THAILAND - LAND SETTLEMENTS

THE DEPT OF PUBLIC WELFARE (DPW) WILL IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT, USING A "BOTTOM UP" APPROACH WITH THE EMPHASIS ON FARMER PARTICIPATION & INITIATION OF SUBPROJECTS. THE DPW WILL TRAIN 100 NEW EXTENSION WORKERS TO ASSIST IN ORGANIZING FARMERS GROUPS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT MORE THAN 300 FARMER GROUPS (WITH AS MANY AS 200 MEMBERS PER GROUP) WILL BE ORGANIZED. USING AN ADDITIONAL 121 NEWLY RECRUITED EXTENSION AGENTS, THE DPW WILL STRENGTHEN THE LINKAGES BETWEEN THE SETTLEMENTS & AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH TRIALS BEING CONDUCTED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE IN SOME OF THE LESS ISOLATED SETTLEMENTS IN THE REGION. ALSO, THE EXTENSION AGENTS & RESEARCH PERSONNEL WILL RECEIVE TRANSPORTATION & PER DIEM SUPPORT TO CONDUCT FIELD TRIALS AT THE EIGHT PROJECT SETTLEMENTS. TO FURTHER SUPPORT THE EXTENSION/RESEARCH EFFORT, AN EXPATRIATE ADVISOR WITH AGRONOMY TRAINING & FIELD EXPERIENCE WILL BE RECRUITED TO ASSIST THE PROJECT"S REGIONAL AGRICULTURALIST IN COORDINATING & MONITORING THESE ACTIVITIES- SIXTEEN PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS WILL WORK AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, AND AT LEAST ONE VOLUNTEER WITH A DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING WILL BE STATIONED AT THE REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS. IN ADDITION,THE SETTLEMENTS WILL RECEIVE ASSISTANCE IN IMPLEMENTING A VARIETY OF WATER RESOURCES & ROAD BUILDING SUBPROJECTS. USAID LOAN FUNDS WILL FINANCE THE SERVICES OF THAI ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING FIRMS FOR THE SUBPROJECTS. APPROXIMATELY 250 WATER RESOURCES SUBPROJECTS WILL BE CARRIED OUT INVOLVING WELLS,RESERVOIRS,PONDS,TANKS,COMMUNITY PUMPS,AND SMALL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS. ALSO,250 KILOMETERS OF ROADS WILL BE BUILT USING A 60% USAID LOAN/40% RTG FINANCING FORMULA.