Study on knowledge generation and transfer in Ethiopian agricultural researches

Knowledge management in the agriculture sector is about the systematic connection of allstakeholders to the best practices, knowledge and expertise they need to create value bysupporting creation, acquisition, transfer and utilization of knowledge. In Ethiopia, variousresearch institutes both national and international play significant roles in the generation andtransfer of agricultural knowledge, but in the country the sector is one of the lowest levels ofproductivity in the world which suggests there are inadequate linkages between the ResearchInstitutes and the practitioners. The main aim of this study was to investigate the knowledgegeneration and transfer practices that some Agricultural Research Institutes in Ethiopia have inplace and assess the affecting factors involved in these processes. A mixed methods researchmethodology encompassing a questionnaire and interviews was used to achieve this objective.Quantitative data were collected using questionnaires from both research institutes, highereducational institutes and their stakeholders using SurveyMonkey. Qualitative data werecollected by means of interviews which were conducted with 15 key informants from both theresearch institutes and the stakeholders.The finding of this study indicates that in Ethiopia not all agricultural researchers and institutesfully perform end user demand analysis before generating and transferring agriculturalknowledge. It was also found that most of the research institutes generate knowledge based onthe government priorities and centrally identified problems. This study confirmed thatresearchers and their institutes did not fully carry out assessment on their research output’simpact. The study also revealed that the majority of relationship(56.9%) established betweenresearchers and their stakeholders was not usually based on formal partnership but most of them (44.1%) meet with the stakeholders regularly mainly when stakeholders need new technology. The result of this study established that most researchers believe that the existing forms of cooperation and partnership between researchers/research institute and the stakeholders areinappropriate to boost knowledge transfer activities. Most of the researchers (58.8%)unwelcome that the research output should reach the end users indirectly through thestakeholders while majority of stakeholders (76.5%) appreciate that the agricultural researchoutput should reach end user directly. The study finding suggests that most research institutes donot provide special incentives and rewards to researchers for transferring knowledge. Mostii | P a g estakeholders do not think that the transferred knowledge is utilized effectively by the end usersdue to lack of support from researchers , the generated knowledge is not based on the demandsof the users and poor linkage of research and extension.This study confirmed that there were a lot of challenges and problems faced during knowledgetransfer. None demand driven research output, infrastructure, weak research extension system,researchers’ language barrier to communicate research findings, scattered nature of knowledge,absence of repository for knowledge in this country, non existence of linkage between knowledgegenerating institutes to get different knowledge, limited participation of stakeholders in theresearch institutes activities ,etc were the major. With regard to the factors affecting the transferand acquisition of agricultural knowledge from the research institutes to stakeholders, themethods and communication tools and channels used to present new knowledge were not welladaptedto the interests of stakeholders, Traditional product formats fail to reach moststakeholders were the majors established from this study.In order to make agricultural knowledge/information effectively applied and utilized by thepractitioners, it is recommended that researchers should primarily specify the recipient targetgroups and investigate their needs through the implementation of different demand analysistechniques. To make the research institutes and stakeholders closer to each other, there shouldbe a formal partnership established on common interest and goals with shared responsibility.The researchers have to utilize appropriate transfer mechanisms which can best allow actors(i.e. researchers, Transfer agents and practitioners) to exchange knowledge and information andits impact should be assessed to take any actions needed. Eventually, to make the knowledgegeneration, transfer and acquisition more effective and efficient, the government should adoptpolicy dimensions which can create efficient institutional setup, the organizational structure ofboth stakeholders and research institutes should be also revised in a way that support thisefforts, there should be improvements among all parties in utilizing their resources efficiently,and the research institutes and their stakeholders should have a clear strategy of how to create,capture and transfer agricultural knowledge.