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Mongolia – a Reviewmongolia of the Agricultural Research System and Extension Mongolia – A review of the agricultural research and extension system research of the agricultural A review Mongolia A review of the agricultural research and extension system Please address comments and inquiries to: Investment Centre Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla – 00153 Rome, Italy ISBN 978-92-5-109545-4 [email protected] Report No. 32 www.fao.org/support-to-investment 9789251 095454 Report No. 32 – January 2017 I6571EN/1/11.16 Mongolia A review of the agricultural research and extension system Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar Agricultural Extension Officer, FAO Charles Annor-Frempong Senior Rural Development Officer, World Bank Ganchimeg Gombodorj Mongolian University of Life Sciences COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2017 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-109545-4 © FAO 2017 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Cover photo: @ FAO/Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword v Acknowledgements vii Acronyms and abbreviations ix Executive summary xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1. Objective 2 1.2. Methodology and data limitations 2 2 Mongolia’s agricultural research and extension system in the past 5 2.1. Research 5 2.2. Extension 8 2.3. Transition period 11 3 Current status of the research and extension system 15 3.1. Extension subsystem 16 3.2. Research subsystem 44 3.3. Coordination and linkages: agricultural research and extension system 62 4 Conclusion and recommendations 67 Bibliography 71 Annex 1 Organizations providing extension and research services 75 Annex 2 Major policies related to extension 81 Annex 3 Main policies for Mongolian science and technology 86 Annex 4 Projects with extension components 90 Annex 5 Ongoing international projects in the agriculture sector 93 Annex 6 Results from the stakeholder mapping exercise: key stakeholders of the Agricultural Innovation System 97 Annex 7 Comparison of agriculture production, current and desired level 99 FOREWORD The Government of Mongolia is committed to ensuring sustainable development of the food, agriculture and livestock sectors, serving both domestic and export markets. Agriculture, including livestock, accounts for the majority of the country’s rural labour force. Livestock activities in particular account for about 8.5 of every 10 jobs (Zoljargal, 2014). More than any other sector, the food and agriculture industry has the potential to reduce poverty and drive economic growth in rural areas. Mongolia’s poverty rate declined from 38.8 percent in 2010 to 21.6 percent in 2014, yet there is still much room for improvement. The World Bank1 advocates that sustainable and inclusive growth and poverty reduction in Mongolia will require strengthened governance and increased institutional capacities to manage public revenues efficiently. Modern, efficient food and agricultural systems can substantially increase production and competitiveness, resulting in improved rural livelihoods. Achieving Mongolia’s agricultural growth potential will require a significant increase in quality value addition and competitiveness within the agrifood market, particularly through the establishment of food preparation, processing, storage, transportation and sale systems,2 all of which require skilled and well informed farmers and other stakeholders. However, this can only be effective when the weakest link in the system has been addressed. For Mongolia, the weakest link since the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy has been between agricultural research and extension services and agricultural producers. To date, investment in research and extension remains very low. Free competition for information and technology and a demand for better production systems have arisen. At the same time, the number of inexperienced and less knowledgeable farmers has increased, and the linkages between researchers and farmers have weakened. To improve agricultural performance over time for a sustainable agrifood system, a continuous commitment to building and maintaining institutional and individual capacities in agricultural research and advisory services will be required. The role of effective advisory service systems must not be underestimated 1 http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mongolia/projects/results 2 Part of the Government’s plan v in accelerating agricultural innovation, which is fundamental in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This report is the result of an in-depth review of the research and extension services within Mongolia between 2014 and 2015. It outlines the then status of the system and identifies key constraints to be addressed. The report was part of a larger sector review of Mongolian agriculture undertaken by the World Bank, beginning in 2014, to provide the Government with practical recommendations to use in its medium- and long-term strategies for agricultural development. The report was commissioned by the World Bank within the framework of its cooperative programme with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), facilitated by FAO’s Investment Centre. For more information on FAO’s work to support agricultural and rural investments visit: www.fao.org/support-to-investment vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared as part of the Mongolian agriculture sector review, at the request of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). A World Bank team, led by Charles Annor-Frempong (senior rural development specialist, World Bank) and Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar (agricultural extension officer, FAO, and main author), carried out the review. The team is grateful to Dr Lkhasuren Choi-sh (Director-General) and his team at the Strategy Planning and Policy Department of the MoFA, as well as Khanimkhan Ivirai from the National Agricultural Extension Centre, for their support in organizing stakeholder meetings and workshops, and collecting data from the relevant institutions. Special thanks go to Ganchimeg Gombodorj from the Mongolian University of Life Sciences for her diligent efforts in liaising with key stakeholders, collecting data and information and providing logistical support. The authors would like to acknowledge Boldsaikhan Usukh (Director of ENSADA Company) and the staff of the National Association of Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives for their participation and collaboration on this study. The authors would also like to thank Mark Lundell, Iain Shuker and Coralie Gevers (country manager, Mongolia) for their support on this study, and are especially grateful to Steven Jaffee (lead rural development specialist, World Bank) for providing guidance and useful comments that helped improve the quality of the report. Finally the authors would like to thank everyone else who contributed to this study and made this report feasible. vii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIatIONS ABVSC Animal Breeding and Veterinary Service Centre ADB Asian Development Bank AEC Aimag extension centre AIS Agricultural Innovation System ATMA Agricultural Technology Management Agency CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CNIC Consejo Nacional de Innovación para la Competividad FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FIC Fondo de Innovación para la Competividad FIG Farmer interest group GDP Gross domestic product IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development INIA Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria ITTC Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency MECS Ministry of Education, Culture and Science MFFA Mongolian Female Farmers’ Association MoFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture MoIT Ministry of Industry and Trade MSUA Mongolian State University of Agriculture MULS Mongolian University of Life Sciences NAEC National Agricultural Extension Centre NAMAC National Association of Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives NCART National Committee for Agricultural Research and Technology NGO Non-governmental organization NPCD National Program for Cooperative Development NSO National Statistics
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