Agriculture research suffers as little funding cuts resources

A new report paints a picture of a severely underfunded Agricultural Research Council trying to do the best with the resources available to it.

The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) – which received a grant of R866-million in 2013/14, 16% more than the previous year – was established in 1990 to be the country’s primary agricultural scientific research institution, but has suffered from years of neglect and underfunding.

Its annual report, published on Wednesday, paints a picture of an organisation suffering from chronic underfunding and trying to do the best with the resources available.

“The reasonable number [with] which the ARC could be expected to fulfil its mandate [would be] a parliamentary grant of R1.5-billion. That’s my conservative estimate,” the ARC’s Shadrack Moepuli told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday. READ MORE

Source: www.mg.co.za