Trends in the Moroccan agricultural research: an exploratory bibliometric analysis (2005-2015)

Abstract

The objective of the study is to analyze the agricultural research publications in Morocco during 2005-2016 period based on the SCOPUS database. In Morocco, The national higher education and research system has been rapidly evolving during the last decade with new actors, a series of new policies and research funding programs, as well as a profound change in the overall economic and political context of the country. In the agricultural sector, since 2008, policy has relied on “Moroccan Green Plan”, a national strategy for sustainable development. The specific objectives of this work were to identify the thematic orientations and the effects of this policy on both scientific production as well as agricultural production. Research carried out in the public agricultural research institutions of the country is contrasted with research from universities, as well as with other research done in collaboration with national and international partners. This first study examined the growth of publications and citations, the collaboration patterns through co-authorship, and the thematic orientations through an original classification adapted to the agricultural field. This pilot study could be useful for policy makers, researchers and engineers in the country in order to devise indicators that focus on orientations, strengths and weaknesses of the agricultural research system.

Keywords

• Agricultural research
• Publication productivity
• R&D trend
• Bibliometric study
• Research governance