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84 | Latin America and the Caribbean Report.
Table 2-1. Problems common to NARIs in LAC (Most outstanding examples).
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(a) Limited inter-institutional collaboration |
| Mutual antagonism and lack of cooperation between the institutions in charge of agricultural research and universities and university faculties involved in agriculture. |
| Ineffectual links between plant and livestock research. |
| Insufficient use of socioeconomic disciplines. |
| Research on production and on-farm systems relegated to isolated, separate organizational units. Insufficient support for the concept that researchers should carry out research on-farm from a production systems perspective. |
| Ineffective linkages between research and extension activities. |
| Limited interaction and linkages between public and private bodies engaged in agricultural research. |
| Insufficient participation of producers in the definition of research agendas and the evaluation of results. |
| Dispersion of agricultural research over a large number of ministries and other agencies. |
| Excessive intra-institutional fractioning, with researchers and other team members spread over too many small experimental stations or scientific fields, leading to the lack of a critical mass for the efficient use of infrastructure and proper supervision, tutoring, and collaboration. |
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(b) Resource problems |
| Severe lack of resources. |
| Allocation of resources by crop, system, product or research area that do not reflect national priorities and the needs of producers. |
| Diluted distribution of scarce resources among a large number of crops or research areas without the necessary setting of priorities. |
| Inappropriate balance of resources (the greatest percentage of budgets is assigned to paying for salaries, leaving insufficient resources for operations). |
| A resource allocation process that is too centralized. |
| Excessive dependence on resources from externally financed projects for the acquisition of equipment and vehicles. |
| Inefficient use of costly equipment and specialized infrastructure due to their dispersion and fractioning, aggravated by ineffectual linkages. |
| Budgetary allocation guided more by experimental station than by research area. |
| Budgets are more a compilation of requests than tools for the effective allocation of resources. |
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(c) Organizational and managerial weaknesses |
| Hierarchical organizational structures and attitudes instead of flatter structures linked to a more collegiate management style more conducive to scientific innovation. |
| Insufficient delegation of authority. |
| Purchase of inputs that is subject to complex and slow bureaucratic procedures. |
| Lack of management information (information systems). |
| Inappropriate procedures for the preparation and revision of budgets. |
| Inadequate research planning and follow-up. |
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(d) Organizational and personnel weaknesses |
| Hierarchical organizational structures and attitudes, instead of flatter structures linked to a more collegiate management style that is more conducive to scientific innovation. |
| Insufficient delegation of authority. |
| Lack or weaknesses in assessing individual performance. |
| Promotion based on seniority rather than on merit. |
| Heads of institutions or units not chosen on the basis on their administrative performance. |
| Inadequate training regarding leadership, administration, and management. |
| Lack of incentives. |
| Lack of flexibility in civil service regulations regarding the administration of human resources dedicated to agricultural research. |
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