Technical assessment : forestry faculty training -- agricultural research project, project no. 386-0470

External evaluation covers the period 1985-12/90. The project, which runs until 1995, has made numerous achievements. Agroforestry research programs were established at 26 SAU's throughout India; 14 of the universities offer academic programs leading to a B.Sc. in agroforestry, 5 offer M.Sc. degrees, and 5 offer Ph.D. programs. Specialized training at U.S. universities has been provided to 72 (of a targeted 206) SAU faculty members, and these have assumed roles in the newly created Agroforestry Departments. Trainees feel that the training was relevant and useful. However, more trainees are required in some specialized areas, including some areas not yet covered by the project. Despite these achievements, several problems need to be addressed. (1) Several SAU's have moved the Agroforestry Department to relatively remote forested sites, thereby reducing access to main campus libraries, laboratories, and interdisciplinary activities. (2) Some Departments have hired their own graduates as faculty members instead of recruiting educators with diverse experiences. (3) Efforts are needed to identify new constituencies for the agroforestry programs, and to eliminate institutional barriers to the employment of graduates of the programs. (4) Program development should aim at assuring high-quality, specialized programs rather than size and diversity. (5) Computer technology should be more available to faculty and staff. (6) More funding is required to support faculty research.