Audit of the semi-arid food grains research and development II project, no. 698-0452

The audit covers the period 8/86-2/90. Overall, the project is progressing satisfactorily. The four collaborative research networks (for sorghum, millet, maize, and cowpeas) serve to coordinate national agricultural research programs, facilitate exchange of research and improved technologies, minimize duplication of efforts, and maximize use of available resources. The networks have had demonstrated success in identifying improved varieties for release to farmers. The implementing agencies -- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) -- have provided adequate coordination and technical support to the networks. However, the two ICRISAT-managed networks need improvement in data collection and analysis. Project officials are unable to provide an analysis of the trials conducted by the East Africa Regional Sorghum and Millet Network in 1987 and 1988. For 1989, reporting by this network as well as by the West and Central African Sorghum Research Network was incomplete. Since ICRISAT"s annual reports were late and incomplete, these problems were not brought to the attention of A.I.D. officials. The project coordination office was not aware of A.I.D. requirements that it limit its activities to five networks, four financed by A.I.D. and a fifth by other donors. Thus, the office recently added a sixth network and is negotiating with donors to take over the administration of three additional networks. The office is already overextended, and this further diversion of A.I.D. resources will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on project implementation. Project managers have also failed to reach consensus on a plan to transfer leadership to participating country officials and to merge the maize network with a similar French-funded network. Several problems have been experienced in financial oversight of IITA"s portion of the project. The Office of the A.I.D. Representative/Burundi, which is responsible for project management, made a duplicate advance to IITA of $281,200, failed to record $226,000 of expenditures, paid unallowable costs totaling $14,707 (personal automobile insurance premiums, wages of domestic cooks employed by IITA officials, private telephone bills, and cocktail parties), and also allowed IITA a foreign exchange windfall of $11,200.