AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 11/76 TO 3/80 AND IS BASED ON AN AUDIT REVIEW OF PROJECT RECORDS, AS WELL AS INTERVIEWS WITH KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL, INCLUDING THE CONTRACTOR, THE MIDWEST UNIVERSITIES CONSORTIUM FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES, INC. (MUCIA), AND RETURNED PARTICIPANT TRAINEES. PROGRESS WAS MADE TOWARD TARGETED PROJECT OUTPUTS, INCLUDING BS AND POST-GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS; INDIGENOUS AND PARTICIPANT TRAINING; RURAL COMMUNITY SERVICE AND UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS; A NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR HIGHER AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION; AND AN EFFECTIVE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM. THESE OUTPUTS, HOWEVER, WILL NOT BE FULLY REALIZED BY THE PROJECT"S END. ALTHOUGH PARTICIPANT TRAINING OFFERED THE DESIRED LEVELS, FOR VARIOUS REASONS NEARLY 1/3 OF THE TRAINEES (31 OUT OF 98) WILL NOT COMPLETE THEIR DEGREE BY THE CLOSE OF THE PROJECT. USAID/I PROGRAMMED PARTICIPANTS FOR SUCCESSIVE ACADEMIC DEGREES, WHICH WAS CONTRARY TO AID POLICY AND IS HAVING ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THIS AND OTHER PROJECTS. WHILE SEVERAL PROJECT UNIVERSITIES REPORTED THAT THEY WERE CONDUCTING APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECTS, NO EVALUATIVE REPORTS WERE FOUND. COMMODITIES, VALUED AT $430,000, WERE NOT EFFECTIVELY MANAGED AND THEIR RECEIPT AND USE WERE NOT READILY VERIFIABLE. THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA (GOI) PORT CLEARANCE PROCEDURES CAUSED COMMODITY DELAYS. SEVERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MUCIA CONTRACT AND LOAN AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS WERE NOT IMPLEMENTED. IN ADDITION, A $128,500 HEALTH INSURANCE AND AMENITY SERVICES PAYMENT WAS NOT MADE, $170,000 FOR OTHER SERVICES WAS NOT PAID, AND $56,000 SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO LOCAL CURRENCY OR LOAN FUNDS AND WAS NOT. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE TO RECTIFY PROBLEM AREAS NOTED ABOVE AND TO IMPROVE PROJECT REPORTING AND CORRECT THE AMOUNTS DUE THE AID MASTER DISBURSING ACCOUNT FOR THE COMPULSORY HEALTH INSURANCE AND AMENITY SERVICES.