National agricultural research project's contributions to significant advances in Egyptian agriculture : report of a 1994 USAID-sponsored mission to evaluate the national agricultural research project in Egypt

Evaluation covers the period 1985-6/94. Significant advances have been made in Egyptian agriculture during the project's existence. However, the project cannot take exclusive credit for these, which must also be attributed to: (1) major policy reforms implemented during the past 12 years, many of which removed significant disincentives to agricultural development; and (2) improvements in agricultural research programs made by A.I.D.-sponsored projects in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. Rather, the project has built itself on the foundations laid by the above efforts, and pursued new activities, resulting in significant improvements in the production, nominal value, and commodity prices for a broad spectrum of crops, as well as for wheat, the production of which has increased more since 1987 than at any other time in Egypt's history. Specific project accomplishments have included the development of management information systems at 9 agricultural extension facilities, and the formation of research and extension councils for each of Egypt's 4 major regions; an extensive training program, which has significantly improved the seed industry; and a new initiatives component, through which unanticipated problems may be solved or opportunities pursued. Unfortunately, the project has been constrained by significant problems with implementation, management (which may have resulted, in part, from the 2-year delay in establishing a project administration unit), and funding. (1) Leadership changes plagued both USAID/E (which has had 3 Mission directors) and the GOE. (2) A critical audit resulted in reductions in project funding, and the cancellation of several important components in 1992, and further reductions have been proposed. However, the audit's major complaints have been addressed, the GOE's failure to provide its share of project funding has been positively resolved, and management problems have ended with the appointment of a new project manager in 1990. Despite these problems, the project has been a vital part of the USAID effort to improve Egypt's agricultural productivity. It is recommended that most of the original funding level be restored, and that it should continue, intact, until a successor project has been developed and set in place. Future activities should be more sharply focused, take advantage of Egypt's excellent production capacities, and seek to improve and expand domestic and export markets for agricultural commodities.