In agriculture, typical projects include a grant to Virginia Commonwealth University to work with the International Rice Research Institute to develop new methods to hybridize the nitrogen-fixing water fern Azolla; a grant to the Peradeniya University in Sri Lanka to develop tissue culture techniques for the improved propagation of clove and nutmeg, and a grant to Illinois and Oklahoma State Universities to work with the Organization of Tropical Studies in Costa Rica to develop a management system for bean/maize cropping to reduce the losses due to virus and mycoplasm diseases. While these projects are primarily useful in solving problems of the developing countries, value to the United States includes increasing the efficiency of the production of imported materials (e.g., spices), and development of important technological information (e.g., biological nitrogen fixation and biological pest control). More generally, hundreds of U.S. scientists have been involved in collaborative efforts with developing country colleagues under this program, and they are enjoying access to new research problems and new research environments which are highly conducive to the funded research efforts. In terms of foreign policy impact, the grants program provides high visibility for the United States at low cost. These small research projects are highly regarded by the host countries, and tend to be very newsworthy. For example, in Thailand the U.S. Ambassador has made it a policy to personally award each grant made in that country and to use the awards as occasions for public announcements. While the majority of these grants go to countries with AID missions, some are awarded in Mexico, Brazil, and other more advanced developing countries. Scientific work, which has great importance for less developed countries, can sometimes be done in these countries, but cannot be done in less developed countries themselves. For example, work is. funded on the collection of palm germplasm from Brazil because indigenous Brazilian palms are judged to offer unique characteristics that could be used in other countries. The awards in more advanced developing countries offer unusual opportunities for cooperation in areas which have value for the host country. The NAS Research Program Sixteen new grants were approved in FY 1985, bringing to seventy-nine the overall number of approved projects managed by the National Academy of Sciences. This program focuses on the development of six research networks in developing countries: studying (1) acute respiratory infections in children, (2) mosquito vector control for malaria and other human diseases, (3) rapid means of epidemiological assessment, (4) fast growing trees, (5) biological nitrogen fixation, and (6) grain amaranth. Originally proposed to involve work on 12 research topics, and to expend $36 million over five years, the program was scaled down to these six areas and extended to eight years with the same funding (in view of budgetary limitations). The program is particularly useful in developing coordinated multinational research approaches to major problems. For example, the effort on acute respiratory infections funds 12 research projects using common methodologies to study the causes of lower respiratory infections in children. These infections, together with diarrheas, are the major causes of mortality in developing countries. Unfortunately, it is not known just which of the more than 1,000 potential causes of respiratory disease are the predominant killers in poor countries. Without such knowledge it is difficult to plan effective public health programs to prevent or cure the diseases. Moreover, while new techniques of biotechnology offer the potential to develop vaccines and diagnostics for such diseases, one must know with which diseases to begin. The NAS program involves the advice of distinguished researchers from the United States who assist developing country colleagues to use modern laboratory and epidemiological methods to study the causes of serious respiratory infections in their countries. While the emphasis is to help developing countries obtain information to reduce mortality from these diseases, better worldwide efforts to identify and control respiratory diseases would have potential public health benefits for the United States. Similarly, the program to improve the yield of grain amaranth is well suited to an international approach in that researchers in different countries can collect and exchange valuable germplasm from the worldwide range of the crop. Participants have collected extensive collections from Mexico and Peru, where the crop has been grown from pre-Columbian times, as well as from India and Nepal where it has been grown for centuries. Exchanges of high yielding cultivars have resulted in rapid increases of yield in various locations. sign of the appreciation of developing country scientists for this effort was the naming of a high yielding Andean variety after Noel Vietmeyer, a staff member of the NAS. A Like the Competitive Research Grants program, the NAS Research Program provides a highly visible expression of U.S. interests and cooperative approaches at a relatively low cost. It is noteworthy that hundreds of U.S. scientists are estimated to have donated at least 2,400 person days to this effort without remuneration. Under this project the NAS also produces a series of monographs on the application of science and technology to development. Over 600,000 copies of reports in this series have been distributed all over the world, and they are very well known in the development community. In general they provide valuable primers for decision makers on highly relevant technical issues and serve as an important stimulus to technological innovation and research in many countries. They also serve to publicize the U.S. concern for the wellbeing of people in developing countries. Since these reports list scientists who are working in the subject areas, they are a useful vehicle to stimulate international scientific cooperation. A revision of the NAS report on grain amaranth was published in FY 1985. Not only were more than 5,000 copies of this book published by the NAS, but it was reviewed in U.S. journals and has been offered for sale to the U.S. community by a domestic publisher. The 500 copies already sold in the U.S. suggest a growing interest in the crop by U.S. farmers. Α similar monograph on jojoba, a desert shrub that produces wax and oil of particular economic promise, was also published and widely distributed in 1985. The most recent publication in the series is "Opportunities in Marine Science and Technology for Developing Countries." Again, the promotion of international cooperation in the marine sciences is a necessity for U.S. scientists who need the collaboration of colleagues in many neighboring countries to adequately understand the marine problems and resources of the United States. Thus the promotion of cooperation through this and similar mechanisms serves the needs of both the direct developing country target scientists and their U.S. colleagues. It is particularly timely in that the adoption of a 200 mile exclusive economic zone by most coastal nations in recent years raises both new technological opportunities and new foreign policy concerns. The promotion of a climate of friendly scientific collaboration will be useful in making progress in both areas. U.S.-Israel Cooperative Development Research Program AID was requested by the Congress to implement a new program to fund the application of relevant Israeli technology in developing countries. The announcement of the program was made in November 1984. Some 350 research proposals were received by January 1, 1985. Fourteen grants were made in FY 1985, totalling the $2 million appropriated. It is expected that competition for support will remain intense. The program is based on the fact that Israel has been uniquely effective in applying science and technology to its development needs. The intensely practical experience of applying research to the needs of a relatively small scale developing economy should be transferable to many developing countries. Moreover, Israel excels on a worldwide basis in technological areas such as arid lands management, irrigation and solar energy technologies, ground-water studies, and aquaculture. Israeli laboratories also have very strong capabilities in ecology, biotechnology and computer science. Many Israeli scientists have already established good working relationships with developing country counterparts through prior exchanges or cooperative research, publications, and educational programs. It appears that improved scientific collaboration between Israel and African, Asian, and Latin American countries can help develop new scientific solutions to problems of international development. The U.S. management of this program assures visibility to both beneficiaries and that the cooperation meets U.S. development assistance goals in the host countries. S&T Initiatives in Country Programs Thailand S&T Initiative AID and the Government of Thailand are implementing a broad-based science and technology project to enhance the effectiveness and extend the range of public and private sector applications of science and technology to Thailand's development. Research, development and engineering (technical RD&E) activities will help to: diagnose and resolve problems limiting development, develop processes and products for improved or new industry development, and improve quality control systems. The project will focus on bioscience and biotechnology, materials technology and applied electronics technology. Activities in bioscience and biotechnology are centered on agricultural development and critical health concerns of Thailand. Egypt Science and Technology Strategy Egyptian scientists and research institutions have a large potential for contributing to the development of Egypt and other countries, especially those in the Arab region. The Government of Egypt's five-year plan gives unprecedented emphasis and budget support to research and productivity. A five-year Science and Technology plan, produced by the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, outlines support services critical for a strengthened science and technology sector and provides for applied research programs in many fields. Since the resumption of American technical assistance to Egypt in the mid-1970's, AID support in science and technology has completed two distinct but related stages of cooperation and, after an assessment by a distinguished group of U.S. and Egyptian scientists, has entered a third stage. Stage I (1976-1980), the "Initiation Stage," was characterized by a large capacity-building program aimed at strengthening individual researchers' contributions to solving development problems of Egypt. Stage II (1980-1985), the "Engagement Stage," was characterized by a continuation of university research capacity building through institutionalizing problem-solving capabilities and establishing closer links with end-users. addition to Stage I projects which were extended with additional funding, four new projects were funded. In Stage III (1985-onward), the "Commitment Stage," builds on the experience and achievements made in the previous stages and commits the science and technology community and the Government of Egypt to cooperate closely with end-users to solve a number of clearly identified national development problems. The S&T Sector Assessment completed by U.S. and Egyptian scientists for AID and the Egyptian Government identified the following major substantive areas as priorities for continued AID funding in Stage III: (1) Critical Childhood Diseases, (2) Public and Private Enterprise Productivity, (3) Land Use, and (4) Energy. Indian Research and Technology Development Discussions in 1983 between AID and the Government of India became the basis for a proposed 10-year program emphasizing support for development-oriented research and technology development (R&TD). As a result, a designated portion of the USAID/India's development assistance portfolio will be devoted to R&TD each year, the percentage increasing yearly until it includes about 20 percent of the program in FY 1988, and continuing at that rate for the succeeding 5 years. The objective is increased effectiveness of U.S. development assistance. Focusing on jointly identified priority development problems, the program will support basic and applied research which has the potential to improve the productivity and well-being of the Indian people. diversity of Indian research and institutional capabilities and the impressive scientific talent available suggest direct benefits to U.S. science and applied research as well. The Substantial increases in support for R&TD are projected over the ten year period in agriculture, forestry and environment, biomedical research, energy, and the industrial/private sector. Social science research is an integral component of the strategy. Project plans for FY 1985 included assistance to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases for applied research to adapt existing diagnostics for major diseases to the needs of the Indian basic health program. U.S. Foreign Policy Benefits LDCs recognize the importance of strengthening their own capacity to generate and adapt technologies to solve their problems of economic development and have requested assistance in science and technology infrastructure building from developed countries. The U.S. has been able to marshall its large wealth of scientific resources, both in human talent and facilities, to address the urgent problems of the LDCs. The U.S. provides assistance that will prove far more valuable in the long term than dollar costs. Improved technologies to enable LDCs to better manage their natural resources, to increase food production, to control population growth are examples of how development assistance can over the long term mitigate the need for emergency disaster relief. AID's program of research linkages and networks has not only strengthened LDC institutions but has encouraged LDCs to take an active role in overcoming constraints to development. Projects of scientific research and development and adaptation of technology afford a vehicle for cooperation and communication between and among countries which can transcend political differences. Working toward a common scientific goal can help countries recognize other shared interests. The following is an example of mutual benefits from this type of cooperation: AID supports the international agricultural research While AID supported research efforts address constraints felt most urgently in LDCs, they can also benefit the U.S. domestically as well. The benefits of higher yielding, more disease resistant crop varieties are obvious but these new crops can also open up economic opportunities for U.S. agriculture. Expanding LDC economies based on strengthened agricultural sectors have already shown to be receptive markets for U.S. agricultural products. |