Public financing in agricultural research development and rural poverty alleviation in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) States

This paper analyzed the effects of public funding for agricultural research and development on rural poverty reduction through farm income in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries. To conduct this analysis, an agricultural production function was developed that integrates public policies. In view of the scope of the analysis, a dynamic panel was developed to take into account the dynamics of agricultural income. The data used in this research were mainly taken from the databases of the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the FAO and cover the period from 2000 to 2016. The data were estimated using the Generalized Moment Method (GMM) in system. The results show that public spending on agricultural research and development contributes to reducing rural poverty through increased agricultural income. Thus, it is recommended that WAEMU states make efforts in the allocation of public resources in the area of agricultural research and development to boost the development of the agricultural sector and significantly reduce rural poverty.