Seed multiplication project : review

Special evaluation covers the period 1970-81 and was prepared by the Assistant Agricultural Development Officer. The project's purpose and goal have been achieved. Three foundation seed farms capable of meeting Tanzania's maize, sorghum, and millet seed demands for the next 10 years have been established (a fourth site, Kibaha farm, proved unproductive and was dropped from the project as of 7/81), together with a unified seed production and distribution system that begins with research and culminates in the distribution of certified seed to Tanzanian farmers; the system includes a Spare Parts Center to support the seed farms and a National Seed Testing Laboratory. Two of the farms, Msimba and Arusha, are now able to operate successfully without U.S. assistance and are ready to be separated from the MOA and organized as a parastatal. The Dabaga farm requires another year of MOA support until issues of misuse of labor and equipment for off-farm activities, equipment abuse, procurement confusions, and personnel conflicts are resolved and buildings are renovated. There have been some problems. Although 50 Tanzanians received participant training - 47 of them in the United States - in agronomy and related areas, only 43% of the 21 degree (19 B.A. and 2 M.S.) and 41% of the nondegree participants returned to work on the farms under the direction of U.S. advisors; the rest were siphoned off by the Government of Tanzania. As a result, the project has not reaped even half the benefit of its substantial training investment and the loss of on-the-job training is an irretrievable loss for this resource-poor country as a whole. Resistance by the director of the spare parts center to on-the-job inventory control training from an onsite specialist also posed a problem. The major recommendation is to extend the project through 9/82 and provide U.S. technicians to ensure viability of the Dabaga farm. Recommendations for further USAID/T support to the Tanzanian seed industry (given the availability of additional funds) are also provided, with the development of hypbrid seed a priority item.