Agricultural Research and Development Expenditure, Productivity and Adoption as a Panacea to Improved Rural Livelihoods; A Review of Literature

Myriad of studies have been undertaken to evaluate contribution of agricultural research and development to improved rural livelihoods. Whether be it through influencing farm productivity, rural household income, employment creation and consumer welfare, agriculture research and development has been idealised to have a significant impact on livelihoods. This paper reviews past studies that have been undertaken in relation to agricultural research and development expenditure, factor input productivity and adoption by the rural poor in different agricultural aspects. The study identifies that there are some consistencies in reported findings of research and development expenditure having impact on improving agricultural output. Equally so, findings have also been consistent of agricultural productivity increasing at the instigation of research and development as well as the existence of an array of socio-economic factors having major influences on research and development innovation adoption. Despite the existence of spatial as well as temporal variations however, there do appear loopholes within the literature. Expenditure influences on output have appeared aggregated, with few studies, mainly from global research institutes, trying to subdivide how project specific expenditure has tended to influence the specified projects. Furthermore, studies on productivity measures of research and development despite being aggregated, have concentrated on how output has changed vis-à-vis changes in inputs utilised induced by research and development. A short fall however are studies based on the dynamism of the inputs relative to changes in output that they do instigate. Even the socio-economic variables tending to influence research and development output adoption appear to vary from technology to technology, in some instance having a positive influence and in other instances otherwise. Each project is thus unique and no array of diversification of socio-economic variables can be prescribed even though commonality could be identified.