DDDR:IAR/73/29 RESTRICTE3l September 1973 DRAFT THE CONSULTATIVE GROUP CN INTEXNATIONALAGRICULTURAL RESEARCH REPORTOF THE SIXTH MEEI'ING OF TEE TECBKKAL ADVISORYMMMITTEE TAC SmARIAT FOODABD AGRICUL'MlRAL ORGANIZATIOI? OF THE UNITED BATIONS Rome 1973 W/E3516 -i- INDEX Revised Agenda Item No. Opening of Meeting 1. 2. Page No. 1 Para No. I-3 4 5 6-72 73-81 82-107 108-147 148-180 181-279 Adoption of the Agenda Adoption of the Report of the Fifth Priorities Research for International Support to Agricultural 1 Meeting of the TACI 2-11 3. 4. 58 6. 7. 8. IO. 11. 12. UNCTADResolution Natural Products, 50 (iii) "Competitiveness of Synthetics and Substitutes". (WARDA) II-12 12-17 West Africa Rice Development Association Conservation of World Genetic Resources Research Needs for Protein America Production 17-23 24-29 30-43 44-45 46-49 50-52 53-56 57-59 in Tropical Research Needs for the Near East and North Africa Aquaculture Proposal for an International Soybean Resource Base Research on Tropical Fruits Research on Agricultural Mechanization in West Africa Research Programmes on Trypanosomiasis Research on Plant Diseases International Centres Date and Place of the Seventh Meeting of the TAC Chairman's Summing-up 280-295 296-317 318-341 342-362 363-387 38%406 407-490 491. 492-536 13. 14. 15. 16. 18. 60-62 63-73 73 73-79 19. ANNEX1 ANlax II ANNEXIII ANNEXIV List of Participants Revised Agenda as Adopted List of Documents of the TAG on WARDA Resolution SIXTH MEXTINGOF THE TECHNICALADVISORYCOMMITTEE OF THE CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON INTERNATIONALAGRICULTURAL RESEXRCH 25 JUIY - 2 August 1973 Washington, D.C., U.S.A. SUMMARYRECORD ATTENTIONIS DRAWN TO THE CHAIRMAN'SSUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMEXLATIONS, . Page 73, para. 492 et seq. The Sixth Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Consultative Group on 1. International Agricultural Research was held from 25 July to 2 August at IBRD Headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Sir John Crawford was in the Chair, The meeting was attended by thirteen members, twentyeight 2. other participakts in specific discussions, A list of participants observers end eight is attached as Annex I. The Chairman, on opening the meeting, welcomed Dr. Vernon Ruttan, a new member of 3. the Committee, and offered congratulations to'Drs. Marcano, Swaminathan and Pereira on their re-appointment to the Committee for a further term. Adoption of the Agenda (Agenda Item 1) il 4. Agenda was scheduled for At the request of the Chairman, Item 9 of the Provisional discussion earlier, on Friday, 27 July, in order to permit members' attendance at the The revised Provisional Agenda was concurrent Socio-Economic Seminar as early as possible. adopted, subject to any further revision which might prove to be desirable during the course of the meeting. The Agenda as followed is attached hereto as Annex II and the List of Documents as Annex III. Adoption of the Report of the Fifth Meeting of the TAC (Agenda Item 2) The Draft Report of the Fifth Meeting, which had been previously circulated to 5. members, was adopted, on a proposal from the Chair, subject to minor amendments, proposed by Dr. J. Pagot, to paragraphs 187 end 195 of the French language version. -2- Priorities countries for international (Agenda Item 3) support to agricultural research in developing Chairman~s introduotion The Chairman stressed the importance of the document as a means of guiding 6. the policies of the TAC and the Consultative Group; and the consequent need for the Committee to be satisfied with its content and the way their views were presented. discussion and then, as a second He would therefore both give time for a general Stage, go through it se&ion by section so that members could consider it in more detail. To start the disoussion 7. Personally had strong feelings. 8. he wished to indioate certain matters on which he to In the first place he had no doubt that the priorities aooorded to food, orops were the improvement of nutrition - especially protein - and to specific oorreot and in line with th8 views TAC had expressed. briefly to the extent of TAC's mandate and Secondly, he wished to refer 9. Or18 imprt~t reason for developing a paper on priorities was t0 obtain authority. oldfication on this, and on the related issue of the financial limits within which they might have to operate. He felt strongly that TAC could not just go ahead making recommendations regardless of their ultimate funding implications and that some sort of ceiling must be accepted. He believed that their work 80 far and that of the Consultative Group represented a fflccess story in international cooperation of a kind unique in recent years. However, his estimates of the funds required to support work related to the TAC's priorities rePr8S8nted a Substantial Sum with a quite significant annual increase even ignoring inflation. This seemed to him about as high as they could reasonably hope to go and a hard scrutiny would have to be given to any future proposals as Well as to the interpretation TAC put on its rather wide terms of referenoe. In this context he was not happy concerning certain 10. section which he had agreed to have put in on the relationship research, and he would refer to this later. statements on costs in the between applied and basic 11. Iext he wished to clarify his views in respeot of support to national research, on which he believed that what was said in the document was sound. The work of the international centres would fail if proper outreach programmes were not d8V810P8d9 and if means could not be devised to adapt the results of their work through national research units. HOWeVer, TAC could not possibly accept the task of reviewing proposals for strengthening national research systems nor did he conoeive it as the purpose of the Consultative Group to pick up the bill for strengthening national activities, important as this was. 12. Ebrtunately other means uere developing to provide such assistance: the World Bank were now showing a willingness to enter this field, as were regional banks and some other institutions. He would also like to revert to his earlier suggestion (mentioned in the Paper), that TAC might recommend the development of mobile teams which could offer adViC8 and identify needs for help $n strengthening national systems. , He believed it Stated In conclusion he confessed that he liked the paper. 13. the right priorities. However, it was essential to have regard to financial parameters, and TAC would have to do a selling job in getting assurances of backing for the rate of growth they were now considering. rt was thas neoessary to exercise most oareful judgment in assessing priorities and to be sure that the paper in its final form gave no appearance of recklessness concerning oosfa. -3- Discussion - Secretary's Rote For purposes of clarification reporting-of the general discussion has as far as 14. possible been aRalgaBated with that on the specific sections of the report, so that the main Hinor points are being incorporm points raised under each can be identified more easily. in the revised text but will not be discussed here. 1.5. It should, however, be noted that the TAC was unanimous in its appreciation of the very fairly and clearly the opinions quality of the paper, which neubers felt reflected as well as introducing some new material already expressed by the Committee on its priorities, which'it had not had adequate opportunity to consider previously. In respect of the latter they Welcomed particularly the items on support to national research programme and the issue of the balance between basic and applied research, both of which were disoussed at considerabls length. Se&ion I. First order priority: Research on food coluodities 3-6. The Corrittee re-affirmed the high priority which it accorded to basic food staples9 whieh it felt was reinforced by recent events in world grain gaskets, and by the effects of the increasing affluence of developed 8ountries on demand for feedgrains which was reducing the availability of cereals for food to the developing countries. These developments should be indicated as a further point in paragraph 5. In respect of improving yields of the Bain food crops some members felt that more 17. stress should be platted on research to develop a balanr$ed package of inputs, and to improve the effectiveness of input use, and that the paper perhaps placed toe much emphasis simply on plant breeding. The need to align technc)logy to the needs of SBdl farmers and to the provision of additional employment should also be highlighted in order to give a more specific indication to the International Centres a8 to the orientation of their future crop research so that it wsuld benefit the mass of rural populations. 18. . When dealing with the starchy roots and tubers research should be focussed not only on production but also on storage and processing. While grain storage problems had received considerable attention it was felt that this did not apply to many other important foodcro@s with poorer keeping quality, which Suffered high losses from wastage and lack of facilities for conservation or processing. Research was needed both to develop better methods of onfame storag8, and to improve prooessing for urban and industrial use. ReBb8rS uIX&ROuSly supported the'eaphasis placed on improving nutritional quality 19. of cereals, and on the priority given to food legumes. Some doubts were expressed, however, on the SXgUB8ntS in respect of pig and poultry production in para. 20. It was pointed out that amall-scale livestock production had played an iepertant role in agricultural development units might not be appropriate to in Denmark and Germany, and that large, capital-intensive the need8 of developing countries even if mana,gementand disease probl8Bs could be overcome, If there were opportunities te raise protein intakes at the village level, and to increase ircolre and employment by integrating small-scale livestock with other enterprises on farms, these should not be neglected. It was agreed that this should be noted in a redrafted text, although a question mark might still be placed against the need for much additional re88aXh to develop such opportunities as against the application af known improved methods ef management, feed, and disease aontrol. 20. In connection with progrsmreo ts increase runinsnt livestock production it &as agreed that the reference to the need for concurrent research on pastures and forage crops shsuld be strengthened. P -4- Se&ion 21. II. Second level priorities for food research. crops" The reference to "appallingly did not apply to all developing Section III. bad statistics concerning pasture and fodder countries and should be toned down. Crops. Research on other Agricultural 22. The Committee endorsed the pragmatic approach propoaed to research on these crops pending an "overView'* of their needs and priorities. It noted that FAO was This would undertaking, from its own budgetary resources, to provide such a review. be commenced in late 1973, with the help of consultants - probably drawing on the expertise of the Fast Mailing Station and the Tropical Products Institute in the U.K. The results would be made available to the TAC and the Consultative Group, and the study could be regarded as being part of the response of the Group to the Ul?CTAD Resolution. 23. J?ith reference to jute the Chairman indicated that while he had no wish to amend the clearly expressed views of the TAC on the lower priority it accorded to this crop compared to the major foodcrops, it did come within their terms of reference. The Consultative Group had asked TAC to advise them as to how to respond to the UNCTAJI Resolution and he would allow time for further discussion of the Committee's views on this matter during their afternoon session. (See page Section IV. Forestry. It was suggested that more might be said in the paper about the relations between forestry and agriculture. Large areas of land were involved either in shifting cultivation, "slash and burn" or some other hind of forest fallow system, and their productivity was at present very low and declining w&th increasing population density. It was important to attempt to develop systems of farming which would permit sedentary agriculture at higher population densities , and which'would regenerate lost fertility and prevent soil deterioration. This was not only a problem in tropical Africa (where members felt some unoertainty concerning IITA'e involvement in research to find solutions), but also in Asia and Latin America where little research was going on. It might well be a matter which would come up to the TAC in the future. Section V. Factor-oriented research. (See also comments under I abeve,eeneer&g the need for a better balance between plant breeding and research on aesooiated inputs). 25. Dr. Ruttan disagreed with the statement in paragraph 42 that research on problems related to the factors of production was most meaningfully undertaken in conjunction with that on specific commodities. In his opinion large farming areas would have to be designed to meet ?uture needs without a fixed commodity orientation; the optimum mix of commodities would be chosen empirically from a given set of He felt possibilities to allow the most intensive production pattern to he developed. that the design of an irrigation system which was too rigidly oommodity specific might well prove a poor investment in the long run. the paragraph referred to fairly The Chairman pointed out that, in his opinion, reflected the Committee's position. lembers had felt that issues concerning water the role of fallows, etc. could be better understood when related management, rotations, It was difficult to talk to the requirements of a central crop of critical importance. about water research as a homogenous concept because it assumed different aspeots in relation to different major crops. 20. 24. -5- 27. Nevertheless there had been an evolution in the TAC's thinking which had led it towards recommending that certain problems would require a broader systems approach for their resolution, for example, the improvement of traditional cattle husbandry in Africa. This might also apply to the development of intensive irrigated agricultural systems end he felt that paragraph 43 fairly reflected Dr. Ruttan's point here without prejudicing the Committee's considered view expressed in the previous paragraph that many other factor problems.were best studied in relation to individual commodities. Referring to the statement in paragraph 43 concerning water development Dr. 28. Hopper pointed out that it was important to avoid confusing survey with research. He agreedfthat much more needed to be done to explore both surface and sub-surface water resources, but in general the state of the art was known and it was largely a question of using this knowledge in areas where it had not been adequately applied in the past. A fair amount of resources had already been devoted to water surveys; he would like to see this intensified but felt that TAC need do no more than note and comment on the need. It was important to distinguish this from research on the use of water for agricultural production, which was very much their concern. Seotion VI. and applied Besearoh on intensification. research). (See also comments under Section X, 'Basic The need for research aimed at achieving better resource utilisation was 29. stressed. This applied both to water and to land and involved both applied and more basic research. lembers felt that more attention might be focused in the paper on identification of the components limiting the use of land which was potentially arable, but for various reasons was not now being cultivated. Speekera referred to the problem of African river blindness, to the better 30. utilisation of saline soils and water, to aridity and the possible use of the vast to the development of species and varieties of Plants areas of desert for agriculture, It was agreed that a reference to better adapted to areas of difficult environment. the study of such possibilities should be made early in the paper where emphasis is plaoed on the need to increase yields of staple foods because of the shrinkage Of existing arable land both in real and per oaput terms. Section VII. , Socio-economic research. only the The Chairman noted that the paper should be taken as reflecting 31. interim position of the Committee on this important aspect of agricultural research. It would be disouesed further at its next meeting, when they would also have the benefit of the results of the seminar on socio-economic research being held that week in lfashtigton. Section VIII. Institutional approaches to international aa Section IX at the request of members.) research, (To be re-numbered The Chairman referred to the earlier consensus of the Committee (which he shared) 32. concerning the need for flexibility in approaching new research problems. There should be no fixed assumption that the only way to organize an attack on a problem was through a particular form of international centre, For example, certain problems might best be tackled through some sort. Of contract arrangement to an appropriately equipped university or research institute. The only firm ruling that he felt bound to make was that any research to'which TAC gave its imprime must be unfettered by political interference,sound in concept, and have continuity of financial support. ii -6- 33. IIenbers endorsed thia view, and several speakers stressed the importance of looking at prograamea in which an association between international, bilateral, and national research could be developed and coordinated, rather than thinking in terms of structures which often involved high capital and fixed overhead Costa. It was felt that arbitrary distinction8 between international and regional research 34. cooperative research programmea or were generally meaningless, and that problem-oriented networkqwhether involving a regional or some other grouping, offered one of the moat promising Instances were cited approaches to developing genuinely ninternational" research partnerahipa. where there was excellent work going on with bilateral funding, for example on beef and beans in Latin America, but with no machinery for coordination or adequate links between individual national programaea or between national efforts and the work of international institutes. If linkages could be improved and a research network developed in which all 35. participants could share in the decision-llleking process aa well as in the work, some members believed that there would be a greater interest and enthusiasm on the part of national institutes in becoming involved, compared to outreach programmes where there was sometimes Also national scientists would become engaged a sense of an externally directed activity. with research related to key problems of development, whereas at the moment they often tended to concentrate on local problems of personal interest for lack of broader focus and adequate support. 36. research legumes operate It waa suggested that these advantages justified attempts to develop cooperative programmea, such aa the HARDAexperiment and the network now preposed for feed in tropical America, even though they were probably mere difficult te organize and su~s8s4sfnlly than outreach activities, Dr. Pagot felt that paragraph 67 required substantial amendmentor even deletion. 3-7. It seemed to imply that no success had been achieved in international cooperative progremmes, whereas he could cite a number of instances in which this sort of approach had given remarkable results. Supporting Dr. Pagot, Professor Bommer also felt that the reference to "global 38. in paragraph 69 might overstate the role of the international eentres. responsibilitie# for he suggested that it be amended to some less embracing phrase such aa *'responsibility a large part of the WorW. The Chairman agreed that both of these pointa should be reconridered in redrafting, 39. In fact he had been trying to reject the notion of claiaa to "global reaponaibility" in the along wording used in paragraph 69, but if necessary he would make this point more strongly, with that of Professor Bommer. Section IX. Strengthening national institutions. (To be Section X in final at its draft.) previoua LO. This aubjeat, which the TAG had not had time to discuaa in detail meetings, provoked a lively debate. In opening the diaouaaion, Dr. Pereira rounded a note of alarm at any auggeation that 41. it might be pert of the TAC and Consultative Group'8 taaks to consider national research needs. In the firat plaoe it would completely swamp the Committee, and secondly it would apread resourcea much too thinly to be effective. The auccesa of the International Centrea ' and the initial work of the TAC and the Consultative Group so far rested on the concentration and organization of research in a purposeful manner. Prsvided that it could be accepted aa axiomatic that aupport from donor eountriea to the Consultative Group did not affect their contributions to bilateral aid, he felt that the latter ahould be left to the countries concerned. Otherwise the TAC would loae all focus. -7- Subsequent discussion confirmed that there was a consensus that TAC and the 42. Consultative Group should not become involved in reviewing or financing national research proposals. At the same time most members clearly felt that much remained to be done through other channels to strengthen national research capabilities, and that the TAC had a responsibility to encourage this. 43. Dr. Sauger pointed to the need to develop a philosophy of scientific cooperation which would result in a harmonious balance between outstanding centres of excellence (whether "International Centresn or national centres able to perform a wider role, e.g. in genetic resources), and national research institutions; and for a two-way exchange of ideas, men, and materials between such centres and national programmes, This was as important for sooio-economic as for bio-physical research. Frequent reference had been made to the need to create production systems which would be better adapted to the needs of the farmers and particularly of the smaller operators, This had to be undertaken by the countries themselves to overcome situation specificity, and if their links to outstanding centres were weak the latter would not achieve a substantial impact on development however excellent their own research programme might be. 44. There was a wide measure of agreement on the importance of better coordination of national research programmes, with those of the International Centres, with identified "eentres of excellence" in developing countries and where appropriate with developed country institutes to form genuinely international programmes or networks aimed at the solution of major agricultural problems. It was necessary to take stock of all these capabilities so that a better view could be obtained of the institutions on which the creation of international research networks for given programmes could be based and not to focus solely on the socalled "international" institutes, neglecting other potentially important components of the system. Only by this means could most effective use be made of the totality of available resources. It was nevertheless recognized that the International Centres had a crucial role to 45. play, not only in providing the critical mass required to make more rapid and significant progress possible in identified research fields where existing national and regional efforts were inadequate, but also as focal points for generating new ideas, for collation and exchange of information, and particularly for training. Dr. Mopper pointed out that there was a real problem to be overcome in the weakness of national scientific establishments which he felt stemmed from a past tendency of donors in aid programmes to support direct technical assistance or institutions, but not to pay enough attention to the building of scientific skills in developing countries. Because of. this, their national research progremmes were now in the hands of relatively junior and often inexperienced scientists, and were frequently inadequate in numbers of trained scientists. Research administration suffered as a result, and also because national programmes had to be designed to fit'into an existing kind of bureaucratic frame which might be suited to the administration of justice but not of scientific research. If a joint effort could be launched through bilateral programmes, International Centres, etc., aimed at the building sf scientific and personal capacities and innovative skills and organization at the national level, the raison d'&re of International Centres could disappear in a generatien. 46. This should be the ultimate aim of the Consultative Group's efforts; but meanwhile there were people to feed, and TAC was faced with the problem of gaining and applying essential teohnioal knowledge for the benefit of farm people and consumers in the developing countries. 47. The International Centres should therefore be regarded as a means of helping to provide some of the answers to this problem in the interim period until national programmes had the viability and power to make tkeir work redundant. They were not there, as some &tics had suggested, to try and dominate national programmes or to provide all-embracing prescriptions for development. -8- It was irportant that this interi role should be kept in mind. While it wit8 the 48. function of the TN to look at the irmediate gaps in technical knowledge end how best to fill thea, they should not hesitate to re8ind donor8 that their bilateral relations with developing countrierr 8ust include the developllent of a reaesxch and scientific capacity in thore Otherwiae int$itutions such a8 the International Research Centrea would have to countrierr. eontinue indefinitely. 49. In 8muning up the dircuplsion on this section the Chairman reiterated his aonviction that it wa8 of the utaoat importance to strengthen national research establiskaentr and scientific capabilities. The intention of Section IX of the paper waa to stress this. effort8 would clearly be better utilized if there were 50. strong ,~~~~~~8~~r,YE"~~~~e~~ It that developing the kind of linkage8 which they had been variously calling outreach, relay, oooperative prograrres, etc. would eontribute to strengthening national researah, However, while the TAC met watch for coordination, 8ust develop linkages, and had a clear obligation to try and fill some of the 8ore crucial gap8 in research, it could not encourage single nation8 to 8ubnit projeetcs for developing their research capabilitierii for its conmideration. These had to be dealt with by other leans but the discussion clearly indieated a great need, and he would r-tree8 this in his report to the Consultative Group. Fortunately there were encouraging signs of intere8t on the part of mltilateral bodies and bilate 1 aid donors , end he would like to see a stronger referenee in the final text to the rolewj'%V DP /F AO, the Bank, and bilateral organisationa right play in supporting investment in 8trengthening national reeearch and scientific capacitielr. Dr. Pagot suggeeted that it light be valuable for the TAC to be associated with or 51. to sponror 8issionra to study the different needs of developing countries,as the Chairmn had indicated eaxlier. For this funds would be required, However, a formula 8hould be found to ensure the full eooperation of the countries concerned end they rust have indicated their wish for such assistance. Porsibly the regional offiees of international organization8 could have a role in identifying interested countries and in aesirting in the work of any uiesionar. Dr. Swarinathan aeked for clarification concerning the reference to "linkage projeats" 52. in para. 79,in connection with the FAO ehapter on resrearch in the 1972 State of Food and Agriculture report. How did such project8 differ from outreaeh work? Hr. Ora8 explained that he had in 8ind projeats which would attempt to translate the 53. findings of research insatitutea into development. Plan Puebla wan perhap a prototype. The aim would be to test new technology in the field, and particularly at the small fam level; to see what the degree of acceptance warn, what the wage were, how institutions concerned with development functioned, and then to feed back to international and national research centres on the one hand, and to the develoment agenties of governrents on the other, the rea8onn why thing8 worked or did not. Outreach programes differed in being specifio atte8pta by theInternational Centrer to areist countries in the testing and use of their research output (generally breeding materials) in national research prosme8. Dr. Pagot sugge8ted that, to avoid confusion, TAG should follow the tezrinolow 54. the budget paper distributed by the Bank in defining the various a8pe8tr of reeearch programaes. Seation X. Relation8 between basic and applied reience - f~Breakthrough Reoeareh" in The Chairnan said that he had had 8o8e hesitation about introdueing this new 55. 8ateria1, which had never been discussed by TAC,but had finally desided to let it stand sir&e rerbers seemed to feel the need for its further oonsidepation, He would, however, like the words "breakthrough research" deleted fron the title. Fie also felt that the laat sentence of paxa. 86 wa.8 inappropriate to this 8ort of paper; it read too much like a university looking for 8ore researth funds. Re weleored eouenta on the retention of the section a8 a whole and on its substauoe. -9- Dr. El Tobgy felt that this eeetion of the paper raised important issues, and there 56. was general aC;reeinentthat this riaterial ehould be retained in the final version of the paper. Although he believed that the eeepe for raising yields with present technology was greater than implied in para. 82,even in countries where productivity per unit area was a6 high a8 Egypt, there were seriou8 underlying problelas of a ba6ic nature related to how far produetion could be increased where land and/or water resource6 were limited. In Egypt the main limiting factor wa6 land, (how could one utilise the deserts?);in other countries it was water, and how it could be ured 8oat esono8ically for agriculture. Where real basic re8earch proble88 existed they were usrually beyond the technical and financial resources of he alao doubted if the International Centres in those the developing aountrieo themselves; The iseue was how, and by who8, it countrieca should get involved in this type of research. 8hould be tackled. Several other members stressed the need for mission-oriented research to provide 57. solutions to problems requiring some special understanding of basic principles. Reference was made to inter-actions between soils and fertilizers in plant nutrition, to technology for increasing productivity on small farms, to soil-plant-water relationships, photorsynthesis, and other factors in the improvement of upland rice, to physiological adaptation to dreught and other limiting environments, to investigation of aridity and other factors responsible for keeping potentially arable land out of cultivation (see discuaaioa in -Section VI-above), and 80 en, Host speakers did not feel strongly about distinction8 between fundamental, basic, 58. and applied research. While suoh a classification might be useful at tines, it was suggested that a "task foreen approaoh could also be extrenely valuable, with attention being focussed on a particular problem without initially attenpting to differentiate between the type8 of research needed. In this approaeh the objective chosen was treated as a mission objeetivei and it was pur6ued by the task force, spinning off whatever research had to be done in that pursuit. This method wa6 recently being fellewed with success in the developed Nevertheless, there seemed no countries, although mainly in fields other than agriculture. for example, in tackling the igprovenent of reason why it should not succeed in agriculture, upland rice, where a 8ixture of short and long run applied and basic research aight lead to steady progress over the next decade. The location of sueh mission-oriented research was not of raterial importance, 608e 59. Centres, work right be undertakes in and by developing countries, some by the International If a clear objective could be identified and a sound and well eo8e in developed countries, soordinated progrTarre worked out for suuh a research prograue it might be appropriate for submission to the Consultative G oup, Reservations were expreseed concerning the procedure indicated in para. 86 for 60. It was suggested that it was more initiating further discussion on these satters. appropriate for the TAC to look into the matter in specific terms rather than a Bellagio neeting, since this was the mandate given it by the Consultative Group. + The Chair8a.n endorsed this viewpoint, and a eed to leave the section in; but to 61. to the discussion of renumber it as Section VIII as suggested by lerbers, F oas&ve continuity research priorities in the paper before turning to institutional end financial considerations. Section XI. Financial considerations The Chairman indicated that he had had some difficulty with the draft provided to 62. him on para. 89. While he reali8ed that eome members had said that TAC should indicate the researsh needs end then rely on the Consultative 'Group donors to finance them, he felt that the worUng of the draft seered to indicate some bread difference of opinion in the Co88ittee which did not in fact exist. l¶is view (which he wished to elaborate a little more), was that while they should not be bound to a rigid financial. ceiling, it was certainly wise for TAC to have some sense of the feasible rate of growth of support for the kind of research they were talking about. - 10 - This was relevant to the comment made by Dr. Pereira in the general discussion on the 63. paper, and also by members at the previous TAC meeting concerning the difficulties experienced by the Centres Directors and the effects on the morale of their staff as a result of laek of long-term guarantees of financial support, and “stop-go” financing. It was in an effort to overcome this problem that he had earlier taken the initiative 64. of giving the Consultative Group some figures “off the top” to try and indicate to the donors He believed that they should not assullle that the bill for research would not be costly. from talks with Hr. WcRamara and others over the last few deys that this was now recognized and that means would be found to assure continuity of backing at adequate levels for anything reasonable which the TAC put forward. Rowever, as a @d pro guo the TAC should be prepared to work within some sort of financial parsmeters and limits and not expect to have an openended book. Referring to the problem of continuity of financial support Dr. Pereira asked if any 65. progress had been made in establishing a revolving or central fund, as mooted at the previous Consultative Group meeting, to protect the Centres froa sstop-go” financing. 66. The Chairman believed that but agreed to check further on this it was the idea that point, the Bank would operate in this way, In the context of financing, Dr. Ropper pointed out that lags in funding could 67. sometimes result in Centres having teaporary cash surpluses when repayments were made. Donors should not regard the existence of such a situation as an excuse to cut back on their future commitments to a programme. 68. Dr. Pagot explained the system used in administering French bilateral aid, which had operated successfully for the last 14 years in handling funds coming in from 13 countries. Rere funds were paid into a central bank which made advances out of its own funds according to the agreed prograame and recovered the money from it’ s creditors. He suggested that the Consultative Group should consider the adoption of such a systearwith the World Bank acting as the oentral financing agency with the power to reoover the funds from donors. This would get over the problems referred to by Dr.Pereira and Dr. Rapper. 69. Dr. Hopper disagreed with the views on review procedures in para. 97 of the paper. Re felt that there was a need for TAC to develop over time a deeper view of the total utilization of research resources, If this was accepted, they would have to give furt&er thought at some future meeting as to how they could begin to take a broad overview of the UtilizatiOn of resources going into research, including those to the existing centres,hQefIi&y without exercising the executive function. However, he realised that TAC was an evolving organization in the seme sense that the international research scene as a whsle was evolving. While the review question was relevant to his earlier eouents on the interim role of the TAC, the Consultative Group, and the International Research Centres on behalf of the developing countries, he did not wish to press for it to be put on their agenda at this stage. 70. The Chairman replied that he inelined towards Dr. Hopper’ s view in respect, of para. 97. Ee had found the reports on the Centres prepared for the Consultative Group Secretariat to be extremely useful, end hoped that there would be tine later in the week to discuss them, and also whether some arrangement could be made in the future for TAC to give some dire&ion as to the kind of questions it wanted examined. Me aeoepted that they were in an evolving situation, and one way to approach it might be for a sub-group of the Committee to talk with the three Co-Sponsors on the oreizatitm of the whole system. Referring to the financial estimates in the annex he stressed that these should not too rigidly, either in terms of two plases of decimals or for a given year hence the important 2 for circa against 1970 and 1980. However, while he proposed to &odify be interpreted 71. - 11 - the apparent precision of the table the Consultative Group WBI looking were to be made to persuade various 72. he nevertheless felt that this was the kind of figuring it would play an important part in attempts which for; donors to egree to more specific future commitments. For this reason he attached great importance to these calculations end to the document as a whole, which he regarded as one of the most critical submissions TAC had made to the Consultative Group. He,thanked members for their comments and for the obvious care with which they had read the paper. TJlWTAD Resolution end Substitutes" 5O(III) : ncompetitiveness (Agenda Item 4) of Natural Products, Synthetics 73. The Chairman noted that this Resolution had been addressed by l.MCTADto the The operative paragraph of Consultative Group, and had been referred to TAC for advice. this Resolution as fer as the TAC was concerned was number 4, which read as follows: “4. Requests the Consultative Group on Agricultural Research sponsored jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United Rations Development Programme to give urgent consideration to the need for assistance to research designed to improve the competitiveness of natural raw materials, including processing and end-use research as well as production research.* 74. Re had no intention of assuming any responsibility for commenting on any other paragraph of the Resolution, and would make this clear in conveying their views to the Consultative Group. 1Ie would like to suggest that TAC's advioe consisted first in indicating that there ‘ was no doubt that for any developing country the quality of competitiveness of its natural products was of major importance to the economy. This had already been stressed in their reports from time to time. Second, TAC should draw the Consultative Group's in research. attention to its consensus that the food needs of the world must take priority However, "non-food" crops were within their terms of reference and his third point would be that if the Consultative Group wished TAC to advise on specific research proposals it would be ready to de so. Eowever, TAC would ask for adherence to its priorities in the matter of financing research. He felt that they ought not to go beyond that. The Committee should be aware that a proposal was being considered in relation to "jute", which seemed to be developing into a more general one for something equivalent to the TAG to be established to advise on *non-food" crops. However, since such crops were already within TAG's purview, he believed that unless the Conference had a great need for an immediate opinion on jute, they had better ask TAC for it, and let the Committee prepare a i pertinent document. 76. While agreeing with the Chairman's general comments, Dr. Rapper asked for guidance concerning his intentions on processing and end-use research, Even on food crops TAC had so far concentrated mainly on the production side , and he felt that their attitude should be As far as he could determine, processing of non-food clarified on this important point. crops was within their terms of reference and therefore they were bound to consider properly presented proposals, 77. Dr. Pereira felt nevertheless that they should that difficult economic problems arising as a result of He doubted if there alweys be solved by more research. of some end-use research, nor was it anywhere near the in terms of priorities. 75. discourage any sort of wishful thinking advances in world technology could were e,ny'prospects of a useful outcome other major problems facing agriculture - 12 - 78. Dr. El-Tobgy, while not disagreeing with the need for utility of end-use research of the type being undertaken by the International Institute for Cotton under the aegis of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, was also of the opinion that TAC should focus its attention primarily cm the research needs in respect of production. Here there was often plenty of room for improvement; for example, average yields of cotton were extremely low in most developing countries, and in terms of the large number of countries producing cotton, its importance to foreign exchange earnings , and its multiple uses'for fibre, oil, and animal feed he felt that this crop rated high priority for international support. In E&ypt 90 percent of domestic oil production csme from cotton , and if it were not for cotton seed cake they would have no animals. Its production was expanding in many developing countries, but there had been no concerted attack on the problems of low yields as there had been for wheat or rice. He rated this of far higher importance than jute, which only affected a few countries, and although he sympathised with the countries where it was of great economic significance, he believed that this was a case for bilateral rather than international assistance. 79. The Chairman pointed out that Dr. m-Tobgy's point on jute was well covered in the priorities statement. Woreover, he was not asking TAC to express itself on particular crops at this moment, although they must be prepared to come down to that if the Consultative Group wanted further advice, He had been under pressure both from jute and cotton interests, and while he felt that there was probably enough backing to support the necessary end-use research on cotton, the time was not ripe to discuss this at present. what he was requesting TAC to do was to agree to a statement to the Consultative Group along the linTmade in his opening comments. Other speakers supported the need to delineate the Committee's boundaries in view of the fact that the problems facing many of the non-food crops were only partly agricultural, from advances in synthetic technology and stemmed also from economic factors and especially which eroded their traditional markets and range of uses. For example, to meet this challenge in jute required improvement in fibre quality involving fibre, plastic and res-in chemistry; improvements in retting for which small scale processing plants needed to be designed; and willingness of governments to invest substantial sums in Such machinery. Doubts were expressed as to TAC's competence to make judgment on these sort of problems and it was suggested that the Chairmen should draw this area of uncertainty to the attention of the Consultative Group. 80. 81. The Chairman agreed to inserting a specific clause in their report to this effect. This should indicate that their competence would be greatest at the production end and A progressively less the further removed a problem was from the farm. If they were required to advise the Consultative Group adequately on processing and end-use substantial consultant assistanoe would be needed. West Africa Rice Development Assooiation (WARDA) (Agenda Item 5) The Chairman reminded Members that the Committee had, at its last meeting, reaffirmed 82. its very great interest in the research proposals of WARDA as not only of importance to W. Africa but also as providing what might prove to be a pilot opration for the support of Nevertheless it had not so far been able to accept a regional oooperative research network. the proposals and had sought further information on the nature and extent of the field trials on the oontributions to be made by proposed within the programme and, more specifically, member countries and the precise nature of the relationships proposed with existing regional and international organizations with an interest in rice research, such as IRAT, IITA and IREI. A new proposal had been presented by HARDAand the Chairman invited M. Jacques Diouf, the Secretary General of WARDA,to speak on the proposal. - 13 - Mr. Diouf informed the Committee that since its last meeting WARDA had convened three seminars on problems of varietal improvement, plant protection, and soils and fertilizers. During these seminars, which were attended by representatives from national and international active in rice research centres, the international agencies and bi-lateral organizations research in the region, ways and means of implementing the coordinated trials were discussed. Recognizing the importance of these trials to the WARDA regional network care was taken to ensure complementarity and avoidance of duplication (as distinct from necessary replication) within the proposed programme. The main emphasis in the trials, for which a standard methodology had been developed, would be on the maximum possible utilization of results and materials from whatever source and the establishment of working linkages between the participating countries. The trials would comprise varietal testing, fertilizer use and crop protection and would be carried out initially at some 30 centres in the member countries of WARDA under the overall supervision of the Coordinators of Research, Varietal Trials and Fertilizers. The number of trials (175 in 1973) and the number of centres, were both expected to rise fairly rapidly to a total of 375 trials in 1977. Immediate supervision of the trials trained by WARDA and working under the would be oarried out by a team of field assistants, direction of national research personnel in the various participating countries. These trials comprised the research project %l, for which WARDA was specifically requesting assistance, through the Consultative Group, to a total of $2.8 million over four years. 83. In addition to its widespread coordinated trials, WARDA had three further specific research programmes on Varietal Improvement - W-2, Soil Fertility and Soil Management- &3, and Plant Protection - W-4. Eaoh of these programmes was being carried out at one or more of the major research centres sited in the four agro-eoological zones of WARDA's area of operations. It was hoped that the costs of these specific programmes, totalling $1.85 million over four years, could be met from bi-lateral.sources. 84. ' Mr. Diouf emphasized that the programme presented had been elaborated on the basis of the recommendations of the ad-hoc meeting between representatives of WARDA,IRRI, IRAT and IITA which had been requested by the TAC. WARDA had attempted still further to meet the suggestions made by the TAC for strengthening its links with the international centres interested in rice research by inviting the membership of IRRI to its Advisory Committee, on which IITA and IRAT were already represented. Thus the participation of the centres in project formulation had been assured. Review of project progress, and continuing coordination, would be assured by annual meetings of rice research workers from throughout the WARDA area, at which the centres' staff would be represented. 85. 86. WARDA had also recognized the wish of the TAC to ensure adequate overall technical and financial control of any activities financed by the Consultative Group and the Board had accepted, and would welcome, the establishment of a X'ontrolling Committee". Such a Committee might consist of representatives of IRAT, IRRI, IITA, FAO, WARDA itself and any other organization of benefit to WARDA. The task of the "Controlling Committee" would be to effect a continuing review of research activities and to control the allocation of donor funds to those activities. 87. In summing up, Mr. Diouf emphasized the different nature of the two types of research activity contemplated by WARDA. The coordinated trials would be linked very closely with the activities of the international centres, and could, he felt, perhaps be regarded as an extension of the outreach activities of the oentres in collaboration with national activities; and the more specific (and ecologically site-specific) researoh programmes which were aimed at filling research gaps and which were conducted in very close association with national centres. - 14 - Discussion Several members raised the question of the technical level of the staff conducting 88. the coordinated trials and sought assurances that the counsel of senior research workers, for example those working in the specific research programmes of WARDA,would be sought in respect of the varietal, soils and crop protection aspects of the coordinated trials. In reply, Wr. Diouf reiterated that the field assistants trained by WARDA in a standard methodology would be under the immediate supervision of research workers at the national centres where trials were conducted. Furthermore the WAFLDA Headquarters organization had three senior staff assigned to the programme - a Research Coordinator and two deputies in charge of fertilizer and varietal trials respectively. The trials were designed by appropriate groups of specialists, from participating countries and organizations, any of whom could be called upon in a consultant capacity during the conduct of the trials. It had not proved economioally feasible to duplicate the specialist staff in charge of specific research programmes (W-2 - W-4) neither was it practicable to charge these staff with overall supervision and coordination as they were sited in widely dispersed centres. They had participated in the project preparation and would also be available for consultation and for subsequent evaluation of the project. Kr. Diouf felt that the supervisory system adopted would meet adequately the requirements of the programme. In reply to a question regarding the subsequent relay of research results from the coordinated trials, Mr. Diouf stated that extension and development would be undertaken through the information and development activities of WARDA,in very close contact with the member countries. Distribution of selected varieties would be undertaken by the regional multiplication programme of WARDA and materials would be plaoed at the disposal of national Assooiated technology would be communicated research and seed multiplication services. through training centres, workshops and seminars, similar to those already held, and ultimately WARDA specialists would assist member countries in the preparation and development of "bankable" national rice improvement projects. 89, The Chairman sought clarification of the proposed nature of the "Controlling Committee" and its membership, with special reference to the participation in the Committee of the various parties interested in the trials, including the member countries of WARDA and the regional institutes concerned. His point was taken up by other members of the Committee who enquired into the proposed relationships of the "Controlling Committee" to the Governing Bodies of WARDA and the possible reaction of WARDA member countriesto the establishment of such a Committee. 90. Mr. Diouf explained that all the parties interested had so far been implicated in 91. the formulation of the research projects through their membership in the Technical Advisory and Consultative Committees of WAFtI&and, as far as member states were concerned, in the Governing Council also. He felt that their full assistance was also desirable in the execution of any donors would of the project, and that the addition to the Committee of representatives ensure the proper control of donors' funds. In his view the proposed Committee would need to exert both technical and financial control on the conduct of any project supported by the Consultative Group. lembers were particularly conoerned.that the scientific direotion of the trials should be properly assured and that the need for administrative and financial controls should not cloud this issue. A clear need for a scientific director was recognized by the Chairman, who whilst supporting the suggested inclusion of representatives of the regional scientific institutions, expressed the need for the TAC to be assured from the outset that the project would be under scientific and not political or administrative control. 92. ' - 15 - Some concern was expressed that the number of committees which needed to review 93. research proposals might militate against efficiency of planning of experimentation in an annual crop, where one season's results needed to be taken into consideration when planning the next season's trials. In reply, Mr. Diouf gave an account of WARDA'sannual timetable of meetings and stated his firm belief that with a single annual research review meeting in December/January plans and proposals could be made available for the meeting of the Governing Bodies in February/ March. He stressed that the smooth flow of seed supplies into the region would depend on the adequate functioning of the l3egiona.l Plant Quarantine Station at Ibadan, but that he did not envisage any hold-ups occurring through distribution within the region. The Chairman gave members an assurance that his own enquiries had elicited a very 94. real interest on the part of IITA in participating in the regional coordinated trials project which was of considerable economic importance to the region, and could contribute to a recognized need in the IITA rice programme. It was felt that mutual agreement could be reached between IITA and WARDA in the various aspects of the project, and provided administrative problems could be satisfactorily solved, particularly in respect of training, he would be A clear decision was required from the TAC, not least on prepared to support the projeot. the question of research being controlled and conducted by a Committeet Several members expressed their disquiet over the proposal to conduct "experiment 95. by Committee", particularly in view of the very rapid expansion foreseen in the number of trials to be conducted and the low level of technical expertise proposed for the day to day conduct of the experimental work, Firm proposals were made, both for the control of the rate of expansion of the trials, concomitant with the ability of national level research workers to supervise them adequately, and for the prior training of both supervisory and more senior staff to be conditional for any support. Despite the above misgivings, most members adopted a sympathetic attitude towards the proposals, recognizing the very considerable effort which had been made by WAEUIA to meet the suggestions of TAC with respect to proposed amendments, and there was a general wish that a suitable mechanism should be found to place the research network, the first of its kind likely to be supported by TAC, on an operational footing. In an attempt to meet the reservations expressed by Members, and to provide a basis 96. for further discussion, Dr. Hopper supported the Chairman's view that the regional coordinated trials project (W-l) should be supported, but on a conditional basis, as it would provide almost the only opportunity for many of the smaller states of the region to participate in cooperative efforts aimed at the solution of a broader than national problem. Furthermore it might contribute towards a solution of another pressing problem, that of strengthening national researoh capability, by demonstrating one way in which this might be achieved, through collaboration. The conditions for support, which he foresaw, would entail the establishment, within the WA%DA framework, of a small committee (of not more than six members) including representatives of IITA, IRRI, IRAT, t=RDA member countries and one independent scientist. WARDA should also ensure that a single person be appointed to act as coordinator of the trials programme if that had not already been done. The committee should have complete control of the research activities and their financing and should be expected to conduct field reviews of those activities. It would be responsible for ensuring that expansion of the programme was in line with the "absorptive capacity" of the different trials stations rather than utilizing the perhaps unrealistic expansion targets indicated in the proposal. Fur-the* moret Dr. Hopper felt that the TAC should, for at least the first two years of the programme, undertake an annual review of the project activity in order to maintain a watching brief, both on behalf of WARDA and the Consultative Group. General agreement was expressed with Dr. Hopper's proposals. Suggestions were made 97. that both the TAC itself and PA0 might be represented on the proposed committee in view pf the active interest of both in the WARDA operations. Dr. Sauger sought to dispel any fears that the full available teohnical competence of the region in rice research was not being mobilized, pointing out that by reduction of its programme, and by meeting the TAC's request for the full implication of IITA, IRAT, IRKf, and member oountries in its proposals, WARDA had gone a long way already to concentrating those available resources into a viable programme. - 16 - He believed that the proposals of Dr. Hopper would fully be expressed for additional outside control. cover any further needs which might The Chairman emphasized that any such committee would need to have delegated to it 98. the necessary authority to make binding decisions about the conduct of the programme within He therefore attached great importance to the composition of the resources allocated fox it. the Committee, particularly to the membership of the regional bodies. He also felt it necessary to ensure an adequate two-way feedback between, for example, the originators of Thus, at the outset, varieties used in the trials and those who could profit from the trials. an active interest on the part of regional bodies needed to be established through the negotiation of agreements by the Committee. The Chairman sought a consensus of opinion on the proposal of Dr. Hopper, in order that a draft resolution could be prepared for subsequent consideration. Some further members expressed their agreement with the proposal, emphasizing the 99. need to simplify operational procedures to the fullest extent possible. Others, whilst agreeing with the approach, suggested that the operation, which was innovative for TAC, be regarded as of an experimental nature , justifying experimental expenditure, and to be judged, as to its effectiveness, on the reports which TAG will receive from the "Controlling Committee" and any other review procedures which may be instituted. 100. Whilst not wishing to defer any further a positive recommendation on financial support for the ooordinated trials project (W-l) - Dr. Swaminathan expressed concern that the remaining research projects of WARDA,W-2 - I&4, which were intended for bi-lateral financing, should not be entirely neglected. They formed an important part of the total research effort of WARDA;their results, and those of the coordinated trials, would be essentially complementary one to the other. He felt therefore that any resolution or recommendation prepared by TAC should take cognizance of this fact. 101. The Chairman, in closing this part of the discussion nominated Dr. Hopper and the Secretary, Ir. Oram, to work with him on the preparation of a draft resolution. 102. On reopening of the discussion, the Committee considered a draft "TAC Resolution WARDA"prepared by the drafting group and proposed for adoption by the Chairman. on 103. With regard to the membership of the "Steering Committeew,proposed in the Resolution, notice was drawn to the omission of IR.RI. Wembers agreed that although in practice IFBI worked through IITA in West Africa, it should be formally represented on the Steering Committee. An earlier suggestion that the TAC should be represented on the Committee was not taken up. 134. Although some members felt that attention should be called to the other training and development programmes of WAIUN, in addition to projects W-2 - W-4, which they felt were of equal complementary importance to the Coordinated Trials Project, there was general agreement tlhat reference need only be made to the other research projects and to training insofar as it was applicable to the training of staff for project W-1; On the suggestion-of Dr. Swaminathan it was decided to strengthen reference to the need for close interaction between research programmes, substituting "implemented in an integrated mannerlt - for "implemented in parallel*'. 105. In reply to questions regarding the degree and nature of authority to be tested in the Steering Committee, the Chairman reiterated his earlier conviction that the Committee must , have full authority to take necessary technical and fina&al decisions within its allocated budget without their being subject to amendment by political decisions. Full authority must be delegated by WA= to the Steering Committee when transferring the funds to meet the project budget. Clearly the Committee would require to make its own arrangements regarding expenditure control on relatively routine matters, and these would no doubt be left to the authority of the project director. - 17 - With regard to the appointment of a pr ject director, the Committee was in agreement 106. d that authority for immediate direction must be tssted in a single person of high scientific ability and that this should be reflected in the resolution. The mechanism, by which such an appointment might be made, should be subjeot to the decision of the Steering Committee. There was a coneensus that the appointment of the project Director should be made by WARDA on the nomination of the Steering Committee, and that the Director should be ex-officio a member of the Committee. The Chairman requested the drafting group to re-formulate the Resolution taking 107. consideration the points on which agreement had been reached. The amended Resolution is attached hereto as.Annex IV. into Conservation of World Genetic Resources (Agenda Item 6) The Chairman asked the Secretary to open the discussion on this subject. Mr. Oram 108. explained that the document they were considering (IAR/73/16) had been prepared in order to These clarify doubts expressed at their previous meeting in respect of three main points. were, first the contribution which FAO was prepared to make to the operation of the network Secondly, the role of the genetic resources centres. from its regular programme resources. Thirdly, the part to be played by the International Research Centres in the global network. As far as FAO was concerned, the Director-General had decided to make available the 109. over the 1974/75 biennium to reinforce the efforts of the existing crop sum of $350,000 ecology and genetic resources unit in FAO. This was additional to the present staff costs of the unit, and would make it possible by enlarging the staff for FAO to take on executive functions related to the centraL coordination of the network, as envisaged in the Beltsville Report. This would include assistance to regional and other centres in the planning and execution of their.programmes, the supervision of the central fund for conservation, exploraand coordinating functions for information and seed tion, dooumentation and training, He felt that the Committee would agree that the Dire&o+ exchange, as well as training. General's decision to allocate these substantial additional resources was an important step forward in meeting the wishes of the TAC and the CG. 110. The need for the Genetic Resources Centres was stressed by the Beltsville meeting and had since been re-emphasized by the FAO panel of experts, in March 1973, which defined three priority areas for action in plant exploration collection. It had also suggested an order of priority for support to ten centres in the regions of main genetic diversity, more or less oorresponding to those proposed at Beltsville. Now TAC in its previous discussions, while endorsing the concept of these centres had recommendeda cautious policy in their establishment with no more than three priority centres being set up in the first three years, followed by a review of their operations before expding their number. The recommendations of the pane.1 of experts concerning these priorities tallied closely with those proposed by the TAG, and the budget proposed envisaged support to three regional centres at Izmir in Turkey, Debra Zeit in Ethiopia, and IICA, Turrialba; plus IRRI for specific work on rice, during the first three years of operation. According to the recommendations of the expert panel, IITA would be the next regional centre qualifying for priority support. 111. This led naturally to the role of the International Centres. Following the November Consultative Group meeting, he had written to all the oentres with a list of question and had received very helpful replies. These indicated that while the Centres were willing to participate in the operations of the network, their stage of readiness to do so and the scope of commitments they were prepared or geographically able to make varied quite considerably. ,- 18 - 112. IRRI and CIMMYT, operating on a global scale for rice and maize respectively, had the most advanced programmes, as perhaps might be expected from the oldest established institutes, although IRRI would require some additional financial support to enable it to take on the full global responsibility for rice work. The possibilities for the future cooperation of the other centres in the network were discussed on page 6 and had sought advice of Sir Otto Frankel, Chairman of the Expert Panel, in reviewing their replies to his letter. Only ICRISAT was not approached because it did not have a director then, but he imagined that in due time Dr. Cummings would also be willing to cooperate. 113. It was clear that while the International Centres had an important, and for some orops an indispensable task to undertake, there would be major gaps in the network both geographically and in terms of crop coverage if no complementary regional centres existed. The latter also had a significant role to play in assisting in collection work, organizing training, and in seed and information exchange for the developing countries in their regions. In addition, more than one centre may be required to handle vegetatively propagated crops, such as cassava, and also to provide the insurance of replicate storage. The availability of and cooperation from international centres did not, therefore, in his opinion, eliminate the need for the proposed regional centres, nor vice-versa - they were both essential to the network. The suocess of the whole operation would depend on mutual cooperation and sharing of work and responsibilities between the International Research Centres, the independent regional genetic resources centres, and national centres in both developed and developing countries. 114. 115. received interest linkages centres offered The strong support likely from a number of countries expressed to him personally between donor agencies and or institutes in developing interesting possibilities. at the national level was indicated from the replies indicated in the footnote to page 3, as well as from by several European countries. The establishment of research institutes in the developed countries, and regional countries, either directly or through the.CG, clearly 116. This related to his final point, which was how the external coordination, supervision and technical advice to the network as a whole, could best be assured. The paper before TAC proposed that this should be a task for the FAO panel of experts of which Sir Otto Frankel was the Chairman. But while in many ways eminently suited to performing a coordinating function, the panel was a technical rather than an administrative body and was not representative in any way of the Consultative Group. According to his information at least one interested donor country might propose at the CG that some more broadly representative committee might be established and the TAC might like to examine this possibility in advance of the CG's discussions. One possible approach might be to establish a coordinating or advisory committee (more or less the equivalent of a governing body of an International Centre), which would inter alia edvise in the use of funds coming from the CG; with appropriate donor and perhaps -developing country representation on.a rotating basis; and then to use the panel of experts as an independent body of technical consultants to both the coordinating committee and to the central unit in FAO. It would not, however, for obvious reasons, control the use of funds allocated from FAO's regular programme to the support of the central unit. Hopefully, such a mechanism would help to link assistance coming through the CG with bi-lateral assistance. 117. questions Thanking Mr. Oram, the Chairman indicated that he intended to ask a number of so that members would be in,no doubt as to what was now being proposed. 118. It was true that the TAC and the Consultative Group were concerned to discover why FAO was now attaching such importance to this work and why it had therefore not been given higher priority in FAO's own programme. He had felt sympathy with Mr. Jackson's predicament over this at the Consultative Group meeting, and he felt that FAO's agreeing to meet the costs of the Central coordinating unit was a matter to be greeted with considerable satisfact&on. - 19 - Another doubt in the minds of the Consultative Group which perhaps did not emerge 119. too clearly from the paper they were now considering, was whether to proceed even with three Regional Genetic Resources Centres. He believed that the Secretary was right in inferring that this doubt was based in part on feeling that the International Research Centres could do the whole job, and in exploring with their Directors exactly what they were able and prepared to do. 120. His main worry lay with para. 10, which stated that the present paper did not depart substantially from the conceptional structure proposed at the Beltsville meeting and previously discussed by the TAC. On the contrary he felt that they were now being asked to endorse a proposal which had been modified in several respects, In particular he was referring to the form of governance, (apart f rom the advisory role of the Panel of Experts); and to the budget, This might in part be due to inflation, but he would which seemed to be considerably larger. like clarification on these points, and to know whether the project really was the same as that TAC had originally endorsed. Mr. Oram informed the Committee that in essence the project It still proposed FAO operating the central did not differ substantially from the original. coordinating staff. It still proposed three regional genetic centres; although it added IRIU this to be an economical addition as an additional centre for rice. However he believed which was in line with the priorities suggested by the expert panel. It spelt out in more detail the role of the International Centre. This was not possible before because the Beltsville meeting did not have representation from all the Centres, but it did not fundamentally alter what the international centres would do in the network. 121. There was a rather different suggestion for the coordinating committee, because the Panel of Experts existed, andseemed the most convenient machinery for this purpose. He had only raised the alternative of a CG Committee because ne had had advance notice from potential donors that would probably raise this question at the CG, and he thought that TAC perhaps ought to consider its position in advance-. 122. He had just checked the budget, against the original one, and it was roughly $200,000 higher. Part of this was inflation. part of it was the addition of IRRI to the network (which came to $85,000), so in fact he did not think it was enormously different. 9 - TAC had cut it to 3, and he The network of genetic centres was originally suggested for the first three had maintained this figure, plus IRRL. The actual priorities Centres and the first three years of operation were essentially the same as originally recommendedby TAC. It had been agreed by TAC that provision would be made for review, and if necessary for the establishment of audit and centres after three years. Members asked why, even if the overall total for three years ias not so very much 123. higher, the sum budgeted for the first year of operations appeared to be $770,000, Mr. Oram explained that instead of the considerably smaller amount in the original proposal. this was due mainly to a difference in the phasing of the support to regional and national which now would start in the first activities, including exploration, meetings, and training, The reason for the difference was that year on a larger scale than in the original proposal. it was now felt that following the additional time since the proposal was first formulated, and the work put in by the panel of experts, these activities could get off to a faster start. There was also, in the present proposal, a regional centre coming into operation in 124. the first year. This had been strongly urged by the panel of experts because of the critical situation in the Near East and the fact that the already existing Izmir centre would need immediate support when the UNDP support phases out in January. This added another $120,000 plus the cost for the IRRI work, to what was shown in the first year in the earlier proposal. 125. Dr. Hopper recalled that the Committee had said $1 million was too much in the first year and he was concerned about the rather large sum now budgeted, even though he agreed that exploration and training were important to the programme as a whole. He queried how long the activities would need to be continuedattheselevels and he was also concerned about the phasing in of the other centres, and at what level of Cost. This could become a 7 - 20 - very large bill indeed, and in going through the proposal he did not find an adequate discussion of what the future looked like. For example, at what point should training phase out - how much training was needed? Could training not be centred at one place, rather than at several different places? In other words, there were items in the present programme which he did not recall discussing extensively at their last meeting and 'which he found inconsistent with the statement that this was what they had basically approved then. He was not quibbling about the need for it; he thought it was a good addition, but he believed they should spend a little more time on discussing how these activities to be supported from the proposed Central fund might be handled; for example whether the training budget needed to go from $80,000 in the first year to$3.20,000 in the third year, and what was going to happen thereafter to that particular element of the programme. 126. Dr. Bommerasked for clarification concerning the FAO contribution. On nage three, this was shown as $350,000 but Appendix II, indicated $170,000, $180,000, 8200,000 in successive years to a total of $550,000. 127. Mr. Orem stated that the figure of $350,000 shown on page three was for the next biennium (1974/75). The figures shown in Appendix II were FAO's contributions to the Central Unit from the Regular Programme over three years, the annual increases being mainly to cover inflation. 128. Prof. Bommerinformed members that the Germangovernment was interested in participating in this programme, even before final conclusions were reached by the CO. They had around $2.6 million available to finance appropriate Regional Centres and had had discussions with the Turkish authorities during the FAO panel meeting at Izmir. While progress in these negotiations was disappointing, discussions with Ethiopia were well advanced, and he had just received a telex that Ethiopia had asked the German Government for funds to establish the centre there. In addition they hoped to contribute even in 1973 a third centre, if the arrangements could be made in time. 129. Dr. Swaminathan referred to the need to utilize all available resources in developing the world genetic resources network. Obviously the proposal could not spell out everything in detail, but he felt that it should include provision for long-term storage through the establishment of linkages with existing centres with such facilities such as Fort Colling and Bari. He hoped that suitable arrangements could be worked out, since this would obviate the need for investing additional money in long-term storage. 130. He also drew the attention of members to the needs of Monsoon Asia; an area for which special cold storage facilities had to be provided because of the high temperature and humidity. ,Considerable progress had been made in collecting native species from this area and he believed that a strong base had been established for further progress provided adequate storage for preservation of the seed was available. While he agreed with the TN's decision to establish only three oentres in the initial three years, he urged that other priority regions be phased into the programme as soon as possible thereafter. 131. Finally he emphasized the importance of the fund for assisting countries to under take their own exploration and collection so as to preserve their genetic heritage for use by posterity of all nations. For this reason, he believed that item 2 of the Budget was cruoial to the success of the whole programme and he hoped that this could be put into operation as soon as possible - the primitive cultivars were fast disappearing in many regions of the world. A great deal would therefore depend on the effective organization and coordination of this effort, in selecting the priority areas, setting up the exploration teams, and entrusting the collections to appropriate institutions for maintenance. He hoped that this would be borne in mind when establishing the constitution and membership of the governing body. - 21 - Mr. Oram replied that the paper did in fact point out that Bogor would be considered 132. as the main regional centre for South East Asia, and this was listed on page 8 as the next He believed that this was certainly a gap in the priority after Tropical West Africa (IITA). If the programme was approved by the CG network which would have to be filled rather quickly. and was operating successfully after three years, then TAC would be able to restate the case for additional centres, and Bogor and IITA would be the next two to come in. As far as the governance was concerned, one of the main objectives of having an independent governing body, whether this was the Panel of Experts or some other body, was to conservation and training was properly administered ensure that the global fund for exploration, A main reason for the budget in the first and that the use of the funds was well coordinated. year of operation of the new programme being larger than in the original proposal was SO that the work to be undertaken under item 2 could be advanced, as Dr. Swaminathan had urged. extra per year to contribute to its world rice Dr. Sauger asked why IRFU needed $30,000‘ collection when the other institutes apparently did not feel the same need,even though some of Was them saw their responsibilities for germplasm collection being of a broadly similar nature. this because this collection was not within the normal framework of IRRI's programme? 133. Mr. Oram thanked Dr. Sauger for raising this point, which he had perhaps not explained 134. adequately. In fact, this money was to enable IRRI to enlarge its staff slightly to take on the global function in developing rice collection and encouraging exploration, as well as The other institutes had not in fact asked for any enlarging its storage facilities slightly. money for such purposes at the moment, but he knew from conversations that IITA would require more money later, for example, for food legumes. CINMYT had already got a grant of $25O,OOO from the Rockefeller Foundation to assist with their work and they had stated that this might not be adequate for wheat, although.it would be sufficient for maize. CIAT and CIP were perhaps not far enough forward to be able to decide whether they 135. wanted more money or not at this stage, and this was also true of ICRISAT. Professor Bommer suggested that rather than seeking separate funds for such functions the International Centres should be thinking of raising their normal budgets to do this job, and that this should be regarded by the Consultative Group as a fair contribution to the operations of the genetic resources network. The Chairman agreed with this viewpoint and noted that he would draw it to the attention of the Consultative Group. Recalling that IICA, Turrialba was proposed in the report as the genetic resources 136. centre for Tropical America, Dr. Elgueta informed the Committee that they had already made good progress in a number of crops; for example quite sizeable collections had been established of cacao and coffee, and new cold storage facilities had recently been constructed. The Chairman said that from the discussion so far he was now reasonably assured that 137. the proposal was essentially the one TAC had sponsored before; and he felt that the budgetary differences were reasonable and were matters he could explain to the Consultative Group. 138. However, one matter on which he had not yet received a satisfactory answer concerned the government of the whole operation in a way which would ensure freedom of management from routine budgetary interference and red tape. He would like further clarification from the Secretary on this point. The Secretary told the Committee that he did not believe it would be in the interests 139 of any Director-General to be difficult about the use of the FAO money for the operations of the Central Unit, since although it would have to be supported from FAO's regular programme funds as the only way of ensuring continuity, the bulk of the rest of the funds for the L genetic resources network would have to come from extra-budgetary resources, hopefully through the Consultative Group. Replying to a question from Dr. El-Tobgy, he agreed that the FAO Conference had not yet approved the additional regular programme money, but it had gone through the Programme and Finance C.ommittees and the Council without objections and he would be extremely surprised if the Conference were to reject it. l - 22 - Referring to the Chairman"s wish to clarify whether the form of governance now suggested 140, differed substantially from that proposed earlier he said that The Beltsville group had made a proposal for a coordinating committee ard this was in effect what was suggested here in the present paper. However, whether this coordinating was the FAO Panel of Experts or whether it was some independent body, presumably established by the CG, was something on which he felt unable TO go further at this point. In any case its object would be essentially to act as a supervisory c,r advisory body for the use of the extrapbudgetary money coming to FAO via the Consultative Croup, whether for genetic resources centres or for the central fund for exploration, collection, Lnformation and training shown as item 2 in the Budget. He hoped that it might be possible to establish some arr-angement such as Trust Fund, whereby these funds could be used with the minimum cf bureaucratic hindrance, as was the case with the TAC fund. liil, Dr. Pagot pointed out that there already existed within FAO at least one, and probably two procedures of the same nature; for example the mergency programme for protection against epizootic diseases - there was a special fund which was administered by FAO but could be disbursed only to the extent where a group of specially appointed experts gave their agreement. Fe saw no reason why some similar arrangement could not be worked out for the expenditure of extra-budgetary funds coming to FAO for the genetic resources programme, Dra Pereira suggested that since FAG wasadministering the main scheme and there wasa 142, machinery for great deal of exploration and travelling involved, in which FAO's logistic getting people moving and contacts all over the world would be very valuable indeed - they snould be careful not to complicate matters any more by imposing some additional machinery. Wile he agreed that FAO's organization was complex, any further complications might even slow rrztters up, 133. The Chairman felt that perhaps his concern had not been understood: he was quite happy about all the overall proposals and their financing, but he was still uncertain about the extent to which the new proposals differed from the original coordinating committee endorsed by clear on this, but if he could say to the UC, We did not think the document was sufficiently CG that the original recommendations of TAC had been protected in these proposals; that he was satisfied concerning the budget changes, but that there was a need for some suitalbe coordinating committee to guide the programme, preferably making full use of the FAO machinery for the administration of the money; then he believed that this would be all that it was necessary to say, Nevertheless he felt sure that he would be asked if it was Sir Otto Frankel's Panel of Experts or some other committee that would undertake the coordinating function, and he might well say that he considered this is a matter for the CG and FAO to work out. 1‘ 40 Dr. Pereira agreed that this would be a very fair solution because he suspected that triere would be a proposal from the CG. In fact, on page 10, in para, 51, there was a specific proposal that the FAO Panel of Experts should act in the coordinating role; in the original proposal, TAC had also suggested a coordinating committee which would be a management board of 9 members, 6 from the proposed regional genetic resources centres and three independent scientists. In fact, the FAO Panel of Experts did consist of independent scientists and one or two of these would probably be connected with the regional centres anyway. The supporting technical staff to the coordinating centre would still be the FAO genetic resources unit, SO in essence it was not a very different proposal from the one TAC had endorsed earlier. ld5, He asked for more information on the nature of the FAO Panel of Experts-were members ncminated by countries or as selected specialists in the subject? Dr. Bommer, (a member of Dr. Hopper asked that some of the donors might the Panel), confirmed that it was the latter. be alerted to the fact that this was a mechanism that would probably extend in the future to other centres, and that the mechanism as established should be capable of providing the necessary government overview should particular bi-lateral programmes wish to support some of the additional centres listed in the proposal for the future, but at an earlier date., Be was referring particularly to Dr. Swaminathans comment with regard to Asia where he believed that there might be some initiative taken outside the immediate boundaries of this particular proposal on a bi-lateral basis. This sort of action might be encouraged. ' - 23- 146, In conclusion the Chairman asked for member&agreement tochis informing the Consultative Group that in reply to its request after receiving the earlier recommendations from TAC on this subject, FAO had adjusted its budget to absorb the management costs of the FAO had not made any significant central unit of the proposed genetic resources network. change in the other recommendations made by TAC, although it had revised the budget upwards for reasons which he would explain, It proposed to use a special Panel of Experts, chosen for their expertise in this field to assist it in managing the programme; but he could quite fairly say that in this and in other matters the proposals as revised did not depart from the intentions of TAG when it made its previous report. The Consultative Group would have to decide whether to accept these proposals, or whether to suggest any further changes; for example in administrative prooedures if they wished for any additional assurances of freedom from ordinary FAO budgetary constraints on use of funds* He hoped that they would support the revised report, and that the 147. provide a means of collaboration between the genetic resources centres and in developing countriesV and those in the developed countries with interest This he believed to be basic to in this field, such as CSIHJ of Australia. whole operation. network would other institutions and competence the suocess of the - 24 - Research Needs for Protein Production in Tropical America (Agenda item 7) The Report of the TAC Sub-Committee Mission to Tropical America was presented by 148. Dr. Luis Marcano, Chairman of the Sub-Committee, who recalled that the summary recommendations of the Mission had already been discussed at the Fifth Meeting of the Committee. The full report of the Mission had now been circulated and although the basic recommendations contained similar to those included in the summary, a number of in the full report were, in essentials, activities had taken place, or been planned in the intervening period which were germane to the Mission's recommendations. He proposed therefore to review briefly the report itself and then subsequent activities, including the CIAT seminar on field beans and other food legumes, and the follow-up action to the seminar. The Terms of Reference of the Mission had included, inter alia, a review of the agro149. ecological zones comprising lltropical America", which would paeeogical base for cooperative research progremmes; an lioverviewl' of ongoing research and research organizations; an estimate of the regional need for improved protein supplies from legumes and beef and the research needed to support regional and national action towards meeting this need; an outline of potential cooperative research networks and, finally the need for specific task forces to consider the detailed organization of research on priority problems of the area. The Report of the Mission emphasized the ecological variation of the tropic@ region 150. of America (previously defined in the summary as that area lying between 23QN and 23 S at an zones - the elevation of up to 1,OOOM)and recognized within the area 3 major agro-climatic Amazon Basin, the Savannah lands end the semi-arid zones. The specific problems of each were outlined, although time had not permitted a detailed study. A resume had been made in the report of the research organizations of the countries 151. visited by the Mission and their programmes in bean and beef research, the importance of both of which was emphasized by the high priority accorded to national and sub-regional cooperative research programmes in these two commodities. Two major constraints to the better conduct of research, recognized by the Mission as of particular significance in Brazil and Central America, were the very wide dispersion of research effort and the relatively low academic status of a considerable proportion of research workers. The Mission had also examined the existing regional activities conducted by CIAT 152. and the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA) end had concluded that their ongoing progremmes already made a very substantial contribution to the total effort of research on field beans and beef and that an adequate base existed on which broader programmes, covering the whole of tropical America, could be based. Specific mention was made of the cooperative programmes for bean production in Central America and for forage and animal production in the Andean Zone countries, conducted by IICA, These programmes illustrated very well the degree of collaboration which could be achieved with relatively slender resources, given the willingness to collaborate in cooperative progremmes which the Mission had found throughout its visits. Referring to the specific proposals of the Mission for beef and bean research, 153. Mr. Marcano recalled the earlier recommendation made in the summary report discussed at the Fifth Meeting, for the holding of a regional seminar on beef cattle production, The full report examined briefly the projected demands for beef in the area end outlined the factors to be taken into consideration if the full production potential of the region was to be realized. Whilst improved feeding was generally considered to be of the highest priority other factors such as management systems, organizational infrustructure, etc. were also of considerable importance and the Mission felt strongly that an integrated approach to the problems of beef production research was essential. Although the existing levels of research were quite high and well in advance of practice, there was considerable duplication of effort throughout the region and a marked lack of contact between workers on similar problems even within some countries. The Mission had therefore recommendedvery strongly the organization of a regional seminar on beef production research and had further suggested that CIAT be approached to take the lead in holding such a seminar. ' - 25 - Suitable topics for discussion at a seminar had been outlined by the Mission in the 154. Great stress was placed by the Mission on its suggestion that the seminar, form of guidelines. which might follow the pattern of that held on beans and other legumes in February 1973, should address itself ab initio to the possibilities for establishing a regional cooperative programme, It was also proposed that or programmes, on the various aspects of beef cattle research. individual working groups be established on specific topics, in view of the breadth of problems facing the livestock industry, and that the TAC appoint one or two of its members to follow up the recommendation. Turning to field bean research, Dr. Marcano emphasized the disappointing results of such research in tropical America relative to the very considerable inputs from national and regional programmes. The Mission had concluded that this resulted from dispersion of effort, lack of communication and information exchange and to some extent from the relatively low academic status of some of the workers. The Mission had also come to the conclusion that a better orientation and coordination of research progranmes could be achieved through the establishment of a regional cooperative research network, discussion of which was scheduled to take place at a seminar on field beans and other food legumes to be held by CIAT in February 1973. Following preliminary discussion of the report at its last meeting, the TAC had appointed one of its members to attend the seminar although it had not endorsed the further recommendation of the Mission that it should appoint a working group to develop a firm proposal for such a progrsmme, believing that they should await the outcome of the seminar. 155. 156. The seminar had, however. appointed a team of five. including Dr. to follow-up the recommendations of the seminar. The team had prepared a ative progrsmmein line with the opinion expressea by the Mission, that it on the existing Central American programme of IICA. It further recognized appropriate research base for such a programme, and it was understood that steps to increase its budget for bean programmes accordingly. Marcano himself, plan for a cooPe> could be modelled CIAT as the CIAT had taken 157. The Mission recommended strongly that such a programme be established, utilizing the services of both IICA and CIAT, and Dr. Marcano therefore urged that the proposals of the working group, which he tabled at the meeting, be given detailed study by the Committee with the advice and assistance of its Sub-Committee on Grain Protein, Whilst cassava had not figured in the terms of reference of the Mission, the research and outreach activities, had been examined programmes of CIAT, including the collaborative in some detail in view of the great importance which the Mission had found attached to cassava in the Region. The Mission was greatly impressed by the programme and wished to emphasize to the Committee the need to recommend its continued support, The Mission had been unable to recommend specific additional assistance at the international level to North-East Brazil , pending the finalization of regional and national research plans. Nevertheless, the Mission believed that increased participation in the programmes of international institutes was possible, specifically in the outreach activities of CIAT, and ultimately those of ICRISAT and IITA. The Mission urged careful consideration of any research requests which might be formulated once regional priorities had been established at the level of government. 158. 159. ' 160. The Mission had been given a specific mandate to examine regional activities and wished to make some recommendations with respect to the Training and Research Centre of IICA at Turrialba. It felt that the future of this important centre should be assured and foresaw a major role for the centre as a participant in any cooperative regional research programmes on beans and beef, with particular reference to work in Central America; as a regional centre in any global germplasm network, with a major training role in addition; as a suitable site for the conduct of research on tropical commodities such as cacao, palms or tropical fruits, for which centralized research might be considered desirable, and finally as a centre for tropical forestry research, - 26 - At the request of the Chairman, Dr. El-Tobgy presented his report (already circulated 161. tc members) on his attendance at the CIAT Seminar on Field Beans and Food Legumes. He fully supported, on the basis of data presented at the seminar, the conviction of the TAC Mission that field beans (Phaseolus spp.) were the most important of the food legumes in Latin America, Nevertheless, as a result of the higher yield and profitability of cereal crops bean producXior, was losing ground with consequent rise in cost to the low income consumer for whom beans formed the principal source of protein, It was clear that a very high potential existed for raising yields of beans, particularly if the “architecture (t of the plant could be improved. T?.e Seminar had also made clear the lack of coordination and cooperation in exchange of information and. materials at present , and had pointed up the real desire on the part of most participants for a cooperative programme covering the whole tropical region of Latin America. It had therefore appointed the working group referred to by Dr. Marcano to prepare definitive proposal s, Dr. El-Tobgy also made reference to discussions at CIAT, during which he had been informed of CIAT’ s plans to expand its bean programme by over 50 percent, to absorb some 15 percent of the total core programme. This would permit CIAT to play the major role in the proposed cooperative regional programme foreseen for it by both the TAC Mission and the CIAT seminar working group. 162, The Chairman accepted the proposals of the working group for subsequent consideration bJr the Committee, subject to the insertion in the document of clear indications of authorship, 1 .‘ j. Dr. Bommerreported that the TAC Sub-Committee on Grain Protein had held a brief SGi>Si or, TO ~diSCUS!3 the report of Dr. El-Tobgy and the proposal of the working group for a i;.;scera?;ive bea.~ research programme, The Sub-Committee fully endorsed the proposal and r~c&mea81ed that it be placed on the Agenda of the next TAC -eeting. Referring to the report or’ the Mission, of which he had been a member, he wished to stress that, although the recommendations of the Mission with regard to the guidelines for a beef production seminar hall enphasrzed improvement in feeding with especial reference to the vast Savannah grasslands, cons-tier&la potential also existed for small scale cattle farming, combining milk and beef pI?OdUC,t L-DE. Tnere had been considerable developments in this type of farming in recent yeers lr. Latin America and he believed its further encouragement should figure in any major livestock 3eJelopment prograrnmes. 1 c:;.. Referring to other recommendations of the Mission, Dr. Bommer emphasized the import,ance of the Amazon Basin and the need for coordinated assistance to the major development p.rssczr:;.mes 02’the Brazilian Government currently being conducted in the area. Considerable caution needed to be exercised to avoid unnecessary destruction of natural resources an8 consocruent undesirable ecological changes. He also supported strongly the suggestion of the M~ssih that the Committee should remain alert to the possible future need of assistance to tile semi-arid zone of North-East Brazil. Discussion 1”s. The representatives of the Ford Foundation and the IBRD informed the Committee of some recent developments with respect to agricultural research in Brazil which would be Firstly, the anticipated reorganization of research had pertinent to subsequent discussion, t&en place with the establishment of the E2npresaBrasiliera de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (FMBRAPA), a national agricultural research corporation. mBRAPA had invited a t earn, including rt-presentatives of the Bank and the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, to review what assistance mi.,@n-. be provided collectively in the development of the overall research organizational Discussion had also been held with structure and in the planning of specific undertakings. U.S.AID and the IDB. More recently a request had been received for assistance in planning a specific research proposal for three priority areas, the North East, the Camp0 Cerrado and the Amazon Basin, In the North East particularly a type of adaptive research/relay station o;?eration with linkages to international research centres, could be envisaged. Throughout the discussion the necessary tie-in between national and international research activities had been examined very closely and it appeared that three or more of the international centres could make a substantial contribution to the planned activities of EXBRAPA in the development of national research capabilities. - 27 - 166 e The Chairman welcomed the comment and reminded members that from the earliest discussions on ICRISAT linkages with North East Brazil had been foreseen, He invited comment from Dr, Grant, the Director of CIAT, with respect to the work of CIAT on beans and beef in Brazil, 167. Dr. Grant reported that the CIAT beef team had visited Brazil, and had also participated in discussion with the IBRD team, A real interest had been established, particularly in the Camp0 Cerrado where the forage situation was quite good, A rice team had also visited the country and had reported on the very great need for consideration of work on upland rice. Given the tremendous areas involved, he felt that a number of sub-stations, linked to the international centres, would eventually be required, For the moment CIAT was discussing the possibility of the joint establishment of a centre in the Camp0 Cerrado, near Brasilia, where work on beef, beans and upland rice could be carried out. He felt that ICRISAT in the North East and CIMMYTin the South could also play important rc,l.es, but R mmber of major issues needed to be discussed before the centres could actually move :nto the country, 168. At the request of the Committee, Dr. Grant commented on the recommendations of the TAG Mission with respect to beans and beef. The seminar on beans had proved a great success. Although really clear cut conclusions had not been drawn, it had been made evi.tlent that a major deficiency in the region was the lack of communication between research workers particularly in the exchange of varieties for adaptability testing in different localities. National programmes appeared to be under-supported, both in terms of staff and other resow-ces, and a clear case had been made for a unit which could coordina.te the fragrr,ented efforts. Any such coordinating unit would need a competent research resource and training base and it seemed that CIAT was in a good position to provide such a base, subject to Board approval. A strong team had been built up and the rese,arch programme was movuy ahead fast e Dr. Grant expressed caution regarding the further developmentof field beans for the l@w elevation humid tropics. Cowpea was a much more promising crop for such areas, Nevertheless, in view of dietary preferences an effort should be made t,o meet the demand for field beans and a programme tohprovide research information on the comparative advantages of various legumes in the humid tropics must clearly figure prominently in work in the region. A really concerted effort was needed to overcome the problems of improvement of field beans. Promising materials were available although no single variety as yet possessed all the factors of resistance required. The widest possible cooperative testing programme would make a considerable contribution to the overall bean research progr‘ amme of CIAT, and, in answer to questions, Dr. Grant reiterated the willingness of CIAT to collaborate in a leadership role in such a programme. 169. With respect to beef research, CIAT had not yet held a regional seminar, but one was planned in the 1974 programme. He confirmed the findings of the TAC mission with respect emphasizing the importance of feed supplies during to the problems facing the beef industry, the dry season on the Savannah lands, Whilst agreeing that disease was not perhaps a limiting factor, such diseases as foot end mouth, brucellosis and trypanosomiasis were of very considerable economic importance and should not be neglected in major research programmes. Some results were beginning to emerge from CIAT's work that might greatly improve the utilization of the Savannah lands and the future prospects appeared encouraging. A key question was still how to feed settlers in the Savannah whilst beef operations were being set work would be reported on elsewhere but results were encouraging. He up. Freliminary anticipated that participants in the forthcoming beef seminar would take the same attitude towards regional cooperative work as had been taken at the bean seminar. A strong interest existed in the region for the establishment of a coordinating function which he believed would be welcomed by research workers, administrators and planning level personnel alike. Questions were raised regarding the role of the National Council for the Development SW* of Animal Production in Brazil (CONDEPE)and specifically whether CONDEPE had a research function. It was explained that although CONDEFE,which administered IBRD assistance to livestock development in three regions of Brazil, did not have a research component seyy stricto, it had set up an extensive network of demonstration plots in pasture production utlllzingvarious grasses and legumes in typical tropical regions and these were making a valuable contribution to knowledge. - 28 - Dr. Rut-tan raised the question of the allocation of international research resources l-71. criteria to two such diverse commodities as beans and beef. He commented that two additional The might be added to the more conventional one of economic return on research resources. first was to enquire whether strengthening an international effort would complement or add or become a substitute for legitimate national endeavour. The to the national effort, second was whether it would contribute to the productivity and income of the broad base of producers or to the nutrition of the broad base of consumers, It appeared that the bean proposal passed both these criteria whereas the beef proposal passed neither. It seemed ic the case of the latter, that if adequate resources could not be generated domestically for research on a high priced commodity, produced by the most influential producers and consumed primarily by the higher income consumers, then a very low evaluation must have been placed on Would then an investment in increased production provide the potential returns to research! a high pay-off for the development banks and other donors? This point was 172. components, consumption mass of the population, Further debate on these taken up by the Chairman, who separated the question into two end production, with two possible objectives - consumption by the and production by large-scale or large and small scale producers. questions was expected when discussing the programmes of CIAT. There was a general consensus that cooperative programmes in both beans and,beef 173. research would fill a real need in the region. tiphasis was laid on the need to take all possible advantage of existing expertise in national as well as regional and international centres in the region. Whilst the suggested "lead" organizations, CIAT and IICA undoubtedly had much to offer, there were also national centres which had made worthwhile progress in specific aspects of research and there should be no delay in extending their results to other participants in the proposed programmes, 174. In closing the first part of the discussion, the Chairman extended his thanks to the members of the TAC Mission for their report, When discussion was resumed he asked Dr. Marcano to draw to the attention of the Committee the specific recommendations of theMission on which decisions needed to be taken. Not only had the Mission made certain recommendations in respect of research on field beans and beef, but it had also recommended that support be found to ensure the future of the regional research and training centre at Turrialba and had made some general recommendations about research in Brazil. He sought clarification of the precise proposals of the Mission and invited other Mission members to participate in the discussion. c 175. Dr. Marcano, with the assistance of Dr. Bommer, explained that the Mission's recommendations with respect to beans and beef were quite clear. In answer to questions, Dr. Manam indicated that the proposals for field bean research, suggested for discussion at the next meeting, were very comprehensive and included the proposed organization and budget of the programme and the suggested participation of existing regional and international centres, outlining ways in which national participation could be handled. The parallel suggestion for a strengthening of CIAT's legume programme had already been met in the preparation of the 1974 CUT programme. With respect to beef, it had been proposed that CIAT be requested to organize a multi-disciplinary seminar; as it had since transpired that such a seminar was included in CIAT's programme for 1974 he felt that the Committee should recommend that adequate funds be assured, if necessary, by the Consultative Group. The general philosophy of the report was directed towards the utilization of existing resources in a coordinated manner and the strengthening of those resources where necessary. Attention was called to the need for awareness of the needs of specific areas from which future research proposals might emanate. The Committee welcomed the general approach of the Mission and sought clarification 176. of the present status of the Turrialba Centre to which the Mission had specifically drawn attention. - 29 - Dr. Elgueta informed the'committee that the Turrialba Centre had recently undergone 177. a revision of its constitution and was now constituted as an international centre under the laws of Costa Rica, with a Board consisting of representatives of the Government, the University, supporting organizations and other countries of Central America. The postgraduate teaching function and the award of post-graduate degrees had been assumed by the University of Costa Rica and a programme had been developed with revised,more realistic terms of entry, which should lead to a great improvement in the supply of trained personnel in A certain degree of programme revision had also been undertaken under the Central America. guidance of a newly established advisory committee, The new orientation of the programme of research would be towards production systems whilst individual elements would include soils research, a continuing legume progremme and increased emphasis on beef and milk production for the lowland tropics. A major aim of the systems programme would be the integration of crop and livestock husbandry and the formulation of "package programme+ for the small farmers of the region. Work on the inclusion of cassava, maize and rice in production systems would be carried cut in close cooperation with, and utilizing materials from CIAT, CIMMYT, WRI, etc. The centre was not in need of capital development acd already had adequate facilities and support to permit it to plsy a major role in any regional bean or beef programmes which might be developed. Its location made it an ideal sub-centre for the Central American region. In answer to a question from the Chairman regarding whether there was a current need 178. for support to the Turrialba Centre as recommended by the TAC Mission, Ers.Marcano and Elgueta This was a indicated that the centre had an assured future for at least two further years. great improvement on the situation at the time of the Mission's visit and facilitated any possible recommendation by the TAC for the participation of the Centre in regional activities in bean and beef research, in the global genetic resources programme, and in any other It was centralized work on tropical commodities for which the station might be well placed. recognized that Turrialba itself was not'ideally situated ecologically for field bean research but the Committee noted that it had at its disposal many experimental areas in other parts of Costa Rica and Central America. The Chairman noted the general agreement of the Committee to endorse the overall 179. philosophy of the Mission's report, to support the recommendations with respect to the Turrialba Centre and to defer discussion of the proposals for a cooperative bean programme until the next meeting, noting that the programme only called for a very modest expenditure. The question of beef research, however, raised a number of important issues principal amongst which was the question of financing what most members felt to be much needed and potentially very profitable research. 180. Members were in full agreement that CIAT should be encouraged to go ahead with its preparation for a regional seminar on beef research and that the Consultative Group be The need for beef research was requested to find additional support for it if necessary amply illustrated by the considerable effort already be&g put into it in the region and in the existing programmes of CIAT. Coordination was urgently needed and the Mission had spelt out clearly some of the specific topics on which it felt profitable discussion could be held. The recommendation to arrange separate working groups in the seminar on some of the most important topics was fully supported. On the question of financing of beef research, Dr. Hopper pointed out that much of the research was very expensive and often of long duration before any pay-off was apparent. In these circumstances countries were often reluctant to provide financing particularly for the higher risk types of research. He felt, and members agreed, that the seminar might be asked to address itself inter alia to the question of where the need existed for longer term investigations, which might logically be brouffht to the TAC, and where a more immediate pay-off might be expected from nationally financed and retionally coordinated work. b - 30 - The Research Needs of the Near East and Worth Africa 181, 182, (Agenda item 8) The Chairman invited Professor Skilbeck, the Team Leader, to present the Report of the TAC Yission to the Near Bast and North Africa. In introducing the Report Professor Skilbeck thanked the TAC, on behalf of the and challenging Mission, for having appointed them to carry out such an extremely interesting He also expressed his thanks to the Secretary for his considerable assistance in task. organizing the Mission and in editing the Report. I¶e pointed out that the time allotted to the Hission had enabled it to visit only 7 out of the 22 countries of which the Region was comprised, Although it would have been neither necessary nor advisable to attempt to visit Pakistan, Cyprus and Sudan could not every country, it was perhaps unfortunate that have increased have been included in their itinerary. Ilowever, while this would materially the spectrum of the Mission and added to its understanding of the research problems he doubted that an extended itinerary would have materially altered their recommendations. The time at their disposal was possibly rather less than that warranted by the complexities of the study, and a mission of 7 specialists also tended to increase the burden of decisionmaking when it came to the final structuring of their Report. Nonetheless, the Report represented basically their unanimous findings and recommendations, even though time had not permitted its reference in final form to each member of the Hission for comment and observation. When the Mission first got down to making its background studies and during their impressions were that early visits to the selected countries of the Region, its first despite the agro-climatological and ecological similarities 'it represented such immensely variable technical, economic, and social conditions, that it was difficult to see how its disparate needs could be conveniently served by a single internationally based research centre. The Region extended from the extremely intensive agriculture of the Nile Delta to the denuded arid range lands of Rorthern Iraq, large areas of Iran, and of Southern Algeria, with all the variance of less intensive systems of irrigation, and of rainfed agriculture, which lay between these two major extremes. Rowever, as further experience was gained a much more comprehensive picture began to emerge and the essential regional problems took very definite shape. The whole Region wa8 typified by the constraints imposed by the severe limitation of the availability of water, and by the shortage of new cultivable land for the "horizontal n expansion of agricultural production. These two major problems viewed against the background of population pressures determined the regional nature of its agricultural development issues, As the Wiasion proceeded with its studies it thus beceme increasingly clear that the liediterranean Zone was essentially one amenable to a coordinated research effort, which could only effectively beundertaken by an independent International Centre complementing existing national research and regional and international research programmes. 183. 184, 185. 186. The Centre which the Wission envisaged would in no way replace existing resesxch institutes and organizations, but would call for the extension of suoh efforts. However, the Hission believed that its influence upon them in terms of methodology, direction and motivation WOdd greatly assist in giving a much needed sense of leadership and direction to work in progress which, through force of oircumstsnces, was often uncoordinated, and lacking in development orientation, The HiSSiOn'S review of existing researoh had indioated considerable variability in quality and direction. Some excellent work was in progress in several countries, Their general some of which had long established traditions of Sound agricultural reseeoh. impression, nevertheless, Wit8 that much of on-going work was sorely hampered by weak support organizations. It8 Sa&uy scales and working oonditions asually left much to be desired, the multi-disciplinary approach was frequently lacking and there was an inadequate awareness of the need for research work to be closely oriented to development. The Mission had noted 187. - 31 - particularly that socio-economic studies lagged far behind research in the natural and physical sciences. It was for these reasons that the Mission had decided unanimously to recommend the early establishment of an international oentre , arguing the case for it in Chapter 5 of its Report. 188. It might still be questioned why so much importance had been attached to en and just what it had to offer which could not internationally organized centre of research; be achieved by some sort of regionally coordinated effort based on multilateral aid. In the first place, an international research centre had a great degree of autonomy and it had continuity of action freedom of action. It was independent of political constraint, It could attract to its staff and was therefore able to take the longer view of research. men of outstanding experience and competence both on long term and shorter term contracts and thus secure a very high degree of expertise which would Otherwise not be readily available. It was a means whereby a Centre of Excellence could be established, and it is to 189. this that the Hission had attached so much importance. Such a Centre could make as much contribution by the training of national research worker8 as it could by its own direct contribution through research. The Wission had faced a difficult problem in recommending a physical location for the establishment of the Centre, and it was especially in this connection that a more extended itinerary might have helped in reaching its conclusion. The Region was a difficult one to service by a central research institution, since considerable distances from west to east were involved, and internal communications were not particularly easy. Furthermore, political stability and sensitivities had to be taken into account. I'?0 one location could help to provide immediate access to the extremes of farming systems that existed in the Region. Their final(and unanimous) decision to recommend the Lebanon as the most suitable location was therefore not easily arrived at, but there had been even less agreement on possible alternatives. 190. On the other hand, despite some of the earlier misgivings he had referred to, the Mission in its final discussions had no difficulty in reaching the unanimous decision to recommend the establishment of a single rather than a dual or multi-centre because of the economies of scale which this would give, and the psychological effect of one Wentre of important in relation to Excellence" serving the Region as a whole. This was particularly the training and information services which the centre could provide. They felt that a single centre was something towards which the countries of the Region would become accustomed to turn; to split it would divide both its authority and its economy. A divided centre would also fail to achieve an effective reley point for integration of the work of other centres, which needed to deal with a singls organization, Finally, most major crops grown in the Region were grown in both the irrigated and in the rainfed areas, and this seemed to them to present a further justification for a single unit. , The Wission felt very strongly that the Centre should evolve its own pattern to 191. meet the specific circumstances of the very distinctive region it was primarily designed to serve with its immensely long-standing agricultural traditions, and not necessarily be cast in the mould of the other International Centres. Particular importance was attached to the part to be played by socio-economic research work, and in particular to the improvement of farming systems in the Region as the ultimate objective of technological development. The This would work of the Centre must therefore be firmly based on multi-disciplinary studies. help to inculcate a new attitude towards the orientation of research to key problems of development. The precise determination of priorities in regard to major research activities would have to be resolved in the light of experience, The Hission did not wish, nor feel able, to structure a nblue print" for the development of the Centre; this must be evolved by its Council, Director and Senior Staff. Their opinion, however, was that amongst the most important task8 to be established 192. from the outset were: (i) surveys or seminars through which the centre could learn more of the basic problems and difficulties of the Region and by which it could early make its presence felt throughout the Region; (ii) cooperative and outreach programmes with national, regional, and international institutions and agencies, so that the Centre could become closely linked with these from the very start of its work; and (iii) to develop as soon as possible its own "on sitet* research programmes. - 32 - In respect of (iii), the Mission believed that priority should be given to 193. (a) farming systems analysis in order to identify conditions determining success and failure in attempts to modify traditional systems, and the testing of more intensive systems, with special reference to the irrigated zones, the problem of fallow, and to crop-livestock to wheat and barley, integration; (b) th e improvement of field food crops, with priority here it appeared likely that the followed closely by the problems of legumes and oilseeds; (c) field scale centre could assist in making a relatively early and important impact; research on the more efficient use of land and water, both under irrigation, and in the rainfed zones, since so much of the future development of the agrarian economy of the Region must depend on the improvement of water efficiency. The Centre's contribution through training work at all levels, and as a forum for 194. discussion, seminars and workshops, would probably be as great, if not greater, than its direct research contribution. One of its most important influences might be to establish close cooperation with the planners and policy makers, so a two-way link could be forged between political and technological issues. In conclusion he stressed that the Mission did not expect such a centre of excellence 195. to make any sudden or dramatic impact. Wo "green revolutionw seemed to lie ready for discovery. Its impact and contribution would be more in the medium and long term, and by being COmplementaIy to existing national and regional research endeavours it would gradually permeate thinking and action in its concern for both technological and infrastructural development. The concept which the Wission wished to leave with the TAC was of a difficult and 196. even a daunting challenge. In the light of their Report , TAC must decide on its own priorities and recommendations, and in so doing to determine the risks involved in allocating quite considerable and scarce resources to such a venture, against the background of leaving the Near East and North Africa to wrestle iwth its immense and complex problems under existing and, he believed, inadequate circumstances. Discussion While members were unanimous in praising the clarity with which the report stated 197 ’ the main agricultural problems and research priorities of the Near E&t and Borth Africa, a number of questions were raised concerning the ability of a single centre to tackle the broad range of problems defined by the Mission , as well as the adequacy of the staffing proposed. Dr. Bommer asked for clarification from the Team Leader on three points. In the 198. first place, how far had the Mission discussed the acceptance of an International Centre in a specific country with its neighbours? Secondly, was the Staff proposed adequate to the tremendous task to be undertaken? Third, if the staff had to be restricted and if TAC had to select among the Wissionts priorities, which of these three priorities would come first? In reply to Professor Bommer's first question, Professor Skilbeck said that they had 199. not felt it politic to ask a direct and formal question of each country visited as to its willingness to be host for a Centre, nor to say l'if such a Centre was not located in yeur country, which country would you work with?" The #ission's general impression was that most countries would be.prepared to act as whostw if requested, but it had no evidence as to what the reaction of all the other 21 countries would be to it:being placed in one country. They had felt that it was probably best put in the Mea;r East (as being the larger and more complex area) rather than in Borth Africa, and that within the Bear East it should be in part of the Arab World because of language and traditions, Me could not go further than that because the Mission had not felt briefed to hold that kind of factual di8cussion.. Ror were they meeting the political authorities who could have given a positive answer to it. - 33 - In respect of Dr. Bommer's second question there was at the end of the Report a 200. suggested phasing of scientific staff which he agreed appeared inadequate in the light of the magnitude of the work suggested. However, the staff listed were basic senior scientists: this was not a general staffing complement. Secondly, in drawing up the table referred to, the Hissirhad spent some time in discussing whether it would be advisable to do it under a "project" or "team" basis, or merely under a list of "personnel" as had finally been done. The latter was chosen because they had felt that if they built up specific programme research teams they would be pre-judging the issue for the Director and the Council. 201. Drawing attention to a typographical error in Table 6 of the Report, which should read "4 disciplines undetermined", to make up 32 senior staff after 4% years, Professor Skilbeck stressed that his personal prediliction would have been to put in at least 10 senior staff with indeterminate disciplines at this stage, thereby giving a much greater sense of freedom to its formulation by the Director and the Senior Officers on the Programme, but he had been over-ruled in that by the Mission and he was giving the TAC their figures. 202. he personally would go for all three at one In respect of their three priorities, and the same time initially, even though it was done on a somewhat slender basis, because he did not believe that any one could be followed to the exclusion of the others at an early stage. The farming systems work would have to be started early in order to get to know what the problems were. This also applied to the improvement of basic field crops because there It was also essential in the view of the centre could have a fairly early positive impact. the lission that research on land and water use - on-site research of land and water use plus outreach - must be developed at the earliest possible stage. was an important one but that 203. The Chairman noted that the question of "locationtt the Mission had not been authorized to discuss with governments the question of acceptability or otherwise of aarticular site. Re felt that Professor Skilbeck had given TAC a clear indication as to the Mission's priorities, but that if they were to recommend a centre to develop those priorities, TAC ought not to mislead the Consultative Group if the size of the establishment proposed did not appear adequate to that task. He would like to hear a little more about this. Did Professor Skilbeck really feel that if the centre was to be effective and to cover even the three priority areas let alone the full list of things that was listed on page 42 of the Report, that it would be necessary to contemplate a rather bigger centre than they had mapped out? 204. Professor Skilbeck replied that in his view the staffing indicated could at least Row far it would need make an approach to these three vitally important priorities. augmentation could only be resolved in the light of circumstances, and the Mission's recommendation only went up to year i&. The process of starting might be slow as enormous importance was attached to recruiting high quality senior men and this might impose delays. Mowever, if it were possible to recruit men of this calibre in the range of disciplines indicated, a start could be made both in "on-site " research and outreach relay research under the three headings. However, as the basic programme related to their three priorities ' expanded further (range lands, longer term animal work and so forth) additional manpower resources would be called for. This was where he would have liked to put into the staffing more undeclared disciplines to be used as circumstances dictated in the light of experience. 205. Dr. Ruttan complimented the teem. Re thought that they had made a very strong case for an international effort in agricultural research in the Wediterranesn with regional However, it seemed to him that coordination or collaboration, and he liked the priorities. the Mission was strongly in favour of the establishment of a conventional international research institute whereas the problems and variations within the Region were quite location specific. To him this implied an institute that would have to be working very broadly, and he asked whether the Wission had discussed the possibility of any innovations, of experimenting with alternative models, perhaps of a more decentralized form. He would like to explore the thinking that led to the very solid recommendation that it should be an institute with staff concentrated in one location. - 34 - 206. Professor Skilbeck reiterated that initially the Mission had felt that the problems and conditions were so disparate that only some networks would achieve the desired objectives. However, they had come to their decision finally to recommend a strong centre because they were increasingly depressed at much of the quality of on-going research in the area and felt that it was psychologically a necessity if international aid of this kind was going to have a real impact on upgrading the whole approach to the research and its organization and functioning. They had also felt that the teaching and training work which could only be given through the establishment of a physical centre was of over-riding importance' particularly for senior research workers, it might be a A network would not be able to provide that; beautiful organizational concept but would not be a place to which people could come to study and work under men of proven ability, and go back to their own countries. Dr. Pereira felt that the Mission had done a first class job in presenting the 207. agricultural problems of the Region, but was uncertain whether the Mission had made a case for a research institute or a development institute. He believed that one of the most significant points made in the report was the lack of a general development orientation throughout the area. For two decades meetings held in the Middle East end elsewhere by FAO and other organizations had concluded that the local scientists knew many of the answers but that political and social obstacles prevented their application. In two countries - Egypt and Israel, where adequate capital had been devoted to development, it had been shown that great progress was possible using existing knowledge and local research. He was worried that if they created an international research centre they could, in another ten or fifteen years, know a great deal more about the science of the area but have done very little to advance development. By a development institute' he meant a centre for training, seminars, and for sending out teams to apply science in the Region with a certain amount of capital input of the type which had already proved effective with FAO/DNDPsupport, He doubted if it would be feasible to concentrate all the expertise required for research in the different ecological areas of this Region at one centre. What exactly was the Mission aiming at? Professor Skilbeck replied that they had hoped the Centre would be able to develop a 208. successful research programme, and at the sane time link the results to development through its socio-economic, systems and outreach work. The Mission felt that it should attempt both to do research and orient it to development, since in the long run it would not be effective if this could not be done. 209. Dr. Elgueta asked if the Mission had envisaged the work of the Centre being of wider application outside the Mediterranean-Near East geographic area (perhaps through some sort of network) to other countries with comparable ecological conditions, such as Chile. Dr. Skilbeck agreed. They had tried to indicate in their report that its influence 210. could extent beyond North Africa and the Near East, to areas of enalagous conditions in South-East Europe, Turkey, southern U.S.S.R,, and the arid zone immediately South of the Sahara. It also had definite affinities with Australia and parts of Latin America, e.g. Chile, and North-East Brazil. The Centre might also make specific contributions of value outside So an International its immediate area through its work on certain crops such as barley. Centre in the Region would have a value elsewhere and could call on expertise and knowledge from other comparable countries. ' Nevertheless' he did not believe that any contributions which its work might make to other geographical regions would in themselves be sufficient to justify its establishment, 211. Some members felt that the Mission might have been too severe in its remarks on ongoing research, and perhaps because some progranxnes - for example that at the Institute in the Lower Bekan Valley and some of the FAO projects on animal production and health had been overlooked. While it was generally accepted that there was serious lack of coordination in the Region, it was felt that work in a number of countries was more advanced in the priority fields singled out by the Mission than its report suggested and it would be fgolish to duplicate successful programmes. - 35 - Professor Skilbeck apologised if the Mission had appeared to be too critical of 212. ongoing research as they had not intended to give this impression, There was admirable research going on but the Mission was constantly made aware of important fxds in which virtually no research was being undertaken. For example, great areas of that part of the world (up to 40 or 50 percent) were fallow every year. This was a neglected field which needed to be looked into very, very closely, as was the related problem of crop-livestock integration. In relation to on-farm water use, there were also areasin which research had been singularly lacking. It would obviously be for the Centre to pick those fields which it felt to be important and had been neglected, and not to repeat excellent work which was already available. The TAC would appreciate that in the few weeks at their disposal they had not been able to make a comprehensive survey of ongoing research, but could only look at it in broad terms. One of the early tasks of the proppsed Centre would be to gather such information so that it knew precisely what was being undertaken, where,and its quality. The Mission could not make such a complete survey in the time. 213. The Secretary informed the TAG that there had recently been a detailed survey of the research establishments of several countries of the Region undertaken by a mission headed by Dr. Hussein Idris. This had been summarized by Profess,or Cowan. This was mentioned in the report, and while the full details could not be given, the survey did show rather clearly that many countries had an exceedingly weak research establishment, end that there were important gaps in many respects. 214. Despite the long history of research in the Region it had somehow failed to make a for exs.mple,after twenty years, on the major impact. Research was still continuing introduction of pasture legumes into rotations. This was a need recognized by CIMMYTwhich itself is trying to do something to fill this gap in the Region, although not strictly FAO had recently felt the need, despite its within its terms of reference or resources. successful work on plant nurseries and the distribution of wheat and barley seeds, to ask UNDP for support for further research on field food crops and also in the field of water use and management. Bpertant work was going on in some countries, for example on legumes in Iran, but he would agree with Professor Skilbeck that on the whole research was not coordinated and had not achieved the results which might have been expected in view of the resouroes going into it. 215. Dr. Swaminathan asked if the tesm had the time to look at horticultural crops, particularly fruit trees, in view of their important place in the agricultural economy of several countries of the Region. He would also like to know whether, if the Centre were to be located in the Lebanon, it would take over the ALAD programme. 216. Professor Skilbeck replied that they did not look at horticultural crops in any They did, however, take such detail. Thesewere not in their terms of reference. cash cropping and as a nutritional crop, opportunities as time allowed to look at it as e.g. in Egypt. If the Centre were to be established in the Lebanon the view of the Mission * was that it would represent essentially an expansion of the work of ALAD, which, after all, was only undertaking certain aspects of the research needed with, he believed, rather inadequate resources. 217. Mr. Yriart expressed FAO's appreciation of the report and stressed how happy they Re would like to confirm for the information of had been to collaborate with this Mission. TAC that in general the recommendations of the report followed the priorities approved at the last FAO Regional Conference, and he would emphasize this in reporting to the next Regional Conference, - 36 - 218. There was, nevertheless, one point which he wished to make on behalf of FAO. There had been a very clear priority given in the Regional Conference to research in water resources and their use and for research on crops. While he realised that both were included in the Mission's proposals, and he supported the multi-disciplinary approach proposed, he felt a certain qualm concerning the adequacy of the treatment of water resources. lclne Mission had undoubtedly accorded it high priority, but nevertheless FAO felt that among equal priorities, some of them were a little more equal than the others, and this was the case with water. In particular this seemed to be reflected in the apparently inadequate staffing proposed for the work on water problems , and he would say that perhaps if FAO were to rewrite the suggested senior staff appointments and placings they put a parenthesis against "Agronomists 3”, saying "two of them with experience in irrigation". 219. In connection with the work proposed for the Centre on barley, Dr. Sauger asked what advantages would be gained if the Centre were given a world responsibility for its improvement, compared with the work already being undertaken by CIMMTTon this crop, which seemed to be making interesting progress. He also wished to know the working relationships envisaged for cooperation between the proposed Near East Centre, the existing International Centressnd the various national centres in the erea. 220. Professor Skilbeck said that the Mission had firmly been of the opinion that work on barley should be transferred from CIMMYTto the Region, which was the centre of origin and main barley growing area in the developing world. It should be a main "global" responsibility of the proposed new Centre. He felt that the relations proposed between this Centre and other international and national centres were adequately spelled out in their report. 221. Dr. Basbous thanked the Mission and the TAC for this excellent report, which highlighted the extreme necessity of agricultural research in the Region, as requested by the FAO Regional Conferences in the Near East and in North Africa. He believed that the establishment of the proposed international centre would be the best and the unique way to He fully approved the views coordinate the existing research and to catalyze new efforts. of the Mission regarding the establishment of the centre and its prospective coverage of the different problems of the Region through proper stations or sub-stations to be located in the countries where particular problems occur. The proposed objectives of the Gentre satisfied all the recommendations formulated at the several Regional Conferences to which reference had been made. 222. Regarding the location of the Centre, the Lebanese Government had authorised him to express its wish to make available all the required facilities proposed in this report and to offer its full collaboration. He believed that the Mission was fully aware of his country's excellent relationship with all the countries of the Region, the complete freedom be assured for movement of people, capital, or equipment; and the Lebanese which could Government would be extremely honoured to contribute to these international research efforts. 223. Dr. Yeniada enquired whether, if an International Research Centre were to be set up in this difficult climatic region, it was likely that equally well-planned efforts would be taken by governments to translate its results into development activities, and to provide the supporting infrastructure end socio-economic environment essential to the successful use of research by farmers. 224. Professor Skilbeck explained that while he could not answer categorically for the Mission had (for the very'reasons indicated by Dr. Yam&da) 22 different countries, emphasized the need to associate policy makers closely with the work of the proposed Centre. He had noted a lack of understanding of technical problems in formulating national policies, and recognised the value of such a Centre in helping to influence the planners. 225. had noted a very significant change in recen4, The Chainaan pointed QUt th i years, in the countries of the Regi.0 24w ch he had conneotions, toward a better understanding of the needs and importance of the agricultural sector, both in terms of people and of investment. This was revealed, for example, by World Bank reports on the various countries, so that he did not feel as great cause for concern on this question as did Dr. Yamada. - 37 - Dr. Huque, speaking on behalf of the countries of the Near East Region, congratulated 226. the Mission for publishing a valuable report, whose conclusions on the research required Nevertheless he regretted that zt had no opportunity accorded with the regional priorities. to visit his country, Pakistan, and to familiarize itself with the situation there, since it seemed to meet very satifsactorily the criteria mentioned in Chapter 6 of the report, page 38, for a suitable site for an international institute. His government had long shown definite interest in having such a Centre located there and would be prepared to offer the necessary facilities and concessions to international staff. Examining these criteria in detail he pointed out that Pakistan embraced a broad 227. range of ecological conditions in terms of rainfall and altitude, with correspondingly varied patterns of farming and animal husbandry. The Government had allocated 1500 acres of land for a multi-disciplinary research institute at Islamabad, and a programme had been drawn up by the Agricultural Research Council. There was an international airport nearby, and all amenities were available at Islambad and Rawalpindi. Four fully fledged agricultural research institutes already existed, representing the main geographical zones; and there was a strong scientific establishment and agricultural administration in Islamabad. Adequately trained local technical, administrative and clerical staff were also available. There were well equipped libraries at the three Universities (one at Islamabad) and the Agricultural University at Lyallpur was only 200 miles from Islamabad with excellent road, rail and air connections. Pakistan already had cooperative efforts with CIMMYT, IRHI, USAID with considerable success on wheat, maize and rice, and had recently initiated several integrated multidisciplinary research programmes. In his opinion the fact that Pakistan was located at one end of the Region should 228. not invalidate it from consideration as a site for an International Centre in view of its many others advantages. While he was not.against all other locations he doubted if the Lebanon was ideal, or could offer anything like as representative a range of conditions within its borders as could his own country. He hoped that the Mission's recommendations would be reconsidered in this respect. Thanking Dr. Huque, the Chairmanexplained that, like every other part of the report, 229. this would be subject to further disoussion by the TAC. He would, however, see that the substance of Dr. Huque's statement was incorporated into the record for their consideration. Mr. Satyapal wondered if the Mission would have made a different choice of location 230. if it had had a more extended itinerary. He informed the TAC that the Algerian government had also shown considerable interest in research, and was establishing three institutes for crop-improvement. Some years ago it had submitted an ambitious but well-conceived programme to UNDPfor a dry-farming centre. UNDP had been unable to finance this, but he felt it had interesting elements which should be taken into account in planning the programme of the Centre recommendedby the Mission. Referring to FAO activities in the Region he noted that the food crop improvement and 231. soil and water managementprcgrammes were relevant to the work of the proposed Centre, and might ultimately be incorporated into its programme; he also felt that certain aspects of the NEARDEC proposal for animal development, due to come into effect in 1974, would also have a bearing on its work. He would like to know FAO's views on this. Replying to Mr. Satyapal's first question, the Mission Leader reiterated his opinion 232. that, while the Mission would have welcomed more time for travel in the Region, he did not believe that it would have altered fundamentally any of their major recommendations.. Mr. Oram,'while unable to elaborate on Mr. Satyapal's remarks concerning animal 233. production, emphasized that even if a decision was eventually taken to establish the ' proposed Centre, it would take some,time to get its full programme going. Meanwhile, there would be a gap in the work on field food crops for which FAO has asked UNDPassistance and also in the water use programme. He believed that it was important that these programmes be maintained with UNDP support until any institute in to its full stride. helping i&2% 38 - In closing the discussion in open session, the Chairman thanked Professor Skilbeck to interpret and enlarge their understanding of the report. The TAC were most grateful to the Mission as a whole, and he hoped that the Mission Leader would recognise this from their appreciative comments and would convey it to his team. Report of closed session Most members felt that the Mission had made a strong case for international action 235. to reinforce existing agricultural research effort in the Near East and North Africa, and that, at least in broad terms, its priorities were right. Stress was laid by several speakers on the need to develop more productive use of the natural potential of a Region where both land and water resources were under considerable pressure, through studies aimed and at achieving the more at reducing the area of fallow, the prevention of salinity, efficient use of water in irrigated areas and precipitation in rainfed land. It was pointed out that this Region was unique compared to other developing regions, 236. in that the vast majority of its area lay outside the Tropics and that the main rainfall a was in winter, summers being almost completely arid. Furthermore, in several countries, substantial proportion of the precipitation came as snow, and cold winters represented a further constraint to plant growth not found in the Tropics. Thus the work of ICRISAT, although also directed at semi-arid areas, would have only limited relevance in this region, while, of the crops it was concentrating on, only chickpeas were widely grown there. 11 Reference was also made to the need to improve yields of the staple food crops of 237. the Region: some such as wheat, maize and rice were adequately catered for by the work of other International Centres, and only a relay centre might be needed; others, however, especially barley, were not the subject of any major international effort. Dr. Swaminathan pointed to the importance of horticultural crops in this region compared to other developing regions; he felt that these could not be neglected in any studies aimed at developing more productive agricultural systems there. There were, nevertheless, some divergencies of opinion on the extent to which a Centre 238. of the conventional type was appropriate to the rather diverse needs identified by the Mission; and also on whether if a Centre were to be established it should be concerned with developing research of a more basic nature, e.g. on barley breeding, or mainly with the evolution of improved farming systems, largely through the more effective application of existing knowledge. Dr. Pereira argued that much of the?systems research" recommendedby the Mission was really development arid extension work aimed at the better use of known techniques which were already a long way ahead of farming practise. A major topic of discussion concerned the Mission's 239. established in the Region should have a global responsibility of barley, possibly durum wheat, and certain food legumes. recommendation that any Centre for work on the improvement With reference to barley research, Dr. Sauger asked what advantages would accrue to 240. work being done at a Centre located in this Region compared to CIMMYT. He had no fixed ideas on this question. Dr. El Tobgy pointed out that had CIMMYTnot already had a long-established programme 241. on wheat improvement and if they were all starting fresh, the TAC might very well have asked the same question,there, since the same basic arguments applied, and Mexico was not the ideal geographic location for a major wheat programme. Nevertheless the CIMMYTprogramme on wheat . had probably been the most successful one on any single foodcrop and he appreciated its achievements and the capabilities of its staff. If With the exception of sorghum in the Sudan and Somalia where this crop is of major importance. These cou&ries are ecologicallY at.y-oical of the Retion as a whole. - 39 242. However, it had initially been concentrated on bread wheat under irrigated conditions, while in many countries of the Mediterranean and Near East wheat was mainly rainfed and durum wheat was of great importance, 75% of world durum production outside USSR originating there. In addition, there was a number of diseases affecting wheat in this Region which did not occur in Mexico. As a result CIMMYThad had to start a major durum breeding programme, and to station nearly as many people in the countries of the Region as they had on their headquarters wheat programmes. It was therefore clear that the wheat varieties bred in Mexico could not simply be transplanted to other areas, and the same could apply to barley. If a Centre were to be started in this Region, which was a Centre of origin of barley 243. and the most concentrated area of production of that crop for food as well as feed in the developing world, he believed that the problems which had arisen with wheat could be avoided. There was a large genetic base in the Region and in Ethiopia, which was relatively close; and a major barley programme would not only be economically important but also invaluable to train people from the Region in situ on the techniques of improving one of its main foodcrops. This was not feasible with wheat, where the main base was in Mexico. Indeed, he believed that work on durun wheat should logically also be located in the Near East/North Africa region. In his opinion, the only advantages of concentrating the barley work at CIMMYTwould be that they had a working genetic collection,established laboratory facilities, and were prepared to allocate an extra man to work on this crop even though it were not in their original mandate. Dr. Hopper noted that in previous recommendations which TAC had made for the 244. establishment of new centres, they had always taken at least two bites at the problem. This was their first real discussion of this one, and while he had an open mind on the question, he felt that they could not lightly recommendanother centre. Referring to the three priorities recommendedby the Mission on page 42 of its report, 245. he agreed with the importance of research,to improve resource utilisation and to bring new areas into productive use, which he felt was a neglected field of action and one of great importance to this Region which could not derive much benefit from the work of other Centres with dissimilar environments. However, he would like a more precise definition of what type of research was needed and how and where it should be carried out. In respect of the improvement of basic food crops, they had focused their attention 246. so far mainly on barley, and while he agreed that a major gap existed there he believed that broad beans and lentils also merited more research. There was considerable evidence that in approaching commodities there were substantial gains to be made by establishing a centre to undertake breeding, coordinate trial nursery work, and develop outreach programmes of networks to national stations. He believed that there might be a good case for an institute to undertake such a task for the three crops he had mentioned. On the third task related to farming systems, even if work was concentrated on factors 247. having broad adaptability as proposed by the Mission, he doubted if a single centre could overcome problems of location specifity. Nevertheless a coordinating institution might be of .considerable value in promoting research at appropriate locations within some kind of regional programme. This, of course, would only be viable if national capabilities were adequate to participate, and he would like more information on this point; since if they were not,any new Centre would have to work initially on trying to build up national stations in parallel with its own programme. He thus saw a possible role for a centralised breeding effort on certain crops; he 248. was uncertain as to the feasibility of locating work on the improvement of resource utilisation in one spot, and he believed that the systems work might have to take the form of cooperative regional networks, He was therefore unclear as to whether one centre offered a feasible solution to undertaking these diverse tasks or not, and the matter should certainly be : debated further by TAC before any recommendation was made to the Consultative Group. 249. Dr. Rutten agreed on the importance of research to develop more productive farming systems in theRegion, although he shared Dr. Hopper's doubts concerning the feasibility of achieving broadly applicable results at one Centre. As the discussion evolved it became clear that there was a consensus that the work on agriculture systems was considered a priority task for the Region, and it was suggested that new approaches should be examined ;o getting this done. One possibility would be to develop collaborative networks with national programmes, involving livestock as well as crops. In respect of crop improvement, a clear need was seen by members for breeding and 250* agronomic research on barley, durum wheat, and the main food legumes of the Region. However opinions were divided on the need for the proposed Centre specifically to devote a major ;?art of its resources to this work. It was suggested by some members that some division of :Tesponsibilities with CIMMYTmight be worked out for durum wheat and barley, whereby the ain basic breeding work and laboratory testing would be done in Mexico; with a substantial 'allow-up of adaptive research, disease observation and outreach being directed from the tqegional oentre, which would also have a main responsibility for germ plasm collection uad evaluation on these crops in collaboration with the genetic resources centres at Izmir ::nd in Ethiopia. The cooperative effort foreseen with CIMMYTwould be more than the normal ype of flrelaytf station function, although members also saw an important role of a relay : ature for a Centre in the Near East for other major food crops, such as rice (IRRI) sorghum nd chickpeas (ICRISAT) and CIP (potatoes). ;31, Opportunities for cooperation with the African Livestock Centre (ILCA) were also envisaged, since there appeared to be analogies between the problems facing the improvement of livestock production in the two regions, and the approaches needed to their solution of crops and livestock, and the Y:aga on the study of range improvement, better integration .:raditional systems of husbandry and the socio-economic impediments to the adoption of new Xechniques. The Secretary indicated certain paragraphs of the report which seemed to clarify 252. points raised by Dr. Hopper, in particular para. 11 of the summary, which spelt out the research priorities more precisely than page 42; pages 17-19 of the text concerning .-esource utilization; and pages 28-30 on farming systems. The concept of the latter seemed ::o him to be close to that expressed by several members, including Dr. Pereira and 3r. Bommerof assembling information from past research, analysing its results, and :,ecombining them into more productive farming practice. The Chairman referred members to Professor Skilbeck's introductory comments which he 253. felt provided a more lucid exposition of the main priorities proposed by the Mission than was to be found on page 42 of their report. He suggested that the TAC read this revised version. He agreed with other speakers that the Region presented very special ecological problems compared to the Tropics; for example concerning the influence of snowfall and cold winter conditions. In this connection he drew the Committee's attention to the value of Iran as a site for research, and indicated that the Government would be very willing either to have the proposed Centre located there, or to invest money in collaborative research with it. In reply to a question from Dr. Hopper concerning the organisation and work of ALAD 254. in the Region, Dr. El Tobgy confined that it was the only regional research programme of a broad nature functioning at present. 1/ It was undertaking work on wheat (its main programme) with two senior staff; one staff member was a sorghum breeder, and he understood one additional post'would be established for work on millet and one for grain legumes. Work was also in progress on animal production and on sheep forage management. Some related activities were being undertaken in Egypt on rice and maize, with staff from IRRI and CIMMYTrespectively - again financed by the Ford Foundation - and collaborative wheat programmes were established in Tunisia and Algeria with CIMMYT. The work of ALAD was regional in the sense of the people it had stationed in other countries than Lebanon, and in its relations with the CIMMYTwork in North Africa; it also had extensive nursery programmes on wheat in 20 countries, and sorghum in five o,r six countries. However, these were The Arid Lands Agricultural Development Programme located in the Btckaa Valley in Lebanon and supported by the Ford Foundation. - 41 - exceedingly time-consuming and because of shortage of manpower ALAD was undertaking no breeding work in the true sense of the word; just collecting materials from a number of countries, distributing them in the region, and evaluating the results. 255. Thus, while ALAD was a useful programme and he felt that the Ford Foundation were extremely generous in backing it, he nevertheless regarded it as a stop-gap effort. Moreover its financial support was, if anything, contracting. It did not have its own laboratory or field station and was really a guest on facilities provided by the Lebanon. These would not be large enough to serve an expanded programme adequate to the needs of the Region. 256. The Chairman suggested that what might be called for was a combination of a central intelligence and directive unit, (which would also have a major training function) and a concurrent outreach programme serving the whole region. This would be more than a simple network, but might be less than the type of Centre proposed by the Mission. Also, as stressed by several speakers, it would be somewhat different in purpose and nature than most of the other International Centres, although this did not necessarily mean it was less important or necessary to that particular region. It would certainly be a bigger investment than ALAD which was too inadequately supported, and would probably need to absorb the key elements of ALAD's ongoing programme. 257. Like other members he was convinced of the importance of the problems, and the need to reinforce national efforts (he was appalled at the weakness of research on water use for example), and although still not convinced of the arguments for a centre of the type proposed by the Mission, he believed that the TAC must give very serious consideration to how the various tasks could best be tackled. He therefore leaned toward Dr. ARuttan9s suggestion that the TAC might appoint a working group to meet with selected members of the Mission to sharpen up the focus of their recommendations in respect of the research priorities and to discuss the institutional machinery for approaching them. 258. One other important issue which should also be further explored although he would hope it might be treated as a separable question, was the division of crop research (particularly that on barley to which several speakers had referred earlier), between any institute in the Near East, and the other International Centres. TAG had already asked 'CIMMYT not to expand its work on barley until it had made a recommendation on this point and he urged the Committee to reach a decision as soon as possible. He asked Dro El Tobgy whether he would like to offer any further observations in the light of his great experience of the Region and its problems. 259* Recalling that the research and training needs of the Near East had been identified at their first meeting as one of the important gaps needing to be filled, Dr. El Tobgy said that he had always felt completely free to speak on this subject, since of all the countries of this Region his own was in the least need of an international centre and the most advanced agriculturally - with some of the highest yields in the world. He would therefore concentrate 1 on the research needs of the other countries of the region. These were very great and he could not agree with Dr. Pereira that the task was largely one of applying existing knowledge he only wished it was! Although he had been somewhat sceptical about a Mission coming fresh into the Region 260. being able to produce an adequate report in two months he now felt that they had done an excellent job, especially in the first five chapters describing the conditions in the region on the research priorities. The latter were defined in such a way as almost to constitute a work programme for the proposed Centre, something notably lacking in certain other reports TAC had had to review. He agreed with the Mission's evaluation of the considerable agricultural potential 261, of the Region; despite the poor state of current land use and crop yields over most of the area, there were great opportunities for reducing the enormous area of animal fallow in rainfed areas, for better integration of crop and livestock production, and for intensive or multiple cropping in irrigated land. To develop this potential would often mean changing traditional farming systems, and he agreed with the views expressed by practically every speaker that - 42 - this should be accorded first importance among the Mission's even though it might take longer to show significant results improvement. three priority areas for action, than the work proposed on crop As the second main priority he would rate the development of regional cooperative 262. activities,via a Centre in the region, on the several important crops on which other Tnternational Centres were already working,with cooperation with CIMMYTon breed wheat and maize as of first importance. He noted that this had also been stressed by several speakers. In this respect, a Regional Centre would be operating in a 11relay11capacity; however, 263. should a decision be taken to establish one, he believed it should have its own breeding and improvement programme on certain crops of major importance to the Near East and North Africa. For reasons he had indicated earlier, these should include durumwheat, barley for food and feed, lentils and broad beans (Vicia faba). To use the terminology of the other International Centres, an institute for in the Region should have "global" responsibilities these crops, including gene banks. Where he diverged from the organisation and functions For this he did not impute too and he felt that the TAC might 264. the report of the Mission was in its last chapter concerning of the proposed Centre; including its recommendedlocation. much blame to the Mission, their time had been very limited, have given them clearer guidance on this issue. Nevertheless, in commonwith other members, he was not convinced that one Centre, as 265. proposed, could deal adequately with irrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Region, and in addition with the problems of the rangelands. While the climatic conditions were relatively homogeneouscompared to the Tropics, there were considerable variations, and he did not believe one location would be sufficient. 266. Finally he doubted if the staffing indicated in the report would prove sufficient for the tasks to be undertaken. He believed that further study was needed on this point; also more contacts were needed with the countries of the Region to discuss the sensitive subject of location. and 267. In summing up the discussion, the Chairman said that there seemed to him to be very little doubt about the force of the argument made by the Mission for additional research in the region, particularly on the physical resources which were generally r-efficiently utilized now, on developing more productive farming systems, and on crcp livestock integration under. rainfed conditions. While there was certainly a range of opinion about the degree cf primacy for work on crop improvement, there seemed to him very little disagreement that there was a need for further work on key crops. He sensed that the part of the report that did not stand up too well in the discussion was the relationship of the list of possible functions cf a Cent??.? on page 42 to the idea of a single Centre, particularly one staffed rather inadequately for those functions* 268. He therefore suggested that three members of TAC(and he took the liberty of naming Dr. Hopper, Dr. Bommerand Dr. Swaminathan) should meet for a couple of days between now and January, with three members of the Mission - Skilbeck, Koopmanand Barbero, to go more to dispute the basic carefully into the recommendations and approaches, but not essentially report. The terms of reference he had in mind would be to examine closely the report in the 269. light of the research priorities identified by the Mission, to re-assess those priorities institutional approach following the TAC discussion, and to determine the most effective attention would to accelerating work on the agreed needs. In the course of this,particular be paid to relationships with other International Centres end to meeting training and information needs. These terms of reference did not bind the group to the acceptance of a single Centre, 270. it was left open to them to examine other approaches, but neither was it an instruction to reject the Mission's proposal. In effect he was saying, look at the recommendations again in relation to the report and tell us what you think on further examination, so that we can study your proposals at our February meeting. - 43 - 271. This approach implied that TAC accepted the case made by the Mission for considerable strengthening of research facilities and capacities in the Region, but that it was not yet committed to a single Centre or to any other specific institutional format. 272. offered Members were unanimous in supporting these proposals and a number of suggestions was for guidance to the TAC sub-committee. Dr. Pereira felt that careful consideration should be given to relations between any 273. work in the Near East and that of ICRISAT, especially on the problem of crop-livestock integration with sheep and goats in the semi-arid areas. He felt that ICRISAT, in the long run would be forced to work on this and not just concentrate on crops, and there could well be a number of aspects commonboth to the Mediterranean Near East and to the tropics. Dr. Ruttan urged that the sub-committee institutional pattern which involved only limited with some of the existing International Centres becoming a burden; and that, particularly where be tackled, requiring flexibility in respect of might be at a disadvantage. 274. 275. give very serious thought capital investments. He capital and fixed running a number of rather diverse locations and approaches, to a decentralized suspected that costs were problems had to a large fixed Centre Professor Bommer suggested that to some extent this difficulty might be avoided by contracting selected research tasks out to appropriately qualified institutes or universities. The Chairman welcomed this idea which he felt had not yet been adequately explored in their work. Dr. Swaminathan asked the Secretary if a briefing note could be prepared for the 276. Sub-Committee giving details of the priority collections which had been made by the genetic resources centres in Turkey and Ethiopia, since both of these would be pertinent to the work of any research centre in the Near East and North Africa. 277. Dr. Yamada said that although originally somewhat sceptical about establishing a Centre to serve the needs of a particular region, he was now convinced from listening to this debate, and from outside discussions during the meeting with people who were familiar with its problems, that there was an urgent need for a Research Centre in the Near East and North Africa. In his opinion a central headquarters would be needed, strategically situated, plus a number af sub-stations. These should be kept to the minimum, and strong cooperative programmes with national centres established to give adequate coverage of the broad range of problems. Dr. Muriithi expressed broadly similar views on the need for research in the Region, 278. and supported Dr. El Tobgy's ideas concerning the development of livestock production as an integrated part of the farming systems there. 279. The Chairman noted the general concurrence of the Committee with the importance of . the Mission's proposals, and the suggestions for further study which he had made. He would convey this to the Consultative Croup, and would ask the Secretary to convene the Sub-Committee in their discussions. in Rome at a suitable date. If possible, he would like to participate - 44 - Aquaculture 280. (Agenda Item 10) The Chairman explained that he had invited Professor Eardach to make a bried oral report on the recent TAG Aquaculture Working Group. He emphasized that the full report was not yet available and would be debated at the next meeting. Meanwhile Mr. Neylan had prepared a brief summary report which had been distributed to members and time would permit a limited discussion. He reminded members that the purpose of the Working'Group was to review the status of research in aquaculture and to give the TAC some indication as to whether the state of knowledge was such that expanded research, with international assistance could offer prospects of early dividends through increased protein supplies. He asked Professor Bardach if he could give an indication as to whether the meeting had reached a consensus on that point. 281. Professor Fardach prefaced his remarks with a statistical note that aquaculture accounted for some 5 - 6 million Mt. out of a total global fish catch of 45 million Mt. In other words it accounted for approximately 4 per cent of the world's animal protein supplies, excluding milk. The consensus of the experts was, that although by the year 2,000 A.D. the total food fish caught by "traditional 'I methods, even with improved gear and fish finding equipment was unlikely to more than double its present level, aquaculture offered the possibility of a ten fold increase in the same period. Certain constraints, not all connected with concentrated. research, would however first need to be removed. 282. Aquaculture resembled agriculture in one particular - the limits on production were directly related to inputs - unlike the situation in fisheries where production was relatively unsusceptible to human intervention. Nevertheless aquaculture worked with essentially unimproved, undomesticated species, with one major exception, the commoncarp, in which life cycles were controlled and selective breeding was possible. 283. Thus, the first priority seed production,to ensure control selective breeding. for research was seen to be in reproductive biology of the reproductive cycle seed survival and permit and 284. produced in the water Following this came the problems of food and feed, the first and improvable by fertilization or other environmental manipulation and the second concerned with added natural or compoundedfeed. Little adequate technology, or knowledge of nutritional requirements, existed in respect of several potentially important species. A 285. Thirdly, stemming from the intimate association of aquatic animals with their medium, arose the necessity for research on water quality and the physiological relationship of the animal with its environment, including questions of pollution, not always subject to solution by research. 286. Specific recommendations for research to concentrate strongly on the above limited scientific urgency? in respect of a limited number of species These included the carps in Asia, catfish in Asia, Africa, milk fish in Asia, mullet in North Africa, Asia. reinforce present efforts, were to problems of universal importance and groups judged to have response potential. Africa and Latin America, Tilapia in the Near East aad Asia, and shrimps in 287. Regarding the type of organization considered by the Working Group to be desirable, Professor Bardach indicated that this should be essentially inter-disciplinary in nature. NO existing centre in the developing world was considered to have the critical mass and capabilities to permit the broad quantum jumps which research application in the three priority areas might prove possible. It had therefore been considered desirable to recommend the establishment of '"lead centrest' in the various developing regions of the world, with linkages to a network of national centres at which education and training, extension and the dissemination of information could be undertaken. - 45 - 288. Recognizing that the global network suggested would take some time to develop, the Working Group had suggested that a supplementary and more immediate 'approach could be considered. This would consist of the tlinjection" into existing organizations of some "seed" capability which might penit the rapid solution of some outstanding problems. A specific case which had been suggested would be the addition of a Tilapia breeding and managementunit to the proposed African Livestock Centre which could to some extent utilize the multidisciplinary skills to be assembled there. The report of the Group would also recommendthe tapping of the developed countries resources, from whatever source,on behalf of aquaculture research in the developing world. 289. The Chairman thanked Professor Dardach for his presentation and invited him to be present when the full report of the Group was discussed by the TAC in February. He indicated that a limited number of questions could be accepted. 290. Dr. Swaminathan enquired whether the report made reference to mariculture, specifically of a coastal nature (mussels and oysters),and whether information was given on polyculture, the harmonizing of aquaculture with agriculture. but felt In reply, Professor E!ardach acknowledged the tremendous potential of mariculture that the vast problems involved went somewhat beyond the terms of reference of the Group which had concentrated on the upgrading of fresh-water aquaculture. The report certainly made reference to the possibilities of polyculture and drew attention especially to the great strides being made in the People's Republic of China in this field. 292. Dr. Pagot drew attention to the desirability of maintaining the term "lead or leading centres" rather than Wentres of excellence" (which had crept in during interpretation) for the regional centres required. An assurance was given that this would receive attention in the report. He further drew attention to the considerable efforts being made by France to provide for studies of fish diseases and to train staff and provide outreach activities in this field. This was acknowledged by Professor E!ardach and reference would appear in the report to this important field. In reply to a question from Dr. Pereira, Professor Bardach also intimated that the 293. report gave full cognizance to the need for adequate hydrological and engineering studies in support of the maintenance of adequate water supplies of the right quality for aquaculture. Dr. Elgueta referred to the difficulties of the small farmer in maintening adequate size in stocks of Tilapia. Professor Eardach explained that this resulted from the very rapid breeding rate of the genus and would eventually, he hoped, be controlled by the production of hybrid sterility through controlled breeding by central breeding stations. Distribution would then be made of sterile or single sexed populations to the farmer. 294. 295. 291. In closing the discussion, the Chairman remarked on the obvious success which the TAC Working Groupe had met, and he looked forward with lively interest to the .debate on the full report. - 46 - for an International .Proposal . 296, Soybean Resource Base (Agenda Item 11) The Chairman informed the Committee that he had decided to proceed directly to discussion on this item, dispensing with a formalpresentation, but assured members that Cr, Buttermeyer from Illinois and Dr. Kelley of USAID would be prepared to clarify any points on which members needed further information and explanation. The proposals had been prepared in response to a TAG initiative and he thanked all those responsible. Discussion In opening the discussion, Dr. Hopper sought clarification of the budget of the .?97* px-oposal, particularly of those items which were intended for Consultative Group support and those which would continue to be financed from U.S. sources. This was of particular importance in view of the fact that the main research effort was located in a developed country (the U,S,.A.> and yet support was being sought for an international activity. Furthermore it appeared frsm the structure of the internal organization set up by the University that the Director of the International Centre was directly responsible to the Dean of the University. However, if the TAC/CG were being asked to support only the outreach activities of the Centre, that is the activities in and on behalf of the developing countries, then it appeared that a different structure might be necessary. The Chairman indicated that the Committee attached great importance to the indepen298, hence cf international research activities and expressed some doubts that the proposed centre could be regarded as sufficiently independent of control by either the University or the State. Y3esought clarification of the point from the proposers. In reply Dr. Kelley emphasized firstly that from the outset there had been no 299. intention to request the Consultative Group support for any of the core activities of the centre which would comprise on-campus ac+ivities at Illinois and Puz Rico and other back-up activities in the U.S.A. He was assured that core activities would be met from U.S. sources, to a level dependent on the use made of the programme by developing countries through outreach financing which was sought from the Consultative Group. With regard to the administrative arrangements proposed for the centre, Dr. Buttermeyer explained that the University operated as a more or less autonomous institution under an elected Board of Trustees. He confirmed tlhat the College of Agriculture,in which the centre would be situate4 enjoyed delegation of managerial responsibility from the Board of Trustees which would not normally enter into managementdecisions. Operation of the soybean programme would therefore be in the hands of the College Of Agriculture in cooperation with the proposed International Advisory Board. He, and the University, hoped sincerely that suitable management procedures, acceptable to TAC and the Consultative Group, could be evolved in order to enable full advantage to be taken of the extremely valuable resource base which already existed. ,300, Whilst recognizing that the proposed centre had as much autonomy as could possibly be accorded within a university structure members had misgivings about the possibility of a %eto" being applied to specific proposals for outreach activities to particular countries. The Chairman again emphasized the desire of the Committee to ensure that outreach activities, which would be separately funded by donors, could be maintained separately from the administrative structure of the core programme. Although Dr. Buttermeyer gave an assurance that once the major programme had been approved through University channels complete freedom of action jaould rest with the College of Agriculture, members were still apprehensive about the possibility of programmes which the TAC and Consultative Group wished to support not finding acceptance by the University. The Committee needed further assurance on this point, partioularly as the Director of the Programme,who would be expected to act on decisions of the proposed Advisory Committee, was himself subordinate to the Dean of the College of Agriculture. . - 47 - 301. Seeking clarification on the role and status of the Advisory Committee, Dr. Hopper expressed the general anxiety of the Committee to find a mechanism which would permit of inter= national access to the resource base of the University of Illinois and which might at some time in the future prove adaptable to the "tapping" of other similar resources of research strengths on behalf of the developing countries. If the Advisory Committee were to be established independently of the University, with the kind of authority proposed earlier for the RARDA Committeg it might be able to fulfill an international role which it could not fulfill as an Advisory Committee to the University. In reply it was made clear that the Advisory Committee was in fact to be established within the framework of the University and would not have executive power or authority. Nevertheless it would have responsibility for sound counsel and guidance which would be closely followed by the Centre. Replying to specific questions of the Committee regarding the ability of the programme 302. to move into certain specific territories, the sponsors were sure that there were no existing laws or statutes at present which would preclude the programme operating anywhere. It was admitted nevertheless that such a situation could arise; but if it should then provision might be made for the Centre to work through a linkage or relay with one of the existing international research centres. 303. Several speakers drew attention to the limited amount of outreach work which could be and Dr. Ruttan drew attention to the relatively undertaken by a given core programme staff, limited access to the core programme base that international programmes would enjoy, even though a separate and independent administration were to be established for outreach of Urbana, Illinois itself. The Chairman hastened foreassure the meeting that no interference witlrl the core progranunes of the resource base was contemplated - the interest of the Committee being strictly confined to seeking a modus operandi for a truly international outreach and relay system. Dr. Pereira referred the Committee once more to the Steering Committee proposed by TAC for WARDA and suggested that a similar but independent international committee (not an Advisory Committee) be established to handle the donors t funds for the developing country activities in soya research. This proposal was supported by some members who feel that a committee of this nature, aided and served by a separate director for outreach ' activities, reporting both to the University and to TAC/CGIAR,would go a long way towards solving the problem. 304. 305. Dr. Buttermeyer felt that splitting the operations in this way would cause considerable confusion and he feared that a structure might result whose very complexity would militate against its funtioning effectively. He reiterated his conviction that the structure proposed would permit the maximumdegree of flexibility and freedom of operation to the Director of the programme despite the necessity of Placing the Director administratively within the University hierarchy. Indicating that further opportunities would be available for members to discuss the 306. structural and organizational problems in closed Session, the Chairman sought the views of the Committee on other aspects of the proposal. 307. Commenting that the main emphasis and orientation of the proposal related to the development of soya bean as a protein food for human and animal nutrition, Dr. Swaminathan questioned whether the Illinois centre would be in a position to assist countries which also had a considerable interest in the crop as an important source of oil, for example India. The sponsors of the proposal in reply pointed out that the USAID interest in financing the core programme was based on the urgent need to improve protein supplies in the best possible way. Soya bean, with its very high protein yields per acre, the quality and diverse uses'of its protein, seemed to fill this need. Nevertheless other countries also, in Latin America for example, had an interest in soya bean as an oil source, and although the primary purpose of the project would be to assist and encourage the extension of soya bean as a protein source there seemed to be no obstacle to an approach being made to the University of Illinois - 48 - perhaps outside the project aspects of a soya industry. proper,for assistance with the oil production and processing 308. In response to questions regarding the development of linkage and relay station activities by the University, Dr. Buttermeyer gave an account of the activities already under The list was impressive and the University was way on an international programme basis. currently in the position of receiving more requests far information and technical assistance than it could fulfill. It was visualized that an expanded programme could and would enter regional or national centre or any other into working relationships with any international, agency with which a viable programme could be established. Work with European countries was not precluded, although the programme was intended primarily for the less developed countries current contacts with and work with French speaking countries was certainly anticipated; IITA were aimed at developing a relay activity for all the countries of West Africa. The programme presently in operation was based on requests that had been received, which happened to have been in the main from English speaking countries. Undoubtedly if coverage was to expand the TAC would wish to suggest special arrangements for the handling of work in other languages. Work in the tropics had been taken care of through the association with the University of Puerto Rico, where about half the activities of the core programme would be carried out, and if it was found necessary to work on core activities under other special conditions no difficulty was foreseen in acquiring suitable locations through relay with other existing centres. In closing the open session discussion the Chairman emphasized that the excellence 309. of the technical aspects of the programme had made discussion of those aspects virtually unnecessary. There was a clear concensus however that the administrative mechanism to be emnloved -Lo handle the international aspects of the programme required further alscussion before firm proposals could be made to the Consultative Group. 310. On reopening the discussion, the Chairman reminded members that the proposal had been prepared on the invitation of the TAC and did not seek support for the core programme, and that although agreement had been reached on the technical merits of the proposals it was necessary to set out clearly for the Consultative Group the nature of the problem foreseen by the Committee in ensuring freedom of action for the outreach activities, which problem would need to be negotiated with USAID and the University of Illinois through the Group. 31l.. Several members spoke in favour of the establishment of a body which would be in a position to handle contracts with the INTSOY centre on behalf of the recipient developing countries and Dr. Hopper outlined arrangements utilized by IDRC. The "pilot nature18 of the operation was stressed and although some members feared that a workable arrangement might lead to a plethora of requests from developed country centres the need to be able to tap important resource bases was undeniable. A discriminatory approach by the TAC would clearly be required. Dr. Hopper felt that the proposed International Advisory Committee, if modified to an International Soya-bean Committee and separately kncorporated under state laws, might be able to fill the bill, whilst still retaining the necessary close association with the University of Illinois and even perhaps using the same administrative and accounting procedures. This would ensure that donors' funds were provided to, and handled by, a separately incorporated international body. Dr. Pereira supported this suggestion in general terms, defining the need for an international authority which could act as a "customer" able to enter into contracts with the University, or other body which it might select, in order to meet the needs of recipients. Funds would thus be committed to the new authority and not directly to the University. The Chairman warmly supported the above proposal pointing out that a much better 312. image of an international operation would be created by this means, particularly as the final decision on what work would be undertaken, and more importantly where it would be undertaken, would lie with the international authority; always subject to the capacity of the resource base to assist. - 49 - Some members still foresaw difficulties over the possible establishment of contracts The Chairman pointed out however that for areas which might prove unacceptable to the centre. in view of the responsibilities of the TAC, e.g. advising on where further soya bean work might be established, and the need for such advice to the donors, if an international committee were not to be established this advisory role would devolve on the TAC; a courseto which he could see no basis objection. 313. 314. Dr. Swaminathan reiterated his earlier plea for a reexamination of the project proposal, when administrative difficulties had been solved, from the point of view of including the possibility of outreach work of soya bean as an oil producer within the overall concept of In reply the Chairman referred to the apparent the project as an aid to food production. willingness of Illinois to examine this question but reminded members that the total assistance possible would be governed by funds available at any given time and the capacity for expansion of the base. Dr. Hopper took up the question of the locale of the proposed international authority feeling that the actual site of incorporation of the authority or body was immaterial provided that it was able to facilitate access to available resources. He wondered whether, from the outset, the Committee might consider the establishment of a customer/consumer approach that would be applicable to all similar cases that the Committee might have to consider. The Chairman, supported by Dr. Pereira, felt that in view of the urgent need to establish a mechanism for the soya proposal this should be treated separately, and that discussions should be initiated immediately with the University of 1llinois;aiming however at a solution that would be consistent with an expansion of its functions to other crops and other resource bases. The setting up of a workable customer/contrator relationship would also provide the Committee with another usable alternative to the creation of further international institutes. 315. 316. In summing up the Chairman indicated his intention of reporting to the Consultative Group the suggestions of the Committee for the initiation of discussions between the TAC/CG Secretariat, USAID and the University of Illinois, and the subsequent presentation of a proposed mechanism to the TAC for further review, before any firm recommendation is made to the Group. The Committee was in full agreement. 317. - 50 - Research on Tropical Fruits (Agenda item 12) The Chairman introduced Dr. Boon-Long, who presented the revised proposal for Tropical 318. Fruits Research, pointing out that in effect it was a composite background paper containing the revised proposal from Thailand and FAO's comments thereon. Believing that tropical fruit research had received grossly insufficient support in view of the importance of fruits in the diet of tropical peoples, Dr. Boon-Long informed the Committee that the Thai Government had offered to negotiate for land and facilities to establish a major international effort in this field, subject to the Committee's support and donor interest in his proposal. 319. The Centre would have five major objectives: to assemble, evaluate, propagate and disseminate suitable planting materials; to conduct appropriate research on all aspects of fruit cultivation; to train fruit research workers and extensionists; to act as an information and data source and to serve as a genetic resources centre for tropical fruit germ plasm. The centre would be developed in parallel with a proposed new national research centre, sharing commonfacilities, at least initially. The project was supported in principle by FAO, with some emphasis on the regional nature of the project as of importance to SouthEast Asia in the light of the fruit production potential, the weakness of current research and existing declarations of regional interest. Several members expressed surprise at the comprehensive listing of fruits in the proposal which included such fruits as citrus, pineapple, coconut, etc. which had all been the subject of very extensive research. Others, such as mango, papaya, mangosteen, etc. had not been adequately researched ar,d a case could probably be made for increased research. The possibility of one centre, even with a semi-arid zone sub-centre as proposed by Dr. Boon-Long, being able to conduct adequate research on such a wide range of species seemed rather remote and unrealistic. fruits, fruits sought more and felt that 320. 321. Dr. Yamada, whilst recognizing the stated importance of tropical basic information on both the economic and dietary importance of tropical some statistics would better enable the Committee to reash a decision. 322. Dr. Boon-Long in reply pointed out the dearth of research on tropical citrus and in many other major fruits from the point of view of the small grower. He agreed that statistics were scarce and that local level surveys of production, marketing and consumption were urgently required. In this latter connection Mr. Oram suggested that FAO might be able to supply some data, although it is doubtful if these would reflect "self consumption". ?3o believed that the income elasticity of demand for fruit was high and as demand projections were based on domestic consumption and not on exports, the majority of any increased production would be for domestic consumption. l)r. Sauger pointed out that a considerable amount of work had in fact been conducted company research, on tropical fruits on behalf of the small grower, but, as with large fruit Before the Committee could take a decision this had been oriented towards export production. on this question, it would, he felt, need to conduct a thorough inventory of ongoing and past research activities on which.the establishment of any future coordinated programmes could be based. Supporting Dr. Sauger's proposal, Dr. Pagot emphasized again the diverse nature of the fruits on which work was required and gave some examples of ongoing work in various parts of the world. He believed that no single centre would make as much impact as a coordinated global programme, and believed that fruit research workers from the various existing centres would be the best people to advise the Committee on what might prove a feasible approach to the problem. 323. 324. 325. Dr. Swaminathan supported Dr. Pagot's suggestion, believing that a small task-force of experts could advise the Committee on further action. Amongst the problems inherent in the proposal as it stood were the difficulties associated with the tltropicalizationll of citrus and date palm for example, the localized nature of many important diseases of citrus - 51 - and coconut and the absence of basic data on what were priority fruits from the nutrition point of view. One of these latter - plantain - had already been recognized by the TAC as a high priority food crop, and in view of the tremendously wide gap between commercial levels of production and those of the smallholder, he could easily see a profitable line of research. Dr. Marcano supported this priority, but expressed some scepticism with respect to classing other fuirts such as guava and mango with similar priority. This view was also supported by Dr. Kuriithi, who saw the need for a classification of fruits to define those which were dietarily important or essential, and those which could offer only minor contributions to the diet. Pointing out that commercial or export needs should not be forgotten in the interests 326. of overall balanced national economies, Dr. Sauger stressed particularly the production of certain labour intensive export fruit crops (such as strawberries), which could be handled more economically by small growers. He also remarked on the need for research work on local conservation and processing of fruit crops, some of which at present cause market gluts at particular times of the year, and on the rotational growing of fruits in association with other crops. He supported previous speakers regarding the need for an overall study to be made on behalf of the Committee. Dr. Boon-Long informed the Committee that he had envisaged the banana as of first 327. priority consideration and pointed out the advantages to a new centre of some differentiation between short-term and long-term work. Work on short-cycle fruits could occupy the proposed centre whilst long-term work was getting under way. For example, work on banana, pineapple, and other short-cycle crops could be conducted from the outset whilst long-term tree crops were being established. In reply to a question from Mr. Oram regarding the adequacy of ongoing coconut 328. research, Dr. Boon-Long and Dn. Marcano both offered the opinion that in view of the tremendous importance of the coconut and the need to rehabilitate much of the industry following ravages by various diseases, a greatly enhanced effort was required. The representative 329. .with ongoing UNDPprojects of the WiDP urged the Committee to consider adequate relationships on fruit in the context of the overall review of fruit research. The Chairman thanked or, Boon-Long for his participation, and assured him of the 330. interest of the Committee in the problem raised, and its desire to find a means of handling it systematically. The trend of the discussion had been quite clear. On reopening discussion in closed session, the Chairman referred to the lively 331. interest shown in this topic on the present occasion, snd the various suggestions made for either a working party on, or a thorough review and classification of, ongoing research on tropical fruits, taking advantage of any similar reviews which might be currently under consideration. Mr. Qram indicated that a number of Consultative Croup members had demonstrated some 332. interest in a review or working group on fruit reseach and he felt that a forthcoming international horticultural meeting at East Mailing in the United Kingdom might provide an opportunity for further discussion on the setting-up of a working party. Dr. Pereira referred to the clear conclusion reached in open discussion that a 333. systematic inventory and classification of past and ongoing work was needed by the Committee in view of the considerable number of crops involved, and the volume of work to which members had made reference. Much of the work was conducted on behalf of the highly capitalized plantation industries, however, and expert advice was needed on how much of this work could be translated into meaningful guidelines for the stiall farmer. He felt that any working group should focus on this question as otherwise a complete review of all ongoing work would be a tremendous task, - 52 - Dr. Bommerreminded members that the genetic resources network proposal before the 334. Committee had recommended centralizing tropical fruit germplasm work at Bogor in Indonesia, and that this recommendation should be considered seriously when further discussing the possible role of any centre in Thailand. Referring to the wide diversity of local preferences for fruit varieties, even within 335. India, Dr. Swaminathan concluded that no one single centre could possibly cover the field suggested. He therefore supported strongly the proposal for a review and hoped that the working party or FAO, or whoever eventually undertook the task, could arrive at a firm recommendation for support to research on some few of the most important species and varieties of fruits which would be of the widest possible benefit to the small farmer. Several members intervened to ensure that the possibilities of small scale, rather 336. than large scale commercialization would be included and that every attempt should be made to point up the transferability of basic results of large scale production (e.g. pineapple) research to small scale users. The Chairman believed that the Committee had clarified what it wanted and sought 337. members views on how best to proceed to obtain the information it wanted, i.e. what is going on in tropical fruit research and what appeared to be the remaining gaps that an international effort might fill. He asked Mn. Oram to what extent FAO was equipped to provide a background paper end sought members views on whether a single consultant should be appointed rather than a working group. Mr. Oram undertook to explore with FAO's technical divisions the extent to which they 336. could contribute information,and most members were in agreement with this approach. It was agreed also that other members of the Committee should provide the Secretariat with whatever information might be available from their own countries (e.g. IFAC in France, ARC in India, ODA/CABin the U.K., U.S.A. tropical fruit centres, etc..), and that a collated document be prepared for consideration at the next meeting. That the,Committee was not thinking necessarily in terms of a centralized institute was repeatedly stressed - the Committee had again felt the need for an overview of a given research situation when faced with a request for a centre and was exercising its normal caution in approach to the problem. Dr. Hopper regretted having missed the earlier discussion and wished to register disquiet at the enthusiasm demonstrated by his colleagues, He reminded members that fruits appeared very low in the Committee's own priority rating, and in view of the widB diversity of problems and consequently large investment that might need to be made to create a worthwhile impact, he would prefer to see the Committee's resources and those of the Secretariat better employed. 339. some The Chairman hastened to assure Dr. Hopper that the Committee had not entered into 340. a commitment, particularly with regard to a centre, Fruits would remain low down in the Committee's priority listing but the possibilities of their improvement for food purposes should be considered, and this he felt could be accomplished by the type of review requested of the Secretariat. 0 34;llnformation respect It was agreed that the Secretariat should proceed with the collection and collation on ongoing research on tropical fruits, to which members would contribute in of information available to them. - 53 - Research on Agricultural Mechanization in West Africa (Agenda Item 13) 342. The Chairman invited Nr. Uzureau, of FAO's Agricultural Engineering Service to present a report prepared by a joint mission of FAO and some donor representatives, which recommended the establishment of a regional organization for research in Agricultural Mechanization. The report had been presented to a number of donor organizations including SIDA, EEC and the French Government which had all requested that the views of the TAC be sought on the proposal before they would consider firm support. engineering research occupied only a 343. / Mr. Uzureau pointed out that agricultural secondary role in West Africa - funds and staff were scarce and as a consequence engineering was unable to contribute as fully as it should to programmes of improved production; this in turn reduced still further the importance assigned to it even within farming systems programmes in which it formed, or should form, a most important factor if the productivity of labour was An appropriate form of mechanization, from to be increased to economically worthwhile levels. improved tools, animal draft equipment and small powered tools to major powered systems, was needed in every farming system and the present effort was insufficient to create any real impact A marked difference existed between the efforts of the agronomists to spread "the Green Revolutionlf to African farmers and the efforts of agricultural engineers to supply the appropriate mechanization factors through well considered programmes of selectionttesting and adaptation of equipment, and supporting training and documentation. Since 1955 no less than six regional Conferences, Seminars or Study groups had been 344. devoted entirely or in part to the question of farm mechanization; all had stressed the need for greater strengthening of adaptive research in this field and the FAO Guinean Zone Conference of 1971 had led directly to the mounting of the mission whose report formed the basis of the proposal before the Committee. The report, which recommended the establishment of a regional organization with two sub-regional centres for the Guinean and Sudano-Sahelian Zones, had been submitted to interested countries of the region and to potential donors. A number of basically similar comments had been received. Firstly, there was a general support for the objectives of the report and the principle of a regional organization for mechanization research. Secondly, a clear con ensus was apparent that any worthwhile regional activity would need to be based on a strongly reinforced network of national centres and that the project ' gave insufficient importance to national services. There was also some feeling, reinforced by consideration of the present crisis in the Sahelian Zone, that the proposals were too strongly oriented towards the Guinean Zone (because of the suggestion that the principal centre be based on IITA at Ibadan), and that an unfavourable inbalance of effort might result. The different sulxregional requirements (animal draft equipment in the Sahelian Zone for example) also needed to be taken into account and this, whilst supporting the proposal for at least two centregalso pointed up the desirability of strengthening national efforts to enable more site specific work to be done. The IITA itself had supported the proposal in general terms although pointing out that a considerable expenditure would be required on the 'construction of a special facility to serve as the headqual-ters of any regional organization; neither existing laboratory, workshops or training facilities would be adequate for an expanded responsibility over and above IITA+s own programme. In summing up his presentation Mr. Uzureau emphasized the wide general support 345. which had been accorded to the proposal in principle, the outstanding question remaining not whether a West African Agricultural Mechanization Research Organization should be established, but how it was to be implemented. ‘ e - 54 - Discussion The first speakers remarked on the production factor oriented nature of the proposal and the very strong case which had been made out for the strengthening of national activities Remarking that both IITA in development of suitable machinery regimes rather than research. and FAO+s Regional Office already existed and both had to some degree a coordinating role in the region, especially with regard to information exchange, Dr. Pereira felt that no case had been made for the establishment of a special research organization for W. Africa alone. He was supported by Dr. Hopper, who remarked that, given the criteria already adopted by the Committee suitable -ation of machinery to local cropping systems with regard to production factors, should essentially be conducted in conjunction with crop research and he sought clarification regarding the crops which really required special attention. 346. 347. The Chairman took up the point made by Mr. Uzureau regarding the need for relatively simple machinery which would lead to increased productivity of labour in a situation of Such development he felt was hardly a matter adequate land resources and low labour output. for research but rather for some objective adaptation of existing designs to specific local conditions. In reply Mr. Uzureau pointed out that experience had shown that what was needed in W. Africa more than anything else was a kind of intermediate mechanization to fill the vast gap between hard tools and for example the combine harvester. He gave the example of 'a millet thresher which had been developed in Senegal and which could, to advantage be used on a much He agreed witli members that the crux of the problem was the integrawider scale in Africa. ;ion of nechanizstion into the whole study of farming systems an& that the proposed programme would permit the coordination of existing national efforts into a larger scale approach to comaomproblems. 349 Dr. Bommer also had difficulty in assessing the actual content of true research, as understood by the Committee, within the proposed regional programme. Very heavy emphasis was given to training and totesting of machinery and advising on its use. Whilst these were undoubtedly very de&able,. as was also the concomitant data exchange scheme proposed, very little of this work seemedto require an intensive research base. He also questioned the capacity of the region to provide a manufacturing service, or services, for any equipment developed. Barge international industrial concerns were chary of "small order++ type of operations but the need for an industrial back-stopping of research was undeniable. l 348. 350. As a research director in the Region, Dr. Sauger supported the need for a concerted regional effort on mechanization. Quite distinct problems were encountered as between irrigated and rainfed areas and the problems of the latter were those which were in most need of solution through mechanization, at two principle levels - to optmize labour output and to maximize yields. Extremely wide local variations existed although he believed enough common problems were found in the various agro-ecological zones to make sharing of results and work on common problems an economic proposition. He saw need for both the improvement of hand and animal draft tools and for ++motorization ++of larger scale operations. In the first category much important work had already been done, but there had been duplication of effort which could be avoided by a coordinated programme. Motorization on the other hand had not proved to date to be very profitable, but it could not be denied that this was the major need for the future and it behwed all concerned to ensure that this type of research was properly oriented from the outset. He was supported by Dr. Muriithi who emphasized the need to take the drudgery out of farming operations and to provide adequately adapted mechanized tools to those, probably most smaller farmers, who did not have the purchasing or borrowing power to acquire those currently available in the market. Care would need to be exercised however to avoid the development of too capital intensive machinery, capable of dispensing with too much labour and thus aggravating unemployment. He also underlined the need for the development of local industries to provide ++custom++ for any research or adaptive work which might be undertaken. 3519 - 55 - Dr. Hopper again raised the question of the divorse of the proposed mechanization reseaxcb 352. He feit that previous interventions nad served to strengthen from crop production practices. the case for attaching mechanization development to existing national and regional activities Much of this was strongly site-specific and the experience of in crop production research. IRRI had pointed up the difficulties of trying to conduct such adaptive work in a single place. Thus, whilst supporting the project in general he believed that it would, of necessity, have to be developed with heavy national program support and in strict cooperation, or better integration,. with farming systems research. Speaking in support of the proposed centre, Mr. Amon 3550stressed the need to removethe 353. drudgery from farming operatiorsif a farm population was to be maintained. There was an alarming drift of labour off the land at the present time and he felt that a degree of mechanization, which would not only ease the physical burden but would also aid in improved production and thus greater income, would give a much needed incentive to keep a new generation of farmers on the land. In view of the widespread demand and the existence of so many commonproblems, he felt that a single centre, or two sub-regional centres, would prove the most economical approach to the development of an "intermediate technology11 for the region. The U.K. observer, Dr. Cunningham, referred to his countries' participation in the 354. Mission which had prepared the report. The reservations expressed by the TAC had exactly Firstly, mirrored those felt by his organization with respect to the report of the Mission. the dominating function of the organization proposed was not true research, and secondly, it was difficult to find a focal point for operations as problems were so diverse and ecological .ly distinct. He felt therefore that, initially, a relatively simple, non-research exercise, concerned with adaptation of existing tools, should be attempted before large investment was considered in a type of organization which had certain similarities to that of WRDA. In reply to the above speakers, Mr. Uzureau stated that the documentation activities 355. of the proposed organization were to ensure that existing and new results were not lost, and, He agreed that the to the fullest extent possible, were shared by all potential users. proposed research activities were admittedly very modest and emphasized the importance of developing a simple, intermediate type of technology rather than a vast tractor-scale of Regarding mechanization which undoubtedly would require expensive and sophisticated research. some members fears of mechanization creating a rural underemployment, whilst agreeing in principle, he believed that the reverse might be true, and that as suggested by Mr. Amon a moderate intermediate degree of mechanization would tend to hold workers on the land. There was no suggestion in the proposal that mechanization and agronomic research should be divorced. On the contrary - it was proposed that existing agronomic research centres should be utiiized, but that the existing, and in the view of many, insufficient resources for mechanization research at those centres should be strengthened. He would not be prepared to limit initial research to hand or animal-drawn tools, believing that the aspirations of the African farmer deserved a sound base of research, as forward looking as possible. 356. The Chairman warmly thanked Mr. Uzureau for his presentation and subsequent assistance. When discussion was reopened he reminded members of the background to the proposal and the desire of some potential donors to the proposal to be guided by the TAC's views on the need for international assistance to research on agricultural mechanization in The proposal had not been prepared hith a view to Consultative Group financing W. Africa. and in his opinion other adequate means of financing should and could be found for what was a very commendable project, even though the true research element was small. He emphasized that the Committee should not run the risk of having many similar projects presented'to it and should formulate a clear statement of its position. 357. Drs. El-Tobgy and Pereira took a very firm stand on the question of the natureof the problem faced, seeing it quite clearly as a development problem, commonto many countries in all regions. It was a problem that had to be examined in parallel with the potential for local industrial development and the research component was virtually negligible. Their view was supported by Dr. Ruttan who saw the problem of mechanization as a factor of the respective prices of machinery and labour. Citing the example of - 56 - mechanization in Japan be pointed out that although the capacity of Japan to mechanize existed several decades earlier, it was not until the mid-1950's that the relative prices of machinery He strongly counselled the close and labour made it an economically justifiable proposition. attention of the Committee to the IHFE programme of mechanization and that the outcome of this programme should be awaited before additional financing be considered for similar activities. Several 358. existing regional of the Committee proposed and the members felt that the prograxnmeproposed could be attached with advantage to organizations although the Chairman felt that it was not within the purview to state which organization should be considered. Two centres had been report itself made certain suggestion regarding possible affiliations. Dr. Muriiti hoped that the views of the Committee which appeared rather negative with 359. respect to support for a relatively small research component, would not be too negative with respect to the potential of the development aspects of the project which he felt should prove attractive to donors. 360. The Chairman supported this approach and stated that if a country within the region had the capacity to host one of the sub-centres proposed, and was prepared to make its facilities available on a "subsidizedtf basis, then it should be encouraged to do so. He sought a rational answer to the problem of getting important development work supported and sought the %erdictrt of the Committee. For his part, he felt the project was typical of those normally submitted to and supported by the UNDPand foresaw this as one possible solution. Dr. Hopper felt that the research elements of the proposal might be commendedto 361. bi-lateral donors, rather than to the Consultative Group method of financing. Nevertheless he believed that, as a production factor, research in mechanization, and the need for it, should be brought to the notice of the other crop-oriented institutes as an essential part of their systems research programmes. He hoped that donors, members of the Consultative Group,would not continue to bring projects of this nature to the notice of the TAC for a decision. 362. The Chairman felt that a consensus had been reached and he undertook to report to the Consultative Group that the Committee had recognized the importance of the problems raised but that its approaoh was somewhat *~multiple". In-the first place the Committee felt that _.._. ~--.-- -~-. .---production factor research of this nature must be associated with maw ,ior oroduction research. However the TAC would commendto donors the developmental aspects of the*progremme, and the research,if they wished to pick it up and could form the appropriate type of organization. Outreach was an integral part of the work of the proposed project and the Committee had been quite specific in its attitude that IITA and other regional centres should be fully implicated in any work of the nature contemplated and thLs would also be brought to the attention of donors. - 57 - Research Programmes on Trypanosomiasis (Agenda Item 14) on behalf of the This proposal, previously circulated to members, was introduced 363. French Government by Y. Vernede at the invitation of the Chairman. M. Vernede indicated that his government had decided to submit this proposal to the 364. TAC for possible transmission to the Consultative Group, in view of the demonstrated interest in trypanosomiasis control and in the hope of stimulating further interest in a well defined programme, supported by pledged national contributions and aimed at complementing other initiatives, e.g. those of ILRAD. Together with other programmes it should help to eliminate an important brake on livestock development in tropical Africa. The Government of Upper Volta had offered facilities to the IEMVT for the conduct of research on the vector of trypanosomiasis (tsatse fly), through the sterile male technique , pupal parasitism and even-tu.al chemical eradication. studies on trypanotolerance of native breeds would be undertaken. It In parallel, was felt that this work would lend, itself to international support, at Consultative Group level, The French government had pledged a $1 million contribution to a total progra.mmeamounting +O $2.7 million. Discussion 365. Dr. Bommer remarked on the mber of different approaches to the control of trypanosomiasis, inclnding FAO/IAEA work on male sterility of tse-tse fly and commercial company work in Germany on chemical control, and believed that a review of all ongoing work would be of benefit to the Committee and assist it in placing the current request in perspective. Dr. Muriithi strongly supported a multi-point attac.k on trypanosomiasis and 366. particularly welcomed work on biological control of the vector as being much more specific than blanket spraying of chemicals. Nevertheless initial reduction of flying adult population would be required before .pupal parasitism could be effective and this could be accomplished He sought information on the degree to which by, inter alia, the sterile male technique. trypzlerance could be considered a genetic factor or whether it broke down on transfer of herds to more endemic areas of the disease as East African experience suggested that there Referring to the possible use of chemical attractants as a was no true genetic tolerance. tool in the eradication campaign, he thought these should be especially useful in the final A further stages to "mop-up" any residual population which might escape pupal parasitism. complication he foresaw was the very specificity of biological measures - particularly sterility techniques - as probably several species of tse-tse were concerned in the transfer Finally he asked whether 1inkages:were foreseen with ILRAD and if so what of trypanosomiasis. would be their nature. Dr. Pino welcomed the earlier interventions which indicated the variety of control 367. measures which were under consideration and believing with earlier speakers that ultimate control would only be achieved through a combination of techniques, encouraged the continuation of all possible approaches. Even if tse-tse were eventually to be controlled it is probable that other vectors exist and the control of the parasite within the cattle would be the real measure of success. Other useful techniques now being developed in the biological control programme were the use of pheromones and juvenile hormones - all should be continued and close linkages established between these programmes and those of ILRAD. Bearing in mind that any control procedure must be aroonomio, he felt that immunological proceduresprobably held greater promise and attraction at present than any other single method. 368. Supporting the need for all possible approaches to control to be pursued vigorously Dr. Vandamaele, informed the Committee of the and simultaneously, the U'NDPrepresentative, important work on the vector being undertaken in the programmes of ICIPE in Nairobi, with uNDP support, which included work on attractants. - 58 - In reply to a question from Dr. Hopper on the USA experiences in the use of the 369. sterile-male technique, Dr. Kelley informed the Committee that some success had been gained in nearly 10 years work. Despite setbacks ore. small island area had been successfully cleared of the fly and the methods used were now being further developed for application to a much wider area. Close cooperation with other organizations and programmes carrying out similar work, including the one under consideration, was envisaged and some success was looked for in about two more years. An excellent opportunity existed for the establishment of a worthwhile workable network. Dr. Pagot, in answering questions raised by the earlier speakers indicated that the 370. proposal under consideration was prepared before ILRAD had been created. There was no question of competition - the two programmes were clearly complementary and any linkages would be welcomed. The proposed laboratory was guaranteed some funding, even if no other external donors came forward and the programme for the supply of sterile males was well advanced. Studies had just been completed on the biology of pupal parasites which might permit mass breeding. As far as attractants were concerned,the site selected for the work was ideal, and had been deliberately chosen in an area where trypanosomiasis work was being concentrated. With respect to trypanotolerance there were clear medications that it was associated with Bos taurus taurus rather than B. indicus taurus. Cross breeding with Jersey cattle had tended to confirm these observations and biochemical checks were now being instituted. Dr. Sauger requested clarification of the advantages and/or disadvantages of fOCUSsing 371. al1 trypanosomiasis research in a single centre, as he concurred fully with previous speakers that all possible approaches should be examined. He also expressed interest in the composition of the research teams proposed. In reply M. VernGde stated that he thought the Committee should address itself to 372. these questions on the basis of the proposals placed before it, which invited international cooperation with an ongoing programme. On reopening discussion in closed session, the C'hairman remarked that some members 373. of the Committee had clearly expressed an opinion that all possible concurrent approaches to the problem should be pursued. Nevertheless a clear consensus had not become apparent regarding the validity of the specific approach proposed for international support. Whilst agreeing with other earlier speakers that all approaches should continue, 3744 Dr. Pereira expressed some doubts on the economics of tse-tse fly control. As at any given stage there were always more flies (pupal) below than above ground, spraying had, of necessity, to be a continuous operation. Once therefore the necessary infrastructure had been established for spray control, and perhaps 4% control obtained, it was altogether more economical to Where more than one continue with that method than to attempt to combine it with another. species was involved, it would be even less economical to attempt other methodsS In reply Dr. Pagot compared the relative habitats of the fly in East and West Africa. 37.5. Past trials had been concerned with species without a localized habitat. With a localized habitat and newly developed methods of breeding tse-tse on artificial membranes, the ,production of large numbers of sterile flies for restricted release was much more feasible. Some international contacts had already been established, particularly with U.K. teams and he looked forward to the further cooperation with other donors envisaged in the international programne with the funds proposed. In any case, the programme would be continued, as indicated earlier, already made available. Dr. ti&thi supported the use of the sterile male technique and other biological 3'76. control methods such as pupal parasitism as essential tools to follow large scale spray control sought further information on trypanotolerance hoTever. in any eradication campaign. He still - 59 - 377. Dr. Pago-t replied that although in some cases herds transferred from one place to another have shown breakdown in tolerance, the latest transfer of 2CO0 Ndama cattle from the Ivory Coast to the Central African Republic resulted in 100% survival even though certain signs of trypanosomiasis were evident. A tolerant population had also been established in Zai're from Ndama animals transferred from Guinea in the l92G's. Little success had been gained with crossing - half and three quarter bloods often proving less tolerant. Results to-date suggested, as he had indicated earlier, that biochemical investigation of the haemoglobinsconcerned might provide an answer. Dr. Bommer believed the TAC should welcome the important contribution offered by the 378. French Government as a collaborative activity to ILRAD, and should recommendthat bi-lateral financing be found for it. Whilst supporting the necessary close association with ILRAD, Dr. Hopper d.id not wish 379. to go as far as to recommendbi-lateral financing outside the normal Consultative Group operation. He believed the proposal should be submitted to the Board of ILRAD once its activities had got well under way. from 380. Noting the difference in approach, the Chairman sought and received clarification Dr. Bommer that he really wished to ensure that TAC left the door open for any donor who might wish to support the project to do so immediately. Dr. Hopper on the other hand wished ILRAD to reviewthe organization seeking further assistance prior to any further action. 381. Dr. Pagot indicated clearly that what was sought was not aid to an or anization -*he a limited programme (4. years) jointly mounted by IEMVT (a well known organization The laboratory government of Upper Volta, and for which no capital funds were required. be placed at the service of collaborators. but to would Dr. Sauger had strong reservations about subordinating the proposal to ILRAD. He 382. foresaw close cooperation being necessary but could see little advantage in linking two rather distinct approaches. Vector work did not appear in the ILRAD programme. Whilst not unwilling to indicate a divided opinion in the Committee on this issue, 383. the Chairman sought further views to enable him to reach, if possible, an agreed position without resort to the vote. It was clear that the initiative was welcomed but there was a division of opinon as to how additional support should be obtained. Dr. Hopper explained that his reservations had been mainly due to his not seeing 384. clearly the involvement of an international institute in the proposal and whilst believing that ILIAD should, or might, inlcude a look at this proposal within its broad mandate (he would not insist on this), he still felt that the Committee needed more information on the truly international nature of the proposal. Dr. Bommerbelieved difficulties had arisen over confusion in terminology. He did' 385. not believe that the proposal could be considered as international in the sense of the established institutes currently being supported. He saw it as a national initiative, an important contribution to a problem of international importance, participation in which was being invited. He felt that the Committee should therefore commendsuch participation to the members of the Consultative Group on an individual basis, possibly in respect of specific components of the programme. 386. Dr. Pago-t believed short term and if adequate extended in duration. The which donors might suggest 387. that a truly international programme could be developed in the support was forthcoming the work could both be accelerated and sponsors would be prepared to accept any international structure for funds and research'teams coming for different sources. The Chairman agreed to report the discussion realistically to the Consultative Group indicating that the Committee welcomed the initiative but that arrangements for participation should be discussed directl*y with IEMVT and that subsequently it might be of interest for h-h to be established with ILRAD. -6o- Research on Plant Diseases a) Worldwide Coordination 388. (Agenda Item 15) of Research on Diseases caused by Fusarium spp. The Chairman introduced Professor Snyder of the University of Berkeley who would present this proposal (as its originator) on behalf of FAO. A proposal had been circulated to members in which the background to the problem was explained; It was generally accepted by phytopathologists that the fungus genus Fusarium was responsible for greater crop losses than any other single plant disease orgenism. A tremendously wide spectrum of crop plants was attacked by one form of F'usaricum disease or another. Kost serious at present were perhaps the diseases of cereals, both foot rots and head blights, which had caused up to over 40$ crop loss in recent years in some European countries and were now becoming of great economic importance in the tropics and sub-tropics. A major disease of dates had recently formed the subject of a Ford Foundation sponsored seminar in North Africa, the rlbayoud*t disease had already transformed Morocco from a date exporting to a date importing country and the disease was expected to sweep right across North Africa into Iraq and Iran, the world's largest date producers. Other major diseases of worldwide importance were cocoa cushion gall and tracheomycasis of coffee, about which much was known; but little was yet known and needed to be worked out, on the conditions favouring the disease in respect of a vast number of food crops, each of which had its rather specific strain of Fusarium. The versatility of the genus was such that only through worldwide coordination of the multitude of research projects dealing with Fusarium could there be any hope of a concerted attack based on early diagnosis and integrated control methods. The project proposed sought modest assistance for a worldwide network of diagnostic and control centres, utilizing expertise wherever it could be found and holding regular workshops to keep abreast of developments. In answer to questions from the Chairman, Professor Snyder gave his firm opinion that Fusarium diseases most certainly waranted priority over any other single disease organism. With reference to communication between research workers,he felt much more was needed. A system of diagnosis had been developed which was almost. foolproof but finance was lacking to tie in the much-needed field work with laboratory practice. Dr. Hardin referred to the very successful seminar on "bayoudt disease of date-palm which Professor Snyder had conducted on behalf of the Ford Foundation and which had demonstrated very forcibly the advantage to be obtained by bringing together a team of progremmes have been started, international workers on a common problem. As a result training reference libraries assembled and laboratory materials supplied. EPuchof this. hsd' resulted from voluntary cooperation with only a modest injection of external assistance. Dr. El Tobgy raised the question of control of Fusarium diseases and sought clarification of whether individual progranunes of breeding for resistance would still be Tequired for some years to come, in respect of every cro% or whether other tried and proven control methods existed, 389. 390. 391. Professor Snyder gave an account of the various methods of propagation of Fusarium, 392. of including water-borne, wind-borne and resting spo,res, etc. Given this wide diversity methods of infection,breeding for resistance remained the most effective control. However, chemical means could be used under some circumstances, cultural means were also useful and new biological control methods were beginning to show some promise. Agreeing that some degree of coordination could probably contribute much to a 393. solution of the prcblems created by Fusarium, Dr. Yamada questioned the need to establish a new body under international control. He felt that improved communication and exchange could well be effected by other less sophisticated means than an international centre. to date and, Dr,. Snyder pointed out that "other means" had not been effective 394. coordination, except in a few rare cases (cf. bayoud disease) just did not exist. So much specifically local work was done that each unit tended to work in a vacuum and he felt that an outside stimulus was the only way to effeot true collaboration. - 61 - 395. Dr. Sauger pointed out that the printed proposal indicated that some funds were already available at the participating centres end that other work could be financed by existing international programmes and centres. He felt therefore that a closer tie-in could be effected between ongoing crop work and the proposed work on Fusarium diseases of those crops, and he sought an indication regarding the priority allocation of funds to various activities. Professor Snyder agreed that much was being done at regional and international centres but again stressed that the main use foreseen for the funds budgeted was to coordinate control after having assisted sound diagnosis. The budget details had been handling the programme, carefully worked out by FAO on the basis of that organization and he felt that they could be considered eminently reliable. 396. 397. When discussion was resumed in closed session, the Chairman expressed his regret that this project had been brought to the notice of TAC. He would much prefer to see disease problems handled by the commodity, crop or farming systems approach. He did not feel that the Committee could consider coordinating functions -too many similar problems existed and selection of priorities would be onerous. Dr. Hopper supported the Chairman's approach considering the disease problem as 398. yet another production factor which should be worked on along with crop production research. Nevertheless, the proposal did point up again the need for the TAC to consider adequate means of tapping research resources in the developed countries, which had been built UP on specialized subjects (cE soyabean research). In the opinion of Dr. Pereira, the type of coordination proposed was, or should be, 399. an essential part of FAO's programme andno additional mechanism could, he felt, be justified. The Chairman accepted the consensus of members to respond to the proposal negatively. b) Proposal for a World-wide Coordinated Programme of Research on Horizontal Resistance to Wheat Diseases Remarking that the Committee had not had an opportunity to discuss this proposal 400. in open session, the Chairman requested Mr. Oram,to present it on behalf of FAO. Members had received a background paper and although some felt that the work proposed was already being adequately carried out by CIMMYT, he believed that an opportunity should be offered for further commente Mr. Oram explained that the originators of the proposal felt that an innovative 401. approach to breeding was contained in the proposal. A case was also made for cooperation by some institutes in developed countries, which had an interest in the problem, and a mechanism was suggested by which these institutes could be brought into closer contact with centres such as CIMMYT, which worked mainly for the developing countries who could probably profit from some of the techniques used in the developed countries. There was no question of the importance of the technique of horizontal resistance itself as it had been emphasized by all the international centres in their presentations. He believed the most important question for the Committee to attempt to answer was whether CIMMYTitself could cope with the type of work proposed and whether its network was adequate to cover the global needs outlined in the proposal. The Chairman felt that if the question of horizontal resistance was really 402. fundamental to the work of the international centres concerned with grains and any relay activities associated with them (e.g. CIMMYTwith wheat), then there must be some onus ' on the centres to give due attention to the question. He therefore found it difficult to see any advantage in imposing a further organization on top of the existing centres which were already in receipt of substantial finencial support. - 62 - 403. Dr. Bommersupported this view but pointed out that to date, in the interests of to common resistance rapid results, most breeding work had relied on single gene, or vertical nowadays, both national and international, were well aware however diseases. Most centres of the importance of seeking a broader base of resistance to obviate the necessity of constantly selecting and breeding new varieties just to keep ahead of break through in resistance brought about by new strains of disease organisms. A tremendous amount of work was necessary however in the testing of mass populations and the verification of horizontal resistance under different conditions, and he felt that this might best be accomplished by the establishment of contract work or collaborative work between CIKMYT and institutes in the developed regions where organizations already existed to handle coordinated programmes. Undoubtedly a new global approach was necessary but it should be, he felt, handled by CINMYT. 404. He was supported by Dr. El Tobgy who believed that CIMBIYThad already made considerable strides in a breeding programme for horizontal resistance and had certainly highlighted this aspect of its work in its current programme of work. The proposal before the Committee was more far reaching than the CIMMYTprogramme but basically had the same objectives CIMMYThad now reached a plateau in their high yielding work and the programme was stabilizing along lines which included the horizontal resistance approach. Dr. Swaminathan, suggesting that the Committee recommendthat this was a most important aDroach to breeding for resistance, mentioned the spectacular evidence offered by potato breeding work. Although he had many reservations about the experimental techniques proposed, he did not believe the Committee should take time to discuss them. He suggested that CIMXYT be requested to make proposals regarding any additional budgetary inputs which they might require to undertake an adequate programme of breeding for horizontal resistance. The Chairman agreed that this approach be made and noted that the decision 406. represented the consensus of the Committee. 405. - 63 - International Centres (Agenda item 16) The Chairman thanked the Directors for their presence. He proposed that they would $% a short discussion of matters of general interest to all the Centres and to the TAC, followed by questions related to problems of particular Cnntres individually. In respect of the general items, he would like to know whether the Centres were $08. satisfied about the wsy review procedures were being developed, He was interested in their reactions to the proposal that they should hold a reserve of 40 days working capital, which seemed to him a rather heavy-handed way of overcoming problems of stop-go financing. Finally, he would like scmediscussion of the balance between core activities, training, and outreach in their programmes. There had been a great deal of discussion on this subject in the last few days, with rather mixed views, and he would like to know the feelings of the Centres. In relation to his first question he had found the documents prepared by Messrs. Evans 409. and Dion to be of great help, possibly because of his relatively limited visits to the Centres; on the other hand, he knew that some people felt that they might be facing the Centres with He invited too many reviews of one type and another, as well as with too many visitors. comments either from TAC or from Directors on this matter. Nr. Hanson informed the TAC that he had prepared a short paper on this subject 410. without knowing it would be raised at the Committee, which was going to be presented that afternoon to the Consultative Group, In essence, the main points were as follows. Their first concern with the present reviews was that their terms of reference were 411. much too general. As a result each inspection was of quite different nature, and this could have been avoided if there had been more attention to preparing and discussing the terms early in the year, say in January or February. They were there therefore offering, if the Secretariat so desired, to give suggestions on the next terms of reference. For example, he had noticed that one review report raised a question of the mandate of the institute. However, this was a report submitted to the Consultative Group, whereas he felt that the matter should properly have been referred to the attention of the director and trustees, otherwise they might be recommending one action to the Consultative Group when the trustees were taking different action. The same applied to some of the administrative questions. He felt that the terms of 412. reference could have been much more specific on whether the reports were intended to go into the question of whether the motor pools were too big at some institute, or whether that Nowhere was there an explanation of that favourite phrase "cost was not their objective. and it would be very useful if somebody would try to define that before the effectiveness", next review cycle. The most difficult problem had to do with timing, In the case of CINMYTthere was 413. They had no idea what the man had concluded no review of findings at the time of the visit. during his visit and did not receive a copy of the report until 13 July when it was too late to make any changes as it was already being circulated. This seemed to him 'to be a problem of individuals that were overloaded - he was not complaining about the individuals, but the Centres did feel that in planning the programme next year there ought to be some solution for this overload. If the participants in the review were increased to two agriculturists and one administrative reviewer , and if they had only two centres to visit instead of three, this the problem, although it would probably be difficult to find six people competent might solve to do this kind of work, At the very least, the report ought to be circulated, in its draft form, to the 414. directors, three weeks before it was to be published so that there was time to communicate back at least errors of fact of the sort contained in all the current series of reports. In some cases there was misunderstanding behind criticism that could easily be straightened out if there wasan opportunity to read it in advance and to offer an explanation of what they have seen. - 64 - 4150 The more basic question which he had discussed with Mr. Evans was the question of whether these reports were really needed for Centres Week? The crucial problem was the squeeze between the timing of their budget preparation and trustee meetings to approve those budgets, and the time the Consultative Group were now expecting their reports to be finished and IC they were to be ready in ample time for the November pledging meeting, this circulated. might mean September 1 rather than July 1, and much of the pressure would be relieved, The Chairman indicated that he had also made a comment to that effect and had asked for the opportunity for TAC to help shape the terms of reference. The Committee would normally meet toward the end of January or first week in February, and that would be a good time to do it. He would like members to give some thought to this. 416. 417. Dr. Pereira asked why an annual report of this type was needed at all. The sort of science that was being tackled was not new in the world. There were large numbers of national In the research institutes which already had a great deal of experience in such procedures. British system the major institutes were visited thoroughly every six years and there was a brief review every third year. With annual crops it was quite unrealistic to expect the director to change and re-value his policy year by year. 418. There was a feeling that while annual reports Other members shared this viewpoint. reviews, were necessary from the Centres themselves, combining programme and administrative detailed technical evaluation of programmessbould only be undertaken at longer intervals, possibly not with a set timing, and by specialists in the particular subjects who would be regarded as "peers V by the staffs of the Centres. Doubts were expressed that any one or two independent experts could make an exhaustive report on the broad range of subjects covered by some of the Centres. The Chairman informed members and the Directors that TAC did not have the power of decision in this matter. All they could do was to offer comment and advice, especially as related to their needs. For example, whether it was the annual report from a Centre or a review report it was essential to have it in good time because they had to make important judgments, 420. 419. Dr. Cummings said that the experience of ICRISAT might be unique with reference to the other Centres. Being a new institute and just getting organized, they had been able to arrange their schedule in consultation with the secretariat of the Consultative Group. It worked out very well and proved a very useful exercise. He believed that it was an important device for communication with their supporters and they were exploring the best way of doing this; one that was spaced too wide apart had limitations in providing the necessary communication and understanding. While he felt that Mr.Hanson was pointing out some of the ways in which it could be improved, he and the other directors felt that this was a very useful exercise. Amongst other things, it forced them to adhere to deadlines, which he found helpful, painful as this might be. Dr. Albrecht suggested that it might simplify matters if the Centres were not all 421. evaluated in the same year, allowing the visits to be staggered. IITA had a particular problem in that its agreement with U.S.AID also called for an annual evaluation, which they tried to have postponed in 1973 in view of the Consultative Group Review, but to no avail. A uniform schedule and system should be adopted for all Centres for this sort of thing. He tended to agree with TAC members who had argued that a general evaluation of the 422. type attempted this year was too cursory because of the breadth of their programme and the number of disciplines involved, More precise supplementary evaluations, directed to specific disciplines or aspects of the progremme, conducted by people eminent in the necessary fields, would be of greater value. As far as the donors were concerned, some might find broad annual reviews valuable, 4239 but others did not rely on these anyway. ODA and U,S,AID in particular tended to send their own experts to visit IITA to satisfy their agencies of the scientific validity of the work under way. ' - 65 - The Chairman expressed concern that this matter was being discussed that afternoon 424. when TAC members would not be present, but said he would try if possible to convey to theCG Chairman their thinking before the item came up. He believed that since the research that they would be backing would amount to something like $60 million before the end of the decade in terms of recurrent and capital expenditures, and a moderate amount of outreach, and that it would go another $20 million beyond that not too many years later, the Consultative Group not be prepared to give the kind of assurances of stability that TAC members and would He therefore thought it was Centres' Directors were seeking without some system of review. incumbent on them all to try and negotiate a more mutually acceptable system. The Chairman pointed out that the timing of reviews would need to keep in sight the 425. needs of the TAC which could not possibly fit in another meeting between Centres Week and the November Consultative Group meeting, at which TAC.views should be made known. He liked Dr. Albrecht's suggestion for reducing the number of visits to once in two years. This would facilitate handling by all concerned. Additional time procedures were suggested by Mr. Hanson, who commended the practice 426. followed by CIKMYT of urging reviewers,in this case the Trustees' Progremme Committee, not to repeat in their reports too much of the descriptive material already availa'ole in detail in programme presentations. The Chairman requested Kr. Hanson to repeat his suggestion in subsequent discussion 427. at the Consultative Group, Turning to the question of -cash flows he believed the IBRD should be able to arrange a better working "overdraft" agreement to meet the lag period between donors' supply of funds and the Centres' need of cash flow, than the 40 day working capital fund agreed upon. He further questioned whether the 40 day agreement had been reached with the Co-Sponsors of the Group. Mr. Hanson replied that the agreement had been reached with the Bank's representative 428. and on his suggestion. The C"ntres had so many advance commitments, to recruiting organizations, to the Plexican Government, etc. that even if payments from donors were not slow, at least a 40 day fund would be required. Dr. Pagot undertook to provide a written statement on the financing mechanism which 429. was utilized by the French Overseas Research Institutes, and which he felt could, with advantage, be put into practice with the IBRD acting as banker on behalf of the international centres. It was based on pledges and ensured cash flow to the research institutes as required, He expressed concern that funds advanced by CIMMYTto its U,S. based recruiting organization were not interest earning. The Chairman reiterated TAC's concern that the work of the Centres was not disrupted 430. by irregular cash flow and hoped that adequate ways and means could be esta'blished to avoid this. Passing to his third question, the Chairman sought the views of the Directors on how 431. the balance between core, outreach and-training activities was developing and whether any guidance could be given to the TAC, which from time to time had to examine proposals which might fall into any of those categories. Dr. Chandler indicated that outreach programmes, in the early days of CIMMYT, IRRI, 432. etc. had just developed on a more or less ad hoc basis in response to real needs, and had been more or less considered as an integral point of the whole programme, with little distinction being made. What was important he felt was to get a needed job done without attaching too much importance as to the designation given to it. the Chairman pointed out the Regretting that the question could not be so simplified, 433. need for distinction in the current situation where core programmes were generally considered for Consultative Group financing, whilst bilateral support was sought for outreach programmes. Although he would prefer to submit the programrnes as a whole to the Group and leave it to the Group to decide how to arrange financing, he had to consider the currently accepted procedures for budgetary submission, and sought further comment. - 66 - Dr. Sauger requested information on how the Centres handled special projects and 434. research contracts at both administrative and technical levels: specifically whether they were carried out under the direct responsibility of the Centres or whether heads of projects were more or less independent, If the latter, what linkages existed, and did this type of financing impose special difficulties? Mr. Hanson believed that there was some variability between Centres, but as far as 435. CIMMYTwas concerned, no core funds were used outside Mexico, All overseas staff were paid by special grants, but technical leadership of the programmes was given by the headquarters staff and not the donor agency or recipient government. Donors thus entered into agreement with both CIMMYTand governments, Most donors, however, provided important administrative services through their offices in the recipient countries and he wished to stress the great value of these services, absence of which (transport, housing, communications, etc.) greatly handicapped outreach activities, The system of CIAT was basically similar to that of CIMMYT, but Dr. Grant pointed 436. up some important differences, Whilst core programmes were mainly within Colombia, at the headquarters and national stations, the Board had allowed up to $50,000 of core funds to be used outside Colombia, in general as restarter" funds, rather than as direct support, for important outreach projects, The major difference was that CIAT had a project in Guatemala to assist a new national research and development organization to get under way. Although funded as a special project and not out of core programme it was not an outreach project as generally accepted, Other outreach activities were, however, getting established under the coordination of the Deputy Director and funds were being sought. 437. Dr. Sawyer indicated that CIP had no special projects as yet, but had some experience of research contracts, These were paid quarterly out of core funds and were assigned for technical direction to the appropriate section head who had previously taken the decision than work at the Centre. that contract work would offer better possibilities 438. Describing the several mechanisms used by donors for funding outreach projects, Dr. Cummings pointed out that in some cases donors grants were made directly to the International Centres, and in others directly to the cooperating national or regional centre, He stressed the very useful mechanism of donors financing projects in association with, but Examples were given of this approach being utilized not through, the budgets of the Centres, to finance both individual staff and fellowship trainees. The alternative approach,cby which institutes handled funds for both work at the headquarters and in outreach programmes, were normally organized under special project contractual agreements. ,Dr. Sauger thanked the speakers but indicated that he really wanted to know how 439. "special projects" at headquarters were handled, i.e. those which were outside the core programme and which might create difficulties. Replying on behalf of IRRI, Dr. Athwal stressed that many different arrangements 440. He saw outreach as the transfer of knowledge, information existed in the various Centres, and materials which had been developed generally as part of a Centre's core programme and normally centralised at the headquarters or on some occasions through oooperative‘ programmes Such outreach rarely formed part of the core or research contracts, variously financed. Outreach was in an almost continuous state of programme although run by the Centre. and a problem currently taxing IRRI was the follow-up to outreach programmes evaluation, Questions arose as to whether to follow-up with a second phase, reaching a conclusion. terminate abruptly, or maintain aloose association through consultancy, supply of key equipment and materials, etc. Dr. Brady followed up these comments by stressing the very great importance of 4Ltl* having a staff member at director level, such as Dr. Athwal, to oversee a Centre's oareach for ensuring the success of outreach projects progrsmme. Centres had a real responsibility and must participate in decision making at all levels on a shared basis with recipient countries. - 67 - Rpferring to a problem recently posed to CIAT, to accept capital funds to accelerate 442. the development of a national research programme on a station with no facilities yet holding area bank loan funds for building, Dr, Grant saw the need for closer liaison between loan organizations and the centres and other bodies in a position to assist national research development. Dr. Cummingsmade the point that most centres use a substantial core staff input to 443. support outreach programmes, particularly in coordination and travel. He was supported by Dr. Albrecht who indicated the reluctance of IITA to use core funds for outreach progrsmmes, noting that the sponsoring agencies were often more interested in such outreach than other donors, The outreach programme of IITA, although currently modest, would soon be expanded and he remarked on the considerable feedback value to the institute of outreach activities. 444. invited Turning to specific questions and problems of the International Mr. Hanson to open on behalf of CIMMYT. CIMMYT Mr. Hanson commendedthe review report on CIMMYTwhich he felt defined the issues and 445* research priorities with great clarity. Unfortunately, his staff had not had time to review and comment on the proposals made in the report. However, he wished to refer to questions which had been raised with regard to whether a useful start could be made on a barley programme with $40,000 per annum. Based on experiences with the durum vlheat programme, which also had only one staff member, he believed it could. A full report would be made next year to the Trustees, at their request, to enable a firm position to be taken. The earlier work of CIMMYT on barley was terminated in 1962 under pressure for the wheat programme. However, germplasm stocks had been built up and maintained and contacts with interested countries had been kept up, often as a result of the same people working on both wheat and barley. Requests for outreach psogrammes on barley had been received from five countries in the Near East and North Africa and some difficulties were foreseen, In answer to a question from the Chair regarding the possible merits of a relay centre 446. in the Near East, Mr. Hanson remarked that CIMMYTwheat staff were already drabm into consultations on barley and he questioned the relative merits of a relay centre as against a worldwide network. A relay centre would be more likely to be working on systems research than on individual crops and would presumably be looking at such problems as the wheat/fallow rotation which currently led to tremendous land wastage, CIMMYTwas also looking at possibly desirable substitute systems in Turkey and he could see some advantage in tying together work on the same problem in all countries. Whoever took on the relay task would have to be locally based as it could not be handled from Mexico and would need to involve sheep/goat/crop relationships. Other forms of cooperation were also conceivable for organization by a relay centre and reference was made to current CIMMYTrelationships in the area with FAO, the Caisse Centrale, etc. A training role, also wider than that currently handled by CIMMYT, could also be foreseen and cooperative work with other training institutions would be required, Dr. Hanson questioned whether a start was being considered for a whole series of regionally or climatically oriented centres, and, if so, where would it lead eventually, Referring back to the question of the Near East and the apparent desire for a "division of labour", he sought clarification on how this might best be organized, Dr. Bommer felt that one of the main reasons for placing barley research in the 447. Near East was that, as the centre of origin, it was a most suitable place to conduct research on disease resistance. A supporting reason would be that the region was almost the only area in the world where barley was used mainly as food. Mr. Hanson questioned the foregoing statement, citing the widespread use of barley 448. as food in six South American countries and at least five countries in Eastern Europe. It was also of great importance at high elevations in several Asian countries, although not CIMMYTdid not believe that breeding nationally important in comparison with lowland cereals, for resistance needed to be done in the zone of origin; on the contrary, in order to get Centres, the Chairman - 68 - wide adaptation, not only to diseases but to heat and cold tolerance and varying moisture the widest possible testing (worldwide) in a range of environments was required. conditions, The work in Mexico was1 he felt, just as important to North African countries as was work in North Africa itself. 449. Some concern was expressed by Dr. Marcano, which he believed was shared by the Board of CIMMYT, that relatively little impact had been made, particularly by the wheat programme, on the wheat producing countries of Latin America, and he wondered if Dr. Hanson could offer an explanation or suggest a remedy. 450. Mr. Hanson agreed that up to 1971 CIMMYThad, as a result of a historical ltaccidentf' paid relatively less attention to Latin America. When the semi-dwarf wheats, originally developed for Mexico, were found to be so suitable for the Indo-Gangetic plains areas of India and Pakistan, work was concentrated in that area, At the same time they were found to be susceptible to stripe rust and Septoria, two of the most important diseases of the Andean countries, and Brazil and Argentina respectively, Subsequently work had been started on these two diseases and now a substantial programme was going on in Argentina, Brazil, Turkey and North Africa. Latterly, the amount of CIMMYTstaff time spent on consultancy in Latin America had amounted to nearly half of the total staff consultancy time, with regard to future programmes, ease of accessibility made it unnecessary for many teams of workers to be physically located in Latin America, although a team had been selected for Argentina or South Brazil, and would be placed as soon as possible. 451. In answer to a question from Mr. Oram regarding the extent to which the adoption of wheat and maize varieties might be impeded by price policies in Latin America or elsewhere, Mr. Hanson indicated that three Latin American countries found it more economical to import wheat with PL 4/80 funds than to encourage its growth on their own highlands. This might not be the result of price policies'as much as general government policy. The Chairman intervened to ask a question with,respect to any special efforts which CIMMYTmight be making on the much discussed factor of Horizontal resistance in its breeding programmes. 452. i53* Mr. Hanson estimated that 50 percent of all CIMMYT's present crosses had this end in view and the widely spread testing programmes also facilitated the selection of materials He was supported by Dr. Nickel of IITA, speaking on with a broad spectrum of resistance, behalf of all the Centres, who assured the Committee that this was a dominant theme iball the Centres' breeding programmes and in his opinion needed no special attention, being already adequately taken cere of. IHHI L5S. The Chairman, in opening the discussion, a sked if a clear distinction could be made between the work on improved varieties for rainfed conditions and the programme on cropping systems. It had been stated that basic work on varieties would continue, but whether some special recognition of the needs.for rainfed conditions would be recognized or whether it was assumed that all varieties would be appropriate for both rainfed and irrigated.conditions was not clear, neither was it clear whether or not the systems work (multiple cropping, etc.) was just another facet of the general programme but concentrating on upland areas. 4559 Dr. Brady replied that the Institute had broadened, rather than shifted, its emphasis to include work on rainfed paddy rice and upland rainfed rice not grown under paddy conditions, This broadening of emphasis had been demonstrated by the results presented on breeding for drought tolerance, nutrient deficiencies, toxicities, etc., all of which were factors associated more with upland conditions, A further example was the request for a soil/plant/ water relations worker to investigate the problems of moving into rainfed or upland Y conditions. Similarly the breeding for deep water areas and investigation of salinity and alkalinity problems also demonstrated the broadening of the programme away from irrigated conditions. As a result perhaps of this expansion into rainfed and upland conditions, it, had become necessary to study the associated farming systems which would in fact now form a major part of the programme, - 69 - Dr. Ruttan requested Dr. Brady's views on what were the essentials to progress in 456. the expanded programme and what was the complementarity with existing facilities, with which some work in this field had already been accomplished. Regarding the availability of manpower and facilities, the Committee was informed 4579 that present levels were already barely sufficient for existing progrsmmes, and that some additional facilities, which logic suggested should be planned for up to five years ahead, In the cropping would definitely be required if a vigorous programme was to be maintained. systems programme additional assistance was needed specifically in pathology and agronomy; a network coordinator and an economist were required and consultancies were foreseen in systems work, soil science, climatology, etc. The first year would be devoted to establishment of a firm basis for the network, including the additional IRRI based scientists, whilst the full programme would get under way in the second year. During this preliminary period the additional facilities on the IRRI campus would be constructed and off-site locations on two different soil types and in different agro-climatic zones in the Philippines would be negotiated. Dr. Suaminathan expressed his great satisfaction at the prospect of IRRI's expansion and made a strong plea for the distribution to cooperating countries of early segregating materials from the rainfed/upland rice breeding programmes rather than wait and follow the practice of releasing nexnedoridentified varieties, Dr. Brady undertook to bring this point to the notice of the breeders. 458 l The problems of a reley centre were raised by Dr. Grant. 80 percent of the rice 459. grown in Brazil was upland rice end he wished to know whether the work contemplated by IRRI would be pertinent or whether a special effort, greater than CIAT could currently contemplate, would be required. The Board of CIAT would probably agree nevertheless that the Centre should collaborate in any work contemplated. 460. Dr. Brady agreed that IRRI should be involved with CIAT in the development of a joint He felt that some of the basic research programme relative to the Brazilian situation. principles could be worked out at IRRI, leaving the cooperative programme in Brazil to handle site-specific problems and local adaptation work. 461. Following an intervention from Dr. Chandler who pointed out that IRRI had started its work on rainfed rice some three years ago, Dr. Athwal indicated that although IRRI had concentrated on the centre part of the "water availability curve*' for rice, i.e. under irrigated and adequately rainfed paddy conditions, for which technologies were basically similar, the two ends of the curve had not been entirely neglected during the last few years. For deep water rice two basic problems exist: tolerance to the depth (up to 3 W.) end photosensitivity. Revertheless, experience with semi-dwarfs grown under shallow flood Close conditions indicated that photosensitivity should perhaps not be bred out entirely. cooperation with Bangladesh was foreseen on the deep water work. At the other end of the curve, where moisture stress was the most important factor, basic studies would be needed on the physiology of drought resistance. -isting varieties had been tested, and some promising strains selected. Concomitantly with further breeding work, new screening methods were being developed for heat tolerance and drought resistance. Recognizing the excellence of IRRI's agricultural mechanization and engineering work, 462. Dr. El-Tobgy enquired if there was a possibility of IRRI extending this work to other crops than rice and assuming something of a regional role, as an alternative to the possible need for establishing a new facility for this purpose. Dr. Brady replied that this question had been discussed at IRRI Board level and there 463. was no question that the systems programme would entail responsibility for tillage practfces and consequently some machinery development, The question of broadening this additional responsibility to "programmel' proportions had also been considered, and, following consultation with the other international centres IRRI might propose a mechanization programme in another year's time. - 70 - IITA The Chairman raised the question of IITA's involvement in the programmes of WARDA. 464. The TAC had recommendedspecific support for the WARDA regional trials project (W-l) and had drawn attention to the complementary nature of the other research projects. At the same time clear conditions had been laid down regarding the establishment of an authoritative steering It was vital that IITA committee to exert technical and financial control over the project. be represented on that committee and that there be given some assurance that the project concerned was of real significance and importance to IITA. 465. Dr. Albrecht referred to the extensive testing efforts on rice varieties in West Africa as one of the major components of the programme. Both IRAT and IITA had already conducted some trials, pending the WARDA programme getting under way. Now that there was a real possibility of the testing programme coming under the aegis of WARDA,the IITA had already recognized WARDA as the principal medium in the region for the continuation of the testing service. Substantial IITA inputs had been made, and would be continued, both in . varieties and training, and the Institute would certainly be happy to serve on the Steering Committee. IITA would, he expected, continue to serve as the regional relsy, or assistance agency for IRRI, and as such would be in an excellent position to subscribe to the further advancement of the cooperative rice research and development efforts of WARDA. The Chairman indicated that the Committee , although suggesting the representation 466. of IRRI on the WARDA Committee, had in fact acknowledged the fact that IITA had a regional representarole and did not assume in any way a direct relationship between IRRI and WARDA. Dr. Albrecht welcomed the suggestion that IRRI end IRAT should both serve on the 467. WARDA Steering Committee and felt that the Committee should soon be in a position to work out a rational modus operandi for the W-l project, In reply to a question from Dr. Pereira,' he indicated that the headquarters research staff and trials coordinator of WARDA had already demonstrated that a good job could be done provided really adequate supervision could be assured for the 'loutstationlf regional trials. CIAT The Director of CIAT, Dr. Grant, was requested by the Chairman to explain to the ~68. Committee the attitude of CIAT to the proposed field bean research network for tropical America which had been recommendedby the TAC Sub-Committee Mission. Dr. Grant explained that the seminar had appointed a working group to develop certain 469. of its recommendations, He indicated that although in the hot tropics of Latin America cowpea or soya bean might be preferable to field beans, there was such a tremendous enthusiasm, verging on the emotional, for the development of field beans, that despite the long-term nature of bean improvement programmes, they must go ahead. He felt that any collaborative effort should have two major characteristics. Firstly 470. it must be directly associated with a sound research base, and secondly should have the capability and capacity for relatively large scale training, It might also assist in finding finance end in the improvement of national programmes, etc., but the two basic characteristics were essential. CIAT had the capacity, he felt, to undertake an expanded bean programme, as directed 4719 by its Board, and is proceeding to do so, It could certainly undertake part, if not all, of the conduct of a regional cooperation progrexnme(which it felt was a logical part of its programme), but would be happy for the TAC to consider other alternatives. He did not believe an intermediate coordinating body could function usefully, and reiterated his conviction that direct access to the ongoing research and training facilities was essential. A certain misunderstanding had become apparent regarding the provenance of the proposal submitted to TAC, for a regional cooperation programme. It was not commissioned by CIAT, although it erase from the recommendations of the CIAT bean seminar. Nevertheless, CIAT welcomed the initiative and would follow with interest the deliberations of the Committee thereon. - 71- 472. The Chairman indicated scheduled for discussion at the cooperation of the Centre. He which had prepared the regional that contact would be maintained with CIAT on the proposal, February TAC Meeting, and he would welcome the cordial invited comment from Dr. Marcano as one of the working group proposal. 473. Dr. larcano indicated that the initiative which led to the formulation of the regional proposal was quite in accord with the recommendation of the TAC Mission to Tropical America, and he warmly commendedthe proposal to members for close study prior to the next meeting of the Committee. It represented a departure from lltraditionalll proposals studied to date by the Committee, although it had certain parallels with the WARDA project, He believed it would enable the Committee to establish an interesting precedent for the future, if supported. Dr. Pagot raised a general question on the detailing in the International Centres Programmes of all work done at the Centres through whatever funding arrangements - in order that members of the Committee should be able to take an overall view of what was going on over and above that requested in core programmes, special programmes and outreach. Replying on behalf of the Centres, Dr. Grant agreed that this was a good suggestion and that perhaps assistance received, or work done in the centres, which did not necessitate transfer of funds, should nevertheless be shown. He gave some illustrative examples of work at CIAT which indicated quite a substantial extra-budgetary contribution to the programme. CIP 476. 474. 475. Dr. Marcano opened of primitive materials from the production of a tropically on the lack of tuberisation problem of disease resistance the discussion with a request for further information on the use the tropical,areas east of the Andes in crossing programmes far adapted potato variety. He also sought Dr. Sawyer's views at high temperatures as a limiting factor, and on the general , particularly resistance to PhytQphthora. 477. , In reply, Dr. Sawyer indicated that collection in the Eastern Andes formed part of the systematic collection programme, but that he was not yet in a position to give any details regarding its potential nor of the possible difficulties which might be encountered in the crossing programme. There was some evidence of genetic flexibility, however, with regard to tuberisation - less than 5 percent of the genetic variability that existed in the Solanum materials had so far been screened, and massive screening progremmes were continuing. There had probably been more work done on Phytsphthora infestans in various parts of the world than on any other disease, but phytopathologists still had a very long way to go. Horizontal resistance was well to the fore in CIP's programme, and a seminar on the disease was planned for later in the year. It was hoped that a five year programme could be planned on a global basis to include the contract research already under way. Work on Pseudomonas would also be included in the programme and some lines with resistance to both diseases were already available for inclusion in wider testing programmes. A full report, including details of the five year programme would be submitted to the Committee next year, In answer to a query from Dr, Chandler, Dr. Sawyer agreed that at higher temperatures 478. less trouble might be expected from Phytophthora than in cooler climates but the real danger lay in climates with a large diurnal variations where cold, damp nights were experienced. Dr. Hopper enquired whether storage end other post-harvest problems were being treated 479. in detail by the Centre, as an IDRC project in Colombia had run into problems with rotting of seed as well as harvested potatoes, Dr. Sawer informed the Committee that CIP was now getting geared up to tackle ihis 480. problem as it would be an important contribution to its own outreach work on seed production and multiplication, and was often a limiting factor in national programmes. Different problems were of course imposed by the storage of table stock, as consumer quality was important, but both aspects were being examined by the CIP team. - 72 - ICRISAT Dr. Hopper raised a question on the general problems of outreach facing ICRISAT. 481. As one moved away from irrigated areas into semi-arid and arid zones the dependence of human cultures on the vagaries of nature was greatly increased and so was the diversity of problems He was concerned with the potential activities of created by specific micro-climates. ICRISAT in such diverse areas as Africa, North-East Brazil, and Central and South America, and wondered when ICRISAT might be able to move into some of these diverse and complex areas. In reply, Dr. Cummings informed the Committee that ICRISAT was already actively 482. establishing contacts and beginning to develop ideas around which outreach activities could in depth of the problems of Nest be planned. Plans were well advanced for an exploration Africa and established contacts in North-East Brazil should make it possible for exploration officer was currently under selection to begin in that area in the spring of 1974. A training for headquarters training programmes, The location of Dr. Doggett of IDRC at ICRISAT headquarters was expected to facilitate greatly further contacts with Africa. Overall, Dr. Cummings expected 1974 to be a year of great develppments at the Institute. The Chairman referred to the general training function of the International Centres. 483. Discussion during the session had sharpened the focus on the training and outreach activities of the Centres and a general philosophy was apparent. However, he saw the need for further discussion by the Committee of the training activities of the Centres, whether these should be limited to "training the trainers" etc. and hoped that a background paper might be made available for subsequent discussion by the Committee at its next session. AVRDC At the request of the Chairman Dr. Chandler gave a brief review of activities at 484. completed and by the end of the year about AVRX. The physical plant was now virtually 100 ha (approximately two-thirds of the total) of the experimental farm would be roaded and During a recent programme review it had been decided that the Centre still had too drained. many experimental crops and the original number of twelve had now been reduced to six mung bean, soya bean, tomato, white potato, sweet potato, and Chinese cabbage. Over 2,000 varieties of mung bean were available and from these some resistance to bean fly had been selected. Screening was also being done for viruses and other diseases. Good prospects also existed for intreasing yield potential, including a crossing technique with a Japanese bean. A large soya bean collection had also been made, and the Centre offered collaboration with any other interested centre - cooperation in the Asian region was already quite good. Major problems in the tomato were diseases and pollen sterility in hot weather - 4,000 varieties were under screening and some very promising resistances and heat tolerances were being found. The major line in the sweet potato was selection and breeding for high protein, whilst with the white potato the Centre hoped to function as an Asian tropical outstation for CIP, carrying out tropical testing of CIP varieties. The Chinese cabbage posed problems of heading in the long season and disease problems were ever present. 485. The financial situation during the current year was satisfactory, as a result of some additional grants and arrears in contributions having been forthcoming. However, a $400,000 shortfall was seen between desirable and probable expenditure in 1974. 486. Dr. Chandler emphasized the major contribution which he felt the Centre was making towards improved nutrition, thus complementing, at least' for Asia, the work of the major cereals research centres. In reply to a question from Dr. Grant regarding an estimated post-harvest loss of 487. 50 percent of vegetables in the tropics, Dr. Chandler indicated that the building of a postharvest Physiology laboratory was included in the 1974 budget, but might have to be put off if to add a marketing specialist to his staff, physiologist on storage and marketing the shortfall was not made up. He would also like to work in close cooperation with the post-harvest problems. particular a tropical 488. Dr. Bommerquestioned whether statistics were available on vegetable consumption, with reference to comparability with fruit consumption, in view of the request to TAC for fruit centre. The Committee was informed by Dr. Chandler that such a study, made in the Philippines, 489. was available. It indicated that next to cereals, vegetables were the most heavily consumed group of foods. Fruits were important but the study indicated that they were of much less importance than vegetables. 490. Beforeclosing the session the Chairman referred to the very valuable dialogue which had been established with the Centres' Directors, and hoped that this dialogue might be maintained by mutual interchange of comments on policy and principles between meetinps, He thanked the Directors for their attendance and hoped that th .e type of meeting just enjoyed would become a permanent feature. Date and P'ace of the Seventh Meeting (Agenda Item 18) The Seventh Meeting of the Committee will be held during the week 4-8 February 1974. 491. It was agreed that,in order to give members time to familiarize themselves with any late documentation,during the morning of Monday, 4 February, the session would be opened at 14.30 hrs. on that dey. CHA~AN~S SUMMINGUP (Agenda 1% 19) The Chairman's summing-up was presented to the joint 492. TAC members and Centres' Week participants on 3 August 1973. Priorities for international in developing countries support to agricultural meeting of the Consultative research Group, The Chairman indicated that his draft paper on this subject would be revised to take 493. into account comments during the TAC/Centres Week meeting prior to its submission in more definitive form to the November meeting of the Consultative Group. He expected little change in the perspective or main substance of the paper, but there might be some elaboration on the and on the problem of the balance important question of strengthening n-ational-research capacities, of training, outreach, relay and linkage activities at the International Centres. He emphasized that food remained the first priority for TAC's work; in particular, 494. cereals, legumes, starchy products and livestock, with other food products such as vegetables and fruit having second priority even though they were of major importance to particular regions. The Committee believed that it would be extremely difficult to meet world food needs over the next three decades, end that this would only be possible by sustained research effort and its intelligent application, While they had no hesitation in according first priority to the food problem, TAC was 495. also open to considering industrial crops , provided such action did not impair the effort TAC ..ould not on devoted to food crops, and depending on the financial resources available. its own initiative bring forward proposals for forestry research per se, but it recognized that there were significant inter-relationships and sometimes oomsiEon between farming and forestry in some areas on which research might be needed to achieve optimum land use. The fact that TAC had so far concentrated its attention largely on the improvement 496. of major food crops did not imply that it considered research related to the factors of production, such as water, fertilizer and pesticide% as unimportant. To a considerable extent TAC saw this as an integral part of the overall research leading to the evolution of new or improved technologies for the major commodities, In some cases, however, it recognized that a purely commodity-oriented approach was inadequate, and for this reason it had become more and more concerned with broader issues of farming systems and their components, In the programmes of the Centres, the same trend was visible, - 74 - This led him directly to socio-economic issues, which the TAC had never divorced from 497. technological problems in research and on which it would continue its discussion at its February meeting. It would have the benefit at that time of the discussion that had taken place in the recent socio-economic seminar. Under the heading llInstitutional Approaches to Research", the Chairman said that TAC 498. Xished to remain flexible, The Committee encouraged the concept of a network of research institutions, ad would give increasing attention to inter-relationships among international, regional, and national organizations. Strengthening national research establishments and scientific capabilities was essential if full use was to.be made of the work the Consultative Group was supporting, Nevertheless, the TAC could not itself receive proposals for support to individual national research efforts; Assistance in building up this was not its role. national programmes and for training was, however, a vital task for such multi-lateral bodies as FAO, UNDP, and the World Bank; this was just as important as, and complementary to, the development of international research activities on behalf of the developing countries. In respect of the section of the paper on the relations between applied and basic 499. science, the Chairman pointed out that this was a subject on which TAC had not yet had time for a full discucsion 0 . Nevertheless, it did raise important issues to which they would soon have to address themselves, such as whether more basic studies were required on the'inherent characteristics of the legumes before real progress could be made in increasing their present low yields, Such research might be costly, and it would be necessary to consider to what extent the Centres should become involved in some of the problems of basic research, or, if -hey were not equipped to tackle them, whether they could not be assigned to a university or rather than creating another major some other appropriately equipped research institute, international centre. Referring to the future financial requirements of work supported, or envisaged for 500. support, within the framework of the Consultative Group, the Chairman noted that the revised table which he had circulated as part of the priorities paper indicated expenditures on capital and current account for existing centres and possible new activities of $60-80 million by 1977-80, including the cost of outreach programmes. By November, he hoped to improve these estimates, which he did not wish quoted as gospel at this stage. In particular, he would try to eliminate the inflationary element and present an estimate at constant prices. Although the figures in the second part of the table were by no means all firmly committed, and some were only illustrative, it was nevertheless clear that the bill would not be low, and a fairly rapid rate of growth could be anticipated in financial terms, Because ofa inflation the real growth would be somewhat slower, 531. Sir John recognized that there would be financial constraints on the activities which tLe Consultative Group could support, and that each new decision further limited the room for maneuver. There was therefore a coincidence in objectives between'members of the Group which wanted to see forward planning done .for the Group's programme, the members of TAC who needed a financial framework within which to formulate recommendations on research priorities, and He hoped that this would be the recipients of support who sought for reasonable continuity. discussed further at the November meeting of the Consultative Group. Proposals under consideration by TAC The Chairman indicated that TAC had been considering eleven proposals involving: %*Mest African Rice Development Association (WARDA)L the conservation of genetic resources; tropical protein needs of Latin America; research needs of th; Wear East and Rorth Africa; further work on agricultural mechanization in West Africa; fruits; soybean research; an FAO proposal on the control of diseases caused by fusarium funguses; trypanosomiasis; TAG had decided it would not and aquaculture. horizontal resistance to wheat diseases; concern itself further with the questions of agricultural mechanization in West Africa.,or of fusarium diseases, - 75 - Two proposals being brought forward by TAC would involve 503. WARDA and for the conservation of genetic resources. expenditures for 197i: for The WARDA proposal now before the Consultative Group was considerably modified from 504. that originally presented to TAC. It took into account a number of suggestions made !):I the Committee, and the WARDA Secretariat had been most receptive of the ideas TAC had put forward. It had not been easy for TAC to reach an unanimous recommendation on the WARDA 505. programme as there were inherent difficulties in undertaking research through cooperative managementwhich did not exist with the more normal hierarchichal structure of a research centre. Nevertheless, the TAC regarded the former as an important experimental approach to the conduct of research involving the cooperation of an international centre (IITA), IRAT, and national research organizations. It was certainly a,step in the direction of strengthening national research capacity, and was an indication of the kind of collaboration amongst, nations which had to be encouraged. WARDA was now asking for funds to support the parl. of its activities consisting of coordinated field trials of rice varieties at. a network of TAC recommendedadoption of this locations, together with associated training activities. proposal by the Consultative Group, subject to certain conditions and qualifications. 506. These qualifications included the following (see Resolution, Annex IV):First the rate of development of the project W.l. must .be linked to the availabilit:: of scientific capabilities for supervising the field trials, both in the WARDA secretariat and at the nati national level, The Committee were not certain that the capacity existed to expand the work Second, WARDA must have close ties with IITA in training and field as rapidly as proposed. trials; third, the project should be closely integrated with WARDA'sother activities; fourth, WARDA must collaborate closely not only with IITA but wit!; other relevant institutions such as IRRI and the French Institut de Recherches Agronomiques Tropicales et dcs Cultures Vivri&res (IRAT); fifth, in order to strengthen the scientific direction of the project, a small steering committee should be given responsibility for guiding; thr. trials, training and relationships with other institutions. TAC suggested that the steering committee should be composed of representatives of the WAR3A Secretariat, FAO, IITA, IRFU, IRAT, and two member countries of WARDA,and should contain, in addition, one independent scientist. The establishment of this committee, and the ACTIVE cooperation of the main international research organizations working on rice in the region was considered an essential in view of pre-requisite for the success of the whole WARDA research programme. Finally, the interesting experimental nature of the approach the WARDA research programme should ?:e reviewed annually by TAC on the basis of a report from the WALRDA Consultative Committee. Conservation of world plant genetic resources The Chairman noted that in its first presentation of this proposal to the Connult507* ative Group the Committee had indicated that action was urgently needed to collect, evaluate, exchange, and preserve for future utilization the world's diminishing reserves of crop genetic materials. 508. Following certain suggestions made by the Group a revised project had been prepared by FAO and discussed by TAC, which made provision for additional support from P4.40 funds for The TAC were naiisfied servicing the managementand operation of the activities proposed. to the that these activities were substantially those which it had earlier reco.mmended Consultative Group, but he wished to draw attention to certain oiler points in the revised proposal now before them. The first related to the part the International Centres might plab- in the proposed 509* Suhsenetwork, concerning which the Consultative Group had requested further information. quent detailed correspondence had elicited very encouraging responses from t,he Centres, but it was nevertheless clear to the !l?ACthat they did not have the scope, and coultl not increase their existing programmes sufficiently to meet all needs. - 76 - Second, he noted that the budget was somewhat larger than that originally submitted, 510. so as to allow increased weight to be given to exploration and collection which was becoming yearly more urgent. Another element of increase was to allow IRRI to play a more effective role; and finally there was inflation. TAC hoped that the Consultative Group would review the budget sympathetically; and, although it had indicated three areas for priority action, it would not be sorry if the support of donors permitted some acceleration in the timetable indicated, Finally, there was the question of independence in the overall direction of the 511. operation. TAC had earlier recommendeda governing body.for it in association with FAO, on a trust fund basis. The revised document suggested the panel of experts as the advisory body, and the main source of management and direction for the enterprise. TAC welcomed FAO's offer to service such a body, and while they were not proposing any set pre-conditions for management, he wondered if the panel of experts would be adequate for all the purposes suggested, Perhaps the Consultative Group would wish to discuss further with FAO the appropriate form of management. 512. report Research needs for protein production in Latin of its Latin American mission, Sir John reported On the basis of the final America. TAC's position under three headings. First, a recommendation had been made to establish a cooperative research programme 513. in tropical America on field beans. A working group sponsored by CIAT to follow-up the recommendations of the seminar had prepared a specific proposal for such a network which would be considered by TAC in February. 514. Second, the mission had recommended that CIAT conduct a seminar to formulate ideas for beef research. The recommendation had been accepted and the seminar would be held early in 1974. Third, the report discussed the activities and prospects of the regional research 515. centre at Turrialba. Sir John noted that the financial. difficulties facing this centre had been resolved at least for the next two or three years. In the opinion of TAC, it could do useful work in legumes and livestock , possibly in genetic resources, and in tropical fruit research, supposing that there were a fruit programme supported by the Consultative Group. 516. TAC's approach to the question of protein in Latin America was to make full use of CIAT, of one or two regional centres, and of national efforts. It was therefore imprqbable that TAC would bring forward a proposal for a major new international Centre in this field. Research needs of the Near East and North Africa The Chairman reported that the TAC had not yet finished its discussion of the report 517. This was no reflection on the report, of the research review mission led by Dr. Skilbeck. which was an excellent one, but rather an indication that this was the first time the Committee had felt it had a serious appraisal of the research needs of this area. TAC endorsed in principle the case made by the Mission for a substantial strengthening of research in the for research winter rainfall Mediterranean climatic zone, and accepted the broad priorities on more effective use of land and water resources, for improvement of certain key crops, and for the coordination of effort on developing more intensive farming systems. 518. However, the Committee had not satisfied itself that all of the research proposed in the report could be carried out by a single centre, indeed pressure of work on this occasion had not allowed the time they would have liked to discuss the report. Before the Committee's next meeting in February, a subcommittee, together with several members of the review mission would further consider its recommendations. They would psy particular attention to the research priorities proposed; the long list of functions suggested, which seemed to be more than could be handled by one "centre of excellence~~; the adequacy & the and the relationship staff and budget proposed; the location of the proposed institute; of a Middle East research effort to national rela;\r stations tid to ICRISAT, ILCA and CIMMYT, and to meeting information and training needs. He hoped that this approach would enable'the . TAC to make more definitive recommendations to the Consultative Group. - 77 - Aquaculture TAC's expert panel on aquaculture had submitted a summary report to the recent 519. meeting of TAC. The full report of the panel was awaited and was expected to be discussed basis, TAC felt more optimistic than the February 1974 session of TAC. On a preliminary it appeared feasible to expect rapid progress in the expansion of fish production before; as a major protein source. Proposal for an International Soybean Resource Rase (INTSOY) at TAC endorsed the need to expand research on soybean production in developing countries, 520. and had recommended-that ways should be found of tapping highly significant soybean research The Committee had been delighted and 'trainingfacilities that existed in the United States. with the response that had come forward in the form of's proposal (known as 'tINTSOY't) to support soybean research in the developing countries by using the staff and facilities of the University of Illinois in collaboration with the University of Fuerto Rico as an international resource base, It was assumed by TAC that the resource base itself would be the subject of domestically arranged finance, and that the concern of the Consultative Group would be with the outreach programme. The major unresolved problem was how to organize outreach contracts between the 521. resource base and national and regional research organizations in a way that would avoid any intervention by the governing body of the University of Illinois in the use of funds provided by members of the Consultative Group. It was suggested that the matter be studied by the should present Secretariats of TAC and of the Consultative Group, and that the Secretariats TAC with a proposal for consideration, TAC would then, in its turn, return to the Consultative Group with a specific proposal for financing; the principal discussion in the Consultative Group would take place at that time. TAC attached great importance to the mechanism evolved in relation to-the I'NTSOYproposal as offering a guideline to means of tapping resources in the developed countries which might be applied in respect of other crops or problems. . Research on Tropical Fruits In its present thinking about priorities for Consultative Group support, TAC accorded 522. a relatively low rating to fruits within the food group, but acknowledged that their importance varied as among regions, partly depending on dietary habits. There was a need for greater knowledge of the research under way and of its potential impact on small farmers, since much of past effort had been devoted to plantations, TAC hoped to have a report prepared for its February meeting on such research as a basis for further discussion. Agricultural Mechanization in West Africa While TAC had felt that this proposal was not really appropriate to its consideration 523. because it was essentially a development project with only a limited research content, members had felt that it aimed at a real human problem of taking drudgery out of hand farming in West Africa, and was correctly oriented to the needs of the region. They therefore commended it for support from LiNDPor bilateral donors such as EEC!and SIDA who had requested TAC's opinion on its feasibility, The research element could well become part of IITA's task, although TAC had not discussed this with the Centre Research Progrsmmes on Trypanosomiasis 524. Institut project TAC welcomed the initiative taken by the Government of Upper Volta and the French d'Elevage et de Mgdecine V&&inaire des Pays Tropicaux (IEKVT) to establish a in Upper Volta for research in trypanosomiasis. Some members of TAC, however, had expressed reservations concerning the probable 525. effectiveness of the two main lines of activity proposed: the use of a sterile male technique to control the vector; and breeding to develop strains of cattle resistsnt to the disease. It was felt that further exploration of these matters would be justified. - 78 - TAC recommendedthe programme for support by individual donors rather than by the 526. Consultative Group as such; the proposal seemed to be one for a short-term programme suited The work would be complementary to the research on immunization to bilateral financing, against trypanosomiasis contemplated for ILRAD. Research on Plant Diseases Two proposals had been under consideration by TAC, one for coordinated international 527. research in the control of Fusarium disease, and the other for a worldwide programme on horizontal resistance to wheat diseases, In the first of these the Committee had felt that a number of other disease organisms 528. could have equal claim to consideration in terms of global coordination; and also that research on a disease was best associated with the primary thrust of research related to the improvement of varieties of a specific crop, The proposal had therefore been rejected, but it did show the need for countries facing some disease emergency to have a link by which knowledge a.& results from developed countries could be brought to bear quite quickly on their problem. In relation to horizontal resistance the TAC had endorsed the need for a broader 529. spectrum of resistance to be developed in all breeding work, but it had noted with satisfaction that this principle was already well realized, particularly in the case of wheat. They had therefore requested CINMYTto let the Committee know rather more about its own efforts in this respect, but were not prepared to take up the proposal in a more formal way at the moment. Discussion of Centre Progremmes The Chairman said that TAC strongly endorsed the programme proposals of the Centres 530. for 1974, including the proposed new elements in those programmes, At the same time, he said, TAC did not consider itself responsible for making, nor was it qualified by its composition or staff to make, a detailed examination of the budget requirements of these proposals, He then took up several questions which affect the Centres as a group, TAC felt 531. that Consultative Group reviews should impose the least possible burden on the work of the Centres, and had made suggestions for easing this which he commendedto the proposed review sub-committee. It had also been concerned with the problem of ensuring a steady cash flow to the Centres, and urged that the Consultative Group find a solution to this. It also felt strongly on the need for striking a balance between the core research activities of the Centres and the effort and resources devoted to outreach and training; TAC would examine this question further. Sir John reported TAC's observations concerning individual Centres. Two points had 532. been raised on CIMEYT. One was whether CIMMYT's barley programme should be expanded, or ;qhether the chiefponsibility for barley research should be assigned to a Middle East another alternative was for barley research to be divided in some way with the institute; proposed Middle East Institute. Before deciding this question, TAC would give further consideration to the excellent report of the task force headed by Dr. Skilbeck which had considered the research needscf the Near East and North Africa. The other point was where work should be centred on the development of wheat with multi-gene resistance to disease. TAC felt that CIMMYTwas handling this work well, and should be accorded additional resources for it if they were needed. TAC was prepared to support IRRI proposals for a new programme of research 533. rice and for expansion of the Institute's work on multiple-cropping systems centred It was now clear that support for the latter would in no way detract from tkeeffort would continue to devote to its basic task of improving rice varieties and cultural whether under irrigated, rainfed, or upland conditions. on upland on rice. IRRI practices, . -79 - In respect of IITA he drew attention to his comments on the proposals for rice 534. mechanization in West AGa, and asked Dr. Albrecht to consider whether he saw scope for relating IITA to this matter. He again stressed the vital importance of close collaboration of IITA in the WARDA programme, concerning which he had received assurances from i:s Director. TAC had not completed its review of the findings of its mission on meeting the protein 535. needs of tropical America; it was clear, however, that CIAT should play a central role in developing a programme of work on this problem, cooperatzwith a network of national institutions. TAC enddrsed the importance of CIAT's beef research which he believed would yield very high returns, but raised a question: would the benefits accrue primarily to small holders or to large ranchers? The Committee had raised no critical issues in respect of the wrogrammes of ICRISAT 536. and -0 IPC They were delighted with the way these new cer,tres were gett,ing down to their work, and would be particularly interested in seeing how they developed outreach relationships on which IPC in particular appeared much more dependent than some of the older Centres. w i.t Ilout close linkages to national institutions, there would clearly be slower adoption of promising new technology. On the other hand, these linkages raised two questions: HOWfar COUP:? the Centres go in this kind of activity without overloading their core staff? How far was the Consultative Group willing to go in financing the costs of such linkages? This was relevant to the whole question of the balance between core and outreach work, and to the means (>i to which he had referred in reporti.ng ofi ?hCl.r strengthening national research capabilities priorities discussion, and to which the TAG would devote further time in February. -l- ANNEK. 1 SIXTH EEETING OF '!.?I&TkU3NICAL ADVISORYCWUTT&3 ON INTMriTIONxL AGRICtiLWRALWS&RCH 25 July - 2 Augast, 1973 iJashington, D.C., U.S.A. LIST tiF PARTICIPABTS Sir John Crawford 32 Eelbourne Avenue Deakin Canberra, A.C.T. 2600 Australia Cable Address: Telephone: NATUNIV, Canberra Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Director General and Secretary to the Government of India Indian Council of Bgricultural Research Krishi Bhawan Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road New Delhi 1, India Cable Address: Telephone: AGRISEC, New Delhi 382629 492510, 478649 Prof. 0. Bommer Institutsdirektor Institut fti Planzenbau und Saatgutforschung Forschungsantalt fiir Lirndwirtechaft 33 Braunsohweig-Yb'lkearode Bundesalle 50 Federal Republio of Germany Cable Address: Telephone: Landforschung Braunschweig-mlkenrode sg63W Dr. H.C. Pereira Chief Scientist Ministry of @iculture rJhitehal1 Place London SdlA 2HR United Kingdom Cable Address: Te1ephOAe: and Fisheries Ing. Ranuel Elgueta Director Centro 'l'kdpical de Enae&uma e Investigacidn Instituto Interamericano de Cienciaa Agricolas de la OU (IICA) Turrailba, Costa Rica Cable Address: Telephone: IICA, Dr. vJ.D. Hopper President International Development Research Centre P.O. Box 8500 Ottawa, Canada KIG 3Ii9 Cab&e &dress: Telephone: W.%WPR&, Ottawa 998-4131 Turrai lba s Dr. Hassan Ali El-Tobgy Regional Agricultural Advi8er The Ford Foundation P.O. Box 2379 Beirut, LebaAoA Cable Address: Telephone: lW.bLhB 274346 Dr. Luis Marcano Presidente Fundacion Servioio para el A;;ricultor Uificio la Eststancia, Oficina 360 Urbanimcim Criuao lipart 2224, Caraoae Cable Address: Telephone: VENZtiLdti, Caracas -2- Dr. I.E. Muriithi Director Of Veterinary Services Veterinary Research Laboratories P.O. Kabete, Kenya Cable Address: Telephone: VETLAB, Kabete, Kenya Port Smith 231 Dr. Noboru Yamada Director Tropical Agriculture 2-2-1, Nishigahara Kita-Ku Tokyo, Japan Cable Address: Telephone: Research Cent re METROPICAL,Tokyo 03-915-6157 Dr. J. Pagot Directeur G6ne'ral Institut d'Elevage et de Me'dicine V6t&inaire des Pays Tropicaux 10, Rue Pierre Curie 534Maisons Alfort (Val-de-Marne) France Cable Address: Telephone: TR9PELVA, Maisons-Alfort 3688873 Professor Vernon Ruttan President The Agricultural Development Council, 630 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10020 U.S.A. Inc. Rr. L. Sauger Directeur Centre de Recherches Agronomiques Bambey, Se'ne'gal Cable Addres: Telephone: NORAGRO, Bambey 843-50 OBSERVERS Belgium Dr. C. Populer, Ministere des Affaires Mars-s, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgique. Consultative Group on International Etranggres, Building Research A.G., c Place du Champ de Agricultural Mr. Bruce M. Cheek, Deputy Executive SeCretaT Food and Agriculture Mr. J.F. Yriart, Organization of the United Nations Development Department. Assistant Director-General, Ford Foundation Dr. Lowell S. Hardin, France Mr. Henri Vernede, Commissaire du Governement aupre's deslnstituts Program Adviser, Agriculture, Office of the Vice-President. \ specialisBe Outre-Mer, 75007 Paris, France. Sgcretariat dIEtat aux Affaires Etran&res, de r&h&e 20 rue Monsieur -3- Inter-American Development Bank of Agricultural Mr. Jesus Munoz-Vasquez, Chief - Division of Analysis Development Projects Mr. Jose Soto Angeli, Training Division Mr. Cesar Cagnelli, Chief - Project Planning Section International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Mr. James Fransen, Agriculture Department Dr. C. Weiss, Scientific Adviser Mr. A.A. Neylan, Agriculture Department Netherlands Dr. Ir. G. de Bakker, General Director of Agricultural Research, Ministry Agriculture and Fisheries, le vd Boschstraat 4, The Hague, Netherlands. Rockefeller Dr. J.A. Foundation for Agricultural Sciences. of Pino, Director Switzerland Mr. M.R. Pasquier, Repre'sentant Permanent de la Suisse aupr8s de la FAO, Ambassade de Suisse, Via B. Oviani, 00197, Roma, Italy. United Kingdom Dr. R.K. Cunningham, Research Adviser, Overseas Development & Administration, England. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Eland House, Stag Place, London, S.W.I., United Nations Development Programme Mr. Gordon Havord, Senior Technical Adviser, Mr. K.N. Satyapal. Mr. G. Vandamaele. United States Office Dr. Omer J. Kelley, Director, Technical Assistance, United States 21st and C Street N.W. Washington, Dr. Guy B. Baird, Associate Director of Technical Assistance. Representing Africa - Nigeria Moor Plantation, of Agriculture and Fisheries, Bureau of Agency for International Development, D.C. 29523, U.S.A. - Research, Office of Agriculture, Bureau Technical Advisory Division. Mr. B.O.E. Amon, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, P.M.B. 5382, Ibadan, Nigeria. -i- Representing Asia - Thailand Dr. Siribongse Boon-Long, InspectoIc-General, Thailand. Representing Latin America - Argentina Mr. Jorge A. Del Aguila, Agricultural Counsellor, Embassy of Argentina, 1600 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009. Representing Southern and Eastern Europe - Israel Mr. Gideon Cohen, Agricultural N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008. Attache, Embassy of Israel, 1621 Ministry of Agriculture, Bangkok, - 22nd Street, Representing Middle Eastern Region - a) Pakistan Dr. Heshamul Huque, Director, Agricultural Research Council, C/O. Ministry Foreign Agriculture, B Block, Civil Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan Representing Middle Eastern Region - b) Lebanon Dr. Malek Basbous, Director General ?Plan Vex+", Ministry of Agriculture, Beirut, Lebanon. Research, Dr. Joseph Naffah, Secretary General, National Council for Scientific P-0. Box 8281, Beirut, Lebanon. of OTHERS PRESENT Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVKDC) Dr. Robert F. Chandler, Jr., Taiwan, Republic of China. Dr. Edwin B. Oyer, Associate West African Director, Director AVRDC, P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan AVRDC. (WARDA) WARDA,E.J. Roye Memorial Building, 741, Rice Development Association Mr. Jacques Diouf, Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 1019, Monrovia, Liberia. African Livestock Subcommittee Dr. E.H. Sadun, Chief, Department of Medical Zoology, Walter Reed Army Institute Research, 6825 - 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. Centro International de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) of Dr. U-J. Grant, Director General, CIAT. -5- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Division. Services Mr. C.G.R. Uzureat), Agricultural Engineering Service, Agriculture Prof. W. Sayder (Consultant), Plant Production & Protection Division. Dr. Ralph W. Cummings, Director, International ICRISAT, 1-11-256, Begumpet, Hyderabad 16, India. Development Research Centre (IDRC - Canada) Mrs. Wendy Marscn International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Dr. Herbert R. Albreoht, Director, IITA, P.O. Box 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr. John L. Nickel, Associate Director, IITA. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Mr. Haldore Hanson, Director General, CIMMYT, Londres 40, Mexico 6, D.F. Dr. Robert Osler, Deputy Director General, CIMMYT Internat,ional Potato Center (CIP) General, CIP (IRRI) Philippines. Dr. Richard L. Sawyer, Director International Rice Research Institute Dr. Nyle C. Brady, Director, IRKI, P.0. Box 583, Manila, Dr. D.S. Athwal, Associate Director, IRRI. University Professor of Illinois G. Buttermeyer, Director, International Programmes. SECRETARIAT Mr. P.A. Oram, Secretary, TAC, Director, Research Development Centre, FAO Mr. B.R. Webster, Assistant Secretary, TAC, Research Development Centre, FAO ANNEX11 SIXTH MEETINGOF THE TECHNICALADVISORYCOMMITlEE ON INTERNATIONALAGRICULIURALRESEARCH 25 July - 2 August, 1973 U.S.A. Washington D.C., REVISED AGENDA Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item 1 2 Adoption of the Agenda Adoption Priorities of the Report of the Fifth for International Meeting Research of Natural (WARDA) 3 4 Agricultural UNCTADResolution 50 (iii) "Competitiveness Products, Synthetics and Substitutesl'. West Africa Conservation Rice Development Association of World Genetic Resources Production 5 6 7 Research Needs for Protein Amerida in Tropical 8 9 Research Needs for the Near East and North Africa Formulation Aquaculture Proposal for an International Research on Tropical Fruits Mechanization in West Africa Soybean Resource Base of Recommendations on Items 5, 6 and 7 Item IO Item 11 Item 12 Item 13 Item 14 Item 15 Item 16 Item 17 Item 18 Item 19 Research on Agricultural Research Programmes on Trypanosomiasis Research on Plant Diseases International Formulation Centres of Recommendations and Conclusions on Items IO - 15. Date and Place of the Seventh Meeting of the TAC Chairman's Summing-up. - I- , AMKEXIII SIXTH MEETINGOF THE TECHNICALADVISORYCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONALAGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 25 July 3 AUgUSt, 1973 Rome, Italy 8 Revised Agenda Item 1 DDDR:IAR/73/15 REV. 1 Revised Provisional Agenda DDDR:IAR/73/14 Report of the Fifth LIST OF DOCUMENTS Languages E,F,S. Item 2 E,F,S. Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee E. Agricultural Research E. of Nitural E,F. of the West African Rice Development Association E,F,S. Evaluation and Conservation E. Item 3 DDDR:IAR/73/23 Priorities for International Item 4 DDDR:IAR/'j'3/26 UNCTADResolution 50 (iii) "Competitiveness Products, Synthetics and Substitutes". DDDR:IAR/73/22 Research Proposals Item 5 Item 6 DDDR:&AR/T3/16 A Revised Proposal for the Collection, of Plant Genetic Resources Item 7 DDDDR:IAR/73/27 Report of the TAC Sub-Committee Mission to Review the Research Needs for Protein Production in Tropical Ameri'ca BDDR:IAR/'j'3/18 Report of the Research Review Mission to the Near East and North Africa Comments on the Seminar on the Potentials of Field Food Legumes in Latin America. H.A. El Tobgy. Beans and Other Item 8 E,F,S. E. E E. 4 Item IO Aquaculture - Summary Report l Item 11 DDDR:IAR/73/19 Proposal for an International Item 12 DDDR?IAR/73/20 Research on Tropical Fruits Proposal for an International (Thailand) Soybean Resource Base E. Tropical Fruits Genre in Asia Revised Agenda Item 13 DDDR:IAR/73/21 Agricultural Mechanization in West Africa in West Africa -Languages E,F. E. E,F. Agricultural Mechanization - Country Reports Item Ii DDDR:IAR/73/17 Research Programme Concerning Trypanosomiases and their Vectors DDDR:IAR/73/25 Coordinated International Research on the Control Diseases of Crops in the Tropics and Subtropics DDDR:IAR/ 73/24 FAO Project for Worldwide Coordinated Resistance to Wheat Diseases Item 15 E. of Fusarium E. Research on Horizontal E,F,S. Article entitled "Agricultural Production in Developing Countries in Relation to the Targets of the Seccnd United Nations Development Decade Additional Bilateral Research Spbnsored. by Britain 'supplements International Centres' Prograsnnes which E. 1 TAC RESOLUTIOR GN THE WESTAFRICAX RICE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATICN(WARDA) After careful study of the revised WARDA research proposals the TAC recommends that 1. the Consultative Group supports the request for funds to enable the Cooperative Research Programme (project W.1) to be implemented. The Committee applauds the WARDA experiment as a commendable initiative in cooperation between developing countries with the aim of raising output of an important food It regards the regional research crop, en objective in line with TAC's own first priority. project as an interesting innovative approach to linking national programmes and the work of international research centres, which offers a possibility of transferring the results of the work of the centres more rapidly to small countries , as well as providing a feedback to the centres on the problems requiring further study. 2. However, while the present WARDA submission meets many of the reservations expressed 3. by TAC members in relation to earlier proposals, it is considered that because of its novel nature and the greater difficulties of providing central control and direction over the appropriate safeguards must be built Programme, compared to that of a research institute, into its operations from the start. 4. With this end in view it recommends the following support from the Consultative Group: (i) provisions as conditional to The expansion of project W.l must be phased closely in line with the improvement of the scientific capabilities of the member The rate of expansion countries of WARDA to supervise the trials. proposed in the WARDA submission may well be too ambitious. A corollary of this is that training must be given very high priority in the overall programme Courses must be arranged for field trials officers , as well as for more senior research staff. Although TAC did not address*itself in detail to items W.2 to W.4 of the WARDA research programme, for which separate funding is being sought by WARDA,it considers that these are essentially complementary to item W.l and should be implemented in an integrated manner, The active cooperation and not just the tacit approval of the main international research organizations working on rice In the region must be assured. This applies particularly to IITA and NT. Responsibility for the oversight of the coordinated trials and related training element as well as for ensuring the active involvement of the appropriate international research institutions the programme should be clearly and unequivocally placed in the has already proposed such a hands of a Steering Committee. WARDA Committee in the report submitted to TAC (page 8); we believe I (ii) (iii) (iv) in -- -2- this to be an essential pre-requisite for the success of the research programmer, and this resolution sets out the TAC's ideas on how it can best be made effective. The TAC recommends that authority for design and direction (execution) of the project, including authority for expenditures, monitoring of progress, and the phasing of the expansion of the coordinated trials be vested in this Committee. It is suggested that it should be small, and should be comprised or representatives of the WARDA Secretariat, IITA, IRRI, IRAT, FAO, two WBRDA member countries, and one independent scientist. The Committee would no doubt wish to appoint, in consultation with the ,Executive Secretary of WARDA,a scientific Director who would report to it, while it, in turn, could report to WARDA. Progress in the WARDA programme should be reviewed annually by TAC, on the basis of reports from the WARDA Consultative Committee, supplemented as necessary by independent review as in the case of the International Centres programmes.