Comprehensive planning for rural development : Tuskegee Institute 211(d) grant

PES covers the period 10/78-11/79 and is based on site visits to TI, interviews with faculty and students, and a review of project documents. Substantial progress has been made in achieving the project"s purpose, with positive results in most areas. In l978, TI undertook a joint agricultural research project with the Government of Mali which was highly successful and was completed 2 months ahead of schedule; a follow-on project is planned. Although the project has employed few minority students, both graduate and undergraduate students have been supported by the grant. Seminars and symposia have been conducted on rural development issues and curricula have been modified to improve offerings in international rural development and agricultural economics. Faculty members have received French-language training and have attended, at project expense, professional meetings that have substantially augmented their expertise. An anthropologist and an agricultural economist have been added as full-time faculty members and TI anticipates hiring two or three more agricultural economists. TI has widely publicized its advisory and consultative service to AID/W, USAID"s, and LDC"s, but has met with little response. To strengthen linkages with other institutions, TI has increased its participation in the Southeast Consortium for International Development, is participating in a joint project in Upper Volta, and has made good progress in building domestic linkages. To increase its information capacity, books, journals, and other needed items have been acquired. TI"s accounting and recordkeeping procedures have been exemplary. A lesson learned is that merely informing A.I.D. personnel of Tuskegee"s capacity and interest is insufficient to motivate them to use its services; the commitment of high-level A.I.D. administrators may be needed. A total of 27 recommendations are provided.