Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Library & Information Science

Supervisor

Dr. Isola Ajiferuke

Abstract

This study investigated the knowledge translation practices of researchers in the National Agriculture Research Institutes of Nigeria and the utilization of research knowledge by policy actors in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria. Data for the study was obtained from agriculture researchers and the policy actors through questionnaires and interviews. In addition, bibliometric and content analysis were carried out on documents from the research institutes and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to gauge the transfer and use of knowledge by the researchers and policy actors respectively. Out of about six hundred questionnaires that were distributed to the researchers in fifteen agricultural research institutes, four hundred and forty-eight usable questionnaires were analysed. Twenty-two researchers were interviewed about their knowledge translation practices and fourteen senior members of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were interviewed regarding their use of research knowledge generated at the agriculture research institutes. Majority of the agriculture researchers reported that they occasionally carried out knowledge translation activities targeted at policy actors in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the most common knowledge translation method being the sending of annual reports to the ministry. However, the policy actors hardly made use of such reports in policy making either due to lack of emphasis on the part of the researchers on policy implications of their research or non-relevance of the research to policy making. Similarly, content analysis of the ministry’s documents showed that policy actors rarely made references to findings from the agriculture research institutes. Interestingly, journal articles from two of the research institutes seemed to have received a lot of citations from other authors affiliated with educational institutions in Nigeria. The most prominent barrier for knowledge translation noted by researchers was the high cost of translating research knowledge. Hence, this study recommends: provision of adequate budget, incentives and time to Nigerian agriculture researchers to enable them to do KT; and capacity building training / workshops for both researchers and policy actors to boost knowledge translation for agriculture policy making in Nigeria.

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