Agricultural research/training support

A U.S. Title XII University will implement the project. Three long-term advisors with strong backgrounds in farming systems research/extension (a researcher, an agricultural economist, and a social scientist) will assist the RSP Program with research management. Short-term TA and some commodities, equipment, and operational support will also be funded. To develop INERA"s professional staff, the project will provide U.S. graduate (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) training to six senior RSP researchers. In addition, all national researchers in the Program will attend short-term specialized courses at international research centers, U.S. universities, or other third-country institutions. Finally, project long- and short-term advisors will develop an extensive in-country training program. The RSP Program will seek to adapt existing technologies to Burkina Faso"s different agro-ecological zones and integrate them into existing production systems. The project will establish two small RSP Regional Field Teams, each composed of 8 research technicians, 6 of them permanently based in project villages. Specifically, one Regional Team, to be stationed at Farako-Ba, will seek to improve cotton-maize production in the Southwest Region; the other, to be stationed at Kamboinse, will focus on integrating cash crops into cereal production in the Central Mossi Plateau Region. Project efforts will result in improved linkages of the RSP Program with educational institutions (e.g., the University of Ouagadougou), extension services, and with INERA"s seven other research programs (particularly with commodity programs). Project assistance to the RSP Program is part of a multi-donor, World Bank-led effort to upgrade INERA. Two additional phases of A.I.D. support to the RSP Program are planned.