Supporting Moroccan agriculture in the 1990s : the sustainability of the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute : final interim evaluation

The evaluation covers the period 2/86-7/88. IAV produces highly qualified graduates who are responsive to the needs of the Moroccan agriculture sector, particularly in the civil service and in public enterprises. IAV will have graduated 130 Ph.D's by 1992, an unparalleled output of high-level expertise in A.I.D. support for higher education. Agronomic research conducted by IAV graduates has contributed to the goal of developing a Hessian Fly resistant variety of wheat. The benefits to Moroccan farmers of this single accomplishment may more than compensate for the total amount of financial resources invested in IAV in the last two decades. Other IAV graduates are nearing completion of agronomic studies leading to the introduction of a disease-resistant date palm variety capable of repopulating the date-palm plantations devastated by "bayoud." The application of these research results could have a tremendous socioeconomic impact on Moroccans living in the arid territories south of the Atlas Mountains. IAV has also been effective in indigenizing its faculty (now 93% Moroccan) and in mobilizing resources through contracts with national and international organizations, adapting programs to changing needs, developing new programs to address new priority sectors, and contributing directly to socioeconomic development. Despite these achievements, IAV faces continuing barriers to sustainability. Government of Morocco support for operating, teaching, and research expenditures is already estimated to be about $750,000 less per year than is needed. When A.I.D. support for teaching and research is cut off in 1992, an additional cost gap of about $675,000 will occur. IAV is aware of the sustainability issues and has initiated a strategic planning process to address them. This process is being undertaken in the context of the restructuring of Moroccan agricultural education which began in 1986-87 and which has already resulted in a curriculum reform at IAV in keeping with the Ministry of Agriculture's move towards a single-degree system (Ingenieur d'Etat, which would involve a six-year program at IAV, the National School of Agriculture (ENA), and the National Forestry School of Engineers (ENFA).