DRYLAND AGRICULTURE APPLIED RESEARCH

A national agronomic research institute (INRA) will be established, and will be staffed and run by 22 Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MARA) specialists, with long- and short-term TA from the Midamerica International Consortium. Research will be conducted under actual farm conditions and focus on tillage, seed bed preparation, and planting methods; crop protection; crop varieties, sequences and rotations; and storage. A soil testing and management program will be initiated. Ph.D. and M.S.-level U.S. training will be provided to 11 MARA staff; candidates will write their theses in Morocco and present them to either U.S. or Moroccan universities. Extensionists will also be trained. Baseline data will be gathered on farm mechanization, and machinery (e.g., sweep machines, tractor-drawn drills) will be introduced and tested. Socioeconomic research will be conducted in the critical High Chaouia area, focusing on past and present farming and production systems, farmer attitudes toward these systems, and toward modern technology and risk-taking; TA and training will be provided. Establishment of provincial research centers is contemplated. Amendment of 2/83 adjusts budget line items, adds long-term TA in cereal varieties and agricultural equipment maintenance, increases the flexibility of short-term TA, and funds U.S. training for 10 M.S."s and 15 Ph.D."s and 62 person-months of short-term, practical training. (PD-AAN-058) Amendment of 8/83 extends project to 6/88 and adds long-term TA in: forage agronomy; plant breeding; farm machinery/tillage; pest management/crop loss; soil/water systems; rural sociology; and production economy. Socioeconomic research will include new studies in Haute Chaouia, development of an Agriculture Information Resource Center in Settat, further microlevel and special studies, limited funding for student training at the National Agronomic and Veterinary Institute (INAV), and improved coordination between socioeconomic and agronomic research. U.S. training of 15 M.S."s and 17 Ph.D"s and short-term training for 218 INRA staff are added. (PD-AAN-359) Amendment of 3/88 extends PACD to 8/94 to ensure institutional development of INRA"s Aridoculture Center near Settat and to continue promising research lines, and adds additional long- and short-term TA and training (including 7 M.S. and 19 Ph.D. slots). (PD-AAX-536)