AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND PLANNING

THE CONSULTING AND TRAINING SERVICES GIVEN TO THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE"S (MOA) DIVISION FOR PLANNING, STATISTICS AND ECONOMIC ANALYSES (D/PSAE) HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE.22 TUNISIANS WERE TRAINED TO THE M.S. LEVEL.8 OF THE RETURNED PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSIGNED TO THE D/PSAE; 11 WERE EMPLOYED IN AGRICULTURE POSITIONS OR IN THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY; 2 RETURNED TO THE US, AND 1 WAS HIRED BY INTERNATIONAL ARAB BANK OF TUNISIA.ONLY 1 DEGREE PARTICIPANT RETURNED WITHOUT A DEGREE.ALTHOUGH D/PSAE IS UNDERSTAFFED, THE ADDITION OF 9 M.S. AND 2 PH.D. RETURNED PARTICIPANTS WILL MEET ITS NEEDS. THE STATISTICS SUB-DIVISION OF THE D/PSAE CONDUCTED AND PUBLISHED 4 ANNUAL FIELD-DATA SURVEYS: 1)A BASE SURVEY OF THE AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF THE COUNTRY,INCLUDING DATA ON CROPS PLANTED,AREAS HARVESTED,YIELDS,SIZE OF FARMS,USE OF PRODUCTION INPUTS,& ANIMAL POPULATIONS;2)COST OF PRODUCTION SURVEYS OF SPECIFIC CROPS;3)OBJECTIVE YIELD SURVEYS (CEREALS & OLIVES);&4)A SITUATION SURVEY TO DETERMINE AREAS PLANTED,WITH DATA ON USE OF IMPROVED VARIETIES,FERTILIZERS & HERBICIDES.THE GOVERNMENT OF TUNISIA (GOT) & THE MOA RELIED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS APPLIED AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS RESEARCH.AS A RESULT OF THE COST OF PRODUCTION STUDIES OF WHEAT,THE OFFICIAL PRICE PAID TO PRODUCERS WAS INCREASED.THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SLOWNESS OF PROCESSING DATA,BUT THE D/PSAE HAS ASKED TO BE LINKED BY TERMINAL WITH THE GOT NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER,WHEN IT IS FULLY EQUIPPED. THE PLANNING SUB-DIVISION OF THE D/PSAE DE-EMPHASIZED THE PRIORITY OF WORK THAT HAD BEGUN ON THE SECTOR MODEL.THIS SUB-DIVISION ASSISTED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE 1977-81 DEVELOPMENT PLAN.THE DEVELOPMENT BUDGET SUB-DIVISION OF THE D/PSAE REVIEWED ALL MOA DEVELOPMENT BUDGETS. ALTHOUGH THE D/PSAE SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCED SHORT-TERM AGRICULTURAL POLICY STUDIES,ADDITIONAL TRAINED D/PSAE STAFF IS NECESSARY TO DO LONG-TERM RESEARCH.IT WAS LEARNED THAT COUNTERPARTS" LACK OF AN ADEQUATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CAPABILITY IS A SERIOUS HANDICAP TO ADVISORS WORKING IN ABSTRACT SUBJECT AREAS.AS A SUPPLEMENT TO M.S. LEVEL TRNG,ON-THE-JOB TRNG TO ACQUIRE SPECIAL SKILLS INCREASES THE PRODUCTIVITY OF PARTICIPANTS.