Agricultural sector studies

U.S., Ph.D.-level training will be provided in the statistical measurement of food crop production from intercropping to one DS staff member and in agricultural marketing, international and commodity markets, or development finance to a BS employee. Further, four DS and four BS staff members will receive U.S., M.S.-level training, and DS and BS technicians will receive a total of l5 person-months of short-term in-country and overseas training in areas such as project, financial, and commodity analysis, forecasting, and statistical methods; included in the above will be the U.S. Department of Agriculture"s course on project implementation. Five resident experts, helped by short-term consultants, will provide on-the-job training to DS and BS personnel, especially the 40 returned participants from prior A.I.D. projects. DS and BS staff will be trained to prepare job descriptions and specific workplans for all personnel; use improved administrative, bookkeeping, and data processing methods; use the area sample frame and design and conduct field surveys; issue a quarterly agricultural sector report that includes production indices and analyses of marketing conditions and agricultural prospects; design and evaluate agricultural projects; issue an annual agricultural sector report and a policy paper identifying options; and prepare long- and short-term studies of Zairian food crop marketing systems, an investment program in agriculture for l983-85, and a 10-year agricultural strategy. Finally, the project will foster interaction between the Ministry of Planning, the Central Committee, and the DOA/RD in regard to regional planning and agricultural development and will help 25 returned participants from prior A.I.D. projects complete their M.A. theses. Amendment of 10/30/84 extends PACD 6 months to 9/87, adds funding for TA from 7/85 to the new PACD and for 12 additional long-term participants, and moves the project from a training and exploratory emphasis to one of institutional development in support of sector policy and its implementation. The project will: provide analytic support to the agricultural portion of the 1986-90 Development Plan and establish means to monitor progress against the plan; collate existing agricultural data and collect new data; and cooperate with other DOA/RD data collection and analysis units.