Agricultural sector training

The National Planning Office/Department of International Technical Cooperation (ONAPLAN/DITC) will implement the project. First, ONAPLAN/DITC, in cooperation with the Dominican Republic Office of University Coordination, will systematically and periodically assess human resource needs in the agricultural sector as well as available and projected levels of academic training. These assessments will form the basis for a long-range training plan (to be revised annually) for the sector. In accordance with these assessments, the project will fund participant training for 80 M.S. and 15 Ph.D. candidates, at least 90% of whom will study at U.S. land grant colleges and the remainder at regional institutions. Participant trainees will be selected from the staffs of public sector agencies and universities, and will receive English-language training as needed prior to departure. At least half will return to the Dominican Republic for 2-6 months during their studies to conduct thesis research on indigenous agricultural problems. (Priority topics for investigation will be suggested to students.) Participants who were originally sponsored by universities will, after their return, help to establish new graduate programs in agricultural science (only two such programs, in agricultural economics and rural sociology, exist at present). To further increase the capacity of Dominican universities to meet agricultural training needs, the Government of the Dominican Republic will establish a Fund for Advanced Education and make annual allottments of $50,000 (to be continued after project termination). Over the life of the project, the Fund will be used to finance 35 M.S. scholarships at domestic universities and to finance in-country thesis research by both domestic and overseas students. In addition, DITC will explore the possiblity of using the Fund in helping returned participant trainees develop new graduate programs.