Program Data Sheet
933-009

CENTRAL OPERATING UNIT: Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade: Economic Growth and Agricultural Development Office (EGAT/EGAD)
PROGRAM TITLE: Agriculture Research
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE AND NUMBER: Science and Technology Developed to Improve Agricultural Productivity, Natural Resource Management, Markets, and Human Nutrition, 933-009
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $66,291,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2003 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $68,806,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2002      ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2010

Summary: This program includes research, technical assistance, and training to:

• develop and extend agricultural technologies to increase productivity and incomes, improve childhood nutrition and cut hunger, and protect and improve the natural resource base;
• formulate policy analysis and reform tools to target countries that promote competitive and efficient agricultural markets capable of meeting the food needs of the poor and of competing in global markets; and
• build human and institutional capacities to implement policies that encourage people in the agricultural system to acquire and adapt science and commercially based technologies.

Inputs, Outputs and Activities: FY 2002 Program: USAID will improve food production worldwide by linking advanced agricultural research with the problems faced by farmers and by identifying and promoting policies that will increase marketability as well as sustainability of agriculture. The office will continue to provide technical support to the U.S. delegation to the World Food Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development as well as supporting the launch of the Geographic Information for Sustainable Development program. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system will initiate a series of Challenge Programs, which will integrate mainstream research activities with larger global issues such as climate change and HIV/AIDS. The CGIAR will also continue to work on increasing the key nutrient content of staple foods through biofortification and expediting delivery of improved crop varieties to African farmers, including disease resistant cassava, drought resistant maize and high beta-carotene sweet potato. The Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs) will incorporate more elements of biotechnology for pest resistance and improved food quality and develop more creative approaches to training including more in-country and regional training activities. The Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Productivity program will expand to bio-safety regulatory systems, commercial biotechnologies, and provide services to missions and regional bureaus in biotechnology.

Our efforts in food security will continue work on improving agricultural and food marketing policies in Africa. The International Fertilizer Development Center will continue soil fertility initiatives in various African countries, establish more efficient input markets in selected Eastern European countries, and conduct fertilizer use and marketing training. The Dairy Enterprise Initiative will strengthen dairy industries through activities to develop entrepreneurial capacity, improve milk quality, and strengthen producer associations. The Partnership for Food Industry Development (PFID) working with two U.S. universities and several U.S. food industry groups will conduct training programs in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America on food grades and standards, agricultural processing, and marketing. The PFID program will expand to include a dairy development component. The Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) will provide missions with an assessment of land market development programs. A financial market component will be added in FY 2002. The Rural and Agricultural Incomes with a Sustainable Environment IQC will help field missions integrate environmental management into natural resource-based enterprises, develop program strategy, and undertake sector analyses. Utah State's Irrigation Information Network will become operational and will improve water use efficiency through the sharing of irrigation technical information among developing countries. The office will work with several private-sector partners to encourage public-private partnerships in coffee/cocoa, agricultural biotechnology, animal health, and agribusiness. A working group will initiate an agricultural program in Afghanistan, beginning with seed multiplication and distribution.

Planned FY 2003 Program: USAID plans to use FY 2003 resources requested in this Budget Justification to continue support to the CGIAR as well as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. The CRSP and other U.S. university-based programs will expand partnerships with private-sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to further commodity research, training, and natural resource management. The CRSP system will also increase its emphasis on value-added through processing and improved food quality for dietary improvement. The office will engage mission support for biotechnology programs. A new activity, Agricultural and Environmental Geospatial Information Systems will promote policies and pilot activities to strengthen partner capacity to use geographic information system technologies. A broad program will commence using information and communication technologies to accelerate outreach to farmers, rural communities, agribusiness, and researchers. A program to commercialize vaccines for heartwater disease will be initiated in Africa.

Performance and Results: This FY 02 SO has been preceded by a similar objective; results reported are for the old objective. A key result of support to the CGIAR system was the development of disease-resistant varieties of cassava, which were disseminated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a serious outbreak of mosaic. Support to the CRSPs resulted in improved grain quality in sorghum and millet, pest resistance in sorghum in the Greater Horn of Africa, improved range land management and animal health and nutrition in Central Asia and Africa, and numerous trained agricultural scientists. The International Fertilizer Development Center introduced successful private-sector-led input markets in Eastern Europe, as well as improved soil fertility management in Africa and fertilizer use throughout the developing world. The Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems activity established new lending technologies and increased credit for poor farmers in El Salvador, identified interventions to increase cross-border trade in Africa, promoted women’s participation in Tanzania, and in South Africa developed a mechanism to facilitate access to land for disadvantaged farmers. The Dairy Enterprise Initiative improved milk quality and overall household health, and U.S. dairy exports increased. Recent successes also included release of "miracle seeds" for two sorghum varieties resistant to one of Africa’s biggest weed problems.

Major Contractors and Grantees: 51 Land Grant universities and their NGO partners participate in the CRSPs program and 16 international agricultural research centers form the CGIAR. Other partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Land O’Lakes, Inc., IFDC, Associates in Rural Development, Chemonics International, and Development Alternatives; Specialty Coffee Association of America, Cargill Technical Services, Monsanto, Harza Environmental Services, GEOSYS Inc., and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

US Financing in Thousands of Dollars