Regional nutrition technical outreach

PES covers the period 9/81-9/82 and is based on attached special evaluation (XD-AAN-321-A). The outreach program has been institutionalized on a permanent basis at INCAP and TA and training targets have been more than met. INCAP has already provided 148 person-months of TA (vs. the 122 planned for the entire project), most of it (84%) short-term, the rest by long-term liaison officers. Still, INCAP could not meet the great demand for TA and had to establish a priority system. Training was provided to 565 persons (31 from outside the region) through seminars (459), INCAP"s School of Nutrition (46), postgraduate training (24), University of the UN/INCAP (8), and tutorial training (28). Negatively, frequent changes in Central American governments has forced INCAP to reprogram TA inputs, affecting both TA efficiency and calling into question the validity in future of placing costly long-term advisors. The project has taught the need for specific and continuing efforts to form linkages with agencies carrying out related projects in agriculture, health, and education. The key action decision is to develop a project amendment to expand tutorial training to new areas, including development and use of information systems and evaluations, participatory food and nutrition evaluations, and the use of applied food technology in small agro-industries, and to add an operations research component to support INCAP"s TA activities.