INERA support mid-term evaluation; soils and legumes research

Evaluation covers the period 7/79-2/81 and is based on document review, a site visit, and interviews with project personnel. Delays in the delivery of equipment and supplies have impeded almost every segment of the project and completely blocked some. Warnings to the contractor to expect these delays were not reckoned with in planning, leading to a premature posting of technicians (only one of whom has an adequate language capacity). The soils fertility analysis and soil characterization laboratories can conduct only two of the 20 tests essential to soil analysis. No soil tests correlations have been completed both because the necessary soil analysis is unavailable and because the test results from lime and phosphate additions are unlikely to be useful as the soil is high in phosphate and maize is a low acid sensitive plant. Soil classification, which requires laboratory testing in addition to field observation, is also stalled. As an alternative, raw data left behind by the Belgians are being used to categorize the soils; results will be correlated with the list of crop soil requirements being assembled to produce the final maps. Nonetheless, a fairly broad range of food legumes obtained from U.S. and South American sources has been planted. These included soybeans, dry beans (Phaseolus), winged beans (Psophocarpus), mung bean, broad-bean, lentils, cowpeas, chickpeas, pigenonpeas, and asparagus beans. Local soybean and dry bean varieties were also planted for purposes of comparison. Six varieties of alfalfa and one of U.S. clover have been planted and are surviving. Important basic work on soil losses due to erosion has led to the design and installation of contour terrace erosion control structures capable of reducing erosion by as much as 90%. The isolation of the Mulungu site -- making it difficult to reach, communicate with, and supply -- and the lack of will or capacity by the Government of Zaire and INERA to support a sustained research capacity argue against the creation of a Zaire-wide soil services organization at Mulungu.