Agricultural research in Barinas: characteristics and opportunities for improvement

Abstract

This study by the National Observatory of Agricultural Sciences of Venezuela (ONCA, onwards) seeks to strengthen research in the sector by
identifying its strengths and weaknesses for the formulation of more effective policies. The research focuses on the state of Barinas to diagnose the capabilities of its scientific community and design improvement strategies. The overall objective was to strengthen agricultural science research in the state of Barinas by 2025. This was achieved by characterizing the academic training, project participation, and scientific production of its researchers, evaluating their impact and visibility to identify growth opportunities. A quantitative, descriptive, and
field-based approach was used. A questionnaire validated by experts was administered to a random sample of 27 of the 157 researchers registered with the National Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (Oncti, onwards) in Barinas. The study was conducted with a 95% confidence level and a 17,21% margin of error. The main finding is the critical gap between research activity and the culture of impact assessment. Despite high participation in funded projects (74 %) and a strong focus on productive areas such as Agricultural Engineering
(26 %), there is a widespread lack of awareness about key metrics. Forty-four percent of respondents ignore their own citations, 37 % are unaware of visibility strategies, and a general lack of awareness of the H-index⁵ was detected. This weakness underscores the urgent need to strengthen researchers' ability to measure and project their impact internationally, severely limiting their current global competitiveness.