Spring X winter wheat : team evaluation report

Special evaluation, attached to a PES (PD-AAL-460), covers the period 7/80-4/82 and is based on document review; interviews with project personnel, U.S. and foreign small farmers, and LDC wheat program personnel; and onsite visits. The project is well on target. Although increased wheat production is not expected to occur for 1-2 more years, other measurable goals have been achieved. According to the evaluation team's wheat development specialists, Oregon State University (OSU), in cooperation with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), has developed an excellent system to identify and make efficient use of the world's superior wheat germ plasm. Nursery sites have been identified and rapid breeding achieved. Oregon is ideal for this research, as environmental conditions parallel those of wheat- producing LDC's. The data system developed by OSU provides rapid summary, analysis, and distribution of data to LDC cooperators worldwide. Breeders and agronomists trained at OSU now hold research and administrative positions in their own countries - 15 students have completed Ph.D. or M.S. degrees and 13 more are currently studying. (The project thus directly assists LDC's, few of which are currently able to maintain effective wheat improvement programs on their own.) The mix of students is good, with 1/3 from the United States and the rest from poor and middle-income countries. OSU linkages with wheat improvement centers in developed countries are crucial to project success, as they provide both reliable research data to OSU and an important forum for interchanging germ plasms. Major recommendations are that the project be extended for 5 (not just 3) years to insure its continuity and success, and that A.I.D. continue to finance the project. (The only funding alternative from from the international community, the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, would not pick up the project as it is). The healthy cooperation between OSU and CIMMYT in this project shows the significant role U.S. institutions can play in international research; A.I.D. should explore additional cooperative projects.