AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION OUTREACH PROJECT (AUDIT REPORT)

AUDIT, THE FIRST ONE FOR THE PROJECT, IS BASED ON REVIEWS OF PROJECT DOCUMENTS AND OF A RECENT EVALUATION AND ON INTERVIEWS WITH PROJECT PERSONNEL. THE EVALUATION TEAM CONCLUDED THAT WHILE PROJECT OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED QUANTITATIVELY - DOAE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF EXTENSION AND TRAINING PERSONNEL IN RURAL AREAS - THERE IS ROOM FOR QUALITATIVE IMPROVEMENT. FOURTEEN RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE TO USAID IN THE LATTER AREA. MAJOR PROJECT COMPONENTS ARE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO USAID BY DOAE TO SUPPORT DOAE REQUESTS FOR TRAINING COSTS IS LIMITED TO A BREAKDOWN BY LINE ITEM, I.E., PER DIEM, TRAVEL, MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT. THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH A LIST OF TRAINING COURSES UNDERTAKEN (INCLUDING THEIR COST),NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS, LOCATION, AND DATE. DOAE AND USAID HAVE AGREED THAT SUCH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE FUTURE. USAID HAS NOT RECEIVED ANY PROJECT AUDITS FROM THAILAND"S AUDIT COUNCIL (AC), EVEN THOUGH ANNUAL AC AUDITS WERE STIPULATED IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION LETTER OF 7/20/77. GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE PROJECT AND THE LARGE AMOUNTS OF REIMBURSABLE LOCAL COSTS, USAID AND DOAE SHOULD TAKE MEASURES TO ENSURE ADEQUATE AUDIT COVERAGE OF THE PROJECT. AT A MINIMUM, PERIODIC REMINDERS SHOULD BE ISSUED TO AC, AUGMENTED, IF NECESSARY, BY A PROFORMA EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS EXPECTED. TECHNICAL SERVICES ARE BEING PROVIDED BY LOUIS BERGER INTERNATIONAL, INC (LBI) IN CONJUNCTION WITH A THAI CONSULTING FIRM. EXECUTION OF THE 2-YEAR CONTRACT (WHICH IS FOR $423,612) WAS DELAYED BY QUESTIONS WHETHER USAID OR RTG HAD JURISDICTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROCUREMENT. PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTOR APPEARS ADEQUATE. IN ADDITION TO FUNDS FOR LBI CONTRACT, $1 MILLION HAS BEEN COMMITTED FOR TRAINING COSTS, FOR A TOTAL OF $1.5 MILLION COMMITTED OF $3 MILLION AUTHORIZED.