended in the National Agricultural and Livestock Research Masterplan (NALRM). Conceptually, ARF is a prototype of the eventual full-fledged Consolidated Funding Mechanism (CFM) for a sustainable agricultural research system.
Zonal Agricultural Research Funds (ZARFs) have also been established to provide an additional mechanism for ensuring sustainable funding sources to a decentralized research network and to encourage collaborative arrangements for research work. So far ZARFs for the Lake and Northern zones are operational whilst other zones are in different stages of establishing their ZARFs.
Initially, the ARF supports collaborative and contract research work in line with the ARF Constitution. The focus of the research work is on the core priority research programmes/projects, as recommended in the NALRM of 1991. Other ARF categories, such as research awards, publications, travel grants and honoraria for visiting scientists will gain emphasis at some later stages.
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