Tupilapa Ranch
Agriculture & Cattle

The Structure of Agricultural R&D in Nicaragua

Various agencies in Nicaragua promote agricultural R&D in the context of economic, agricultural, and rural development; S&T; and higher education. INTA, the Institute for Applied Research and the Promotion of Local Development (NITLAPAN) based at the private Central American University (UCA), and the public Rural Development Institute (IDR) foster research and extension in the more traditional sectors, while the Ministry of Economic Development (MIFIC) and some development cooperation programs are the leading promoters of agricultural R&D in the nontraditional sectors. Until recently, INTA delivered agricultural research and extension services, cofinanced with either public or private technical assistance providers (Saín 2005).

Other important agencies that generate and disseminate innovations are the higher education sector, international research and development agencies, and companies that supply agricultural inputs (seed, feed, machinery, and so on).

The main higher education agencies involved in agricultural R&D is the National Agrarian University (UNA). Other universities include UCA, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), the University of Commercial Sciences (UCC), and the Polytechnical University of Nicaragua (UPOLI).

Funding for agricultural research in Nicaragua is primarily derived from development cooperation agencies or aid from international development banks. For example, the World Bank has supported the national agricultural technology, knowledge, and innovations system through two consecutive International Development Association (IDA) credits (2000 and 2005), which were primarily channeled through INTA and other government agencies. Given the presence of a large number of donor funding initiatives and development cooperation projects, international donor agencies and R&D organizations have dominated agricultural R&D in Nicaragua since the 1990s (Hartwich et al. 2006).

Furthermore, fragmentation in the performance of agricultural R&D has led to innovation gaps in primary production in nontraditional sectors and in processing and postharvest activities in traditional sectors (Hartwich et al. 2006).