AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

A Center for Management Development (CMD) will be established in the MOA to implement the project with USAID-funded technical assistance. Continuing the training underway in the national training program established by the Agricultural Sector Management Development (ASMD) Project (9310209), a core program in planning, personnel management, and general management principles (taught mostly in Arabic) will be offered to middle-level agricultural managers and their supervisors, especially those at the governorate level; and follow-on, on-the-job consultations and local workshops will be provided. CMD will also improve the ASMD course, expanding it from two to three weeks and adding an orientation unit. New emphasis will be placed on applications to agriculture; on management problems of participants; and on case studies so as to produce supplementary instructional materials. To build a group of managers with similar training, most courses will concentrate on specific units within specific geographic areas. Some 100-200 middle managers and their supervisors in each of eight governorates will be trained. Finally, the program will be extended to three new groups: new MOA employees and those enrolled in MOA training programs; public sector companies and key agricultural agencies; and those requesting training. The CMD will also form a special unit to develop a roster of the training capacity of other Egyptian training institutions. As new training needs are identified, special courses (10-15 annually) to meet them will be developed. CMD"s research staff will analyze the management needs of the MOA and its subsidiary companies, identify training needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of the CMD program and the need for additions to the core program. CMD personnel will receive long- and short-term out-of-country training and 20 in-country courses in areas not available from Egyptian institutions. Finally, two small dormitories will be added to the CMD training facility at Barrages.