effective agroforestry technology for increasing food production and other goods such as fuelwood and fodder. F/FRED has shown that alley cropping systems using MPTS can be integrated into small farms.

Biologic Diversity. A new project in USAID, Conservation of Biologic Diversity, reflects the Agency's recognition that maintenance of biologic diversity is a necessary condition for achieving short and long term sustainable development. The Conservation of Biological Diversity project will consist of five major activities: (1) technical assistance, (2) research, (3) training, (4) information exchange and evaluation, and (5) pilot demonstrations. The project is oriented to the delivery of assistance to developing country governments and private organizations in order to help them perceive and act in their own settings.

Health and Nutrition

The general health policy of USAID is to increase life expectancy in developing countries and to remove poor health as a barrier to economic and social development. To achieve this goal, the health portfolio is characterized by a wide range of activities with a special emphasis on child survival. In addition to work on oral rehydration therapy (ORT), diarrheal disease and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) which is detailed in previous editions of this report, the health program is focussed on several major objectives:

Vaccine Development. USAID is intensively engaged in the development of an effective vaccine for protection against malaria. Clinical trials of candidate vaccines were initiated, and preparations for field trials of prototype vaccines began in FY 1988.

Vaccine development research has concentrated largely on key pediatric diseases. Vaccines being developed, improved or tested include a prototype malaria vaccines, measles vaccine for younger infants, pertussis vaccine with fewer side effects, genetically engineered oral vaccine against enteric (typhoid) fever, a safer and more effective cholera vaccine, a vaccine against rotavirus as the most common cause of pediatric diarrhea; streptococcus vaccines (Group B) to protect against intrauterine infections, and a vaccine against Hansen's disease (leprosy).

Maternal and Neonatal Health. Child survival is intimately linked with maternal survival. The underlying and often the direct causes of infant deaths are related to the health and nutritional status of the woman during pregnancy, the quality of care during pregnancy, and the delivery. To improve maternal health, USAID promotes birth spacing, immunization, breastfeeding and improved weaning practices, pre-natal and post-natal care, and adequate maternal nutrition.

Combatting Dietary Iron Deficiency. Research on food fortification has been conducted to develop new ways of delivering bioavailable iron to people. A novel iron fortificant is available for use in selected food staples, such as whole wheat flour. Furthermore, a new sustained release dietary iron supplementation capsule has been developed which slowly releases iron in a way that potentially may improve the effectiveness of the product as well as stimulate user compliance. Both the iron fortificant for staple foods and the slow-release iron supplementation capsule are ready for demonstrations under field conditions.

Vitamin A. The question of the appropriate food vehicles for delivering supplemental vitamin A is being researched through a USDA project supported by USAID. One method, used in Bangladesh, is to fortify the wheat used in supporting

food-for-work projects, or in feeding programs for nutritionally at-risk groups. The use of other commodities,

such as rice, salt, sugar and monosodium glutamate as vitamin A carriers currently is being studied in other countries.

At the urging of the Subcommittee on Vitamin A Deficiency Prevention and Control of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on International Nutrition Programs, further research on the following topics is being included in the new Vitamin A for Health project: (1) immunocompetence, especially as it relates to the structure and function of epithelial tissue, (2) morbidity, depending upon the type of infection and the presence of other deficiencies, and (3) ways of improving the field practicality and quantitative interpretation of currently recognized indicators of vitamin A status.

Rural and Institutional Development

Managing Energy and Resource Efficient Cities. USAID has developed and refined an approach to community involvement in planning for energy and resource efficiency. The plan requires a cross sectoral examination of the activities of the city and identification and adoption of technical or management changes to alter present practices. Sectors represented include energy supply, land use planning, transportation, urban agriculture and waste management. This planning has resulted in adoption of biogas digesters, passive heating and cooling, improved waste collection and recycling, land reclamation, intensified urban agriculture and improved transportation systems. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is supervising the collection of data from the cities that have adopted this planning approach, and TVA's synthesizing the approach into guidelines for USAID and for wider dissemination.

Human Settlements and Natural Resource Systems Analysis. USAID has developed a prototype geographic information system for storing, recalling, manipulating, appraising and displaying spatial data. Patterns indicated by the system enable users to quickly focus on the probable causes of the spatial arrangements of data. For example, if agricultural productivity is the variable, random patterns of high or low productivity would indicate that the cause might be related to on-farm practices while grouped patterns would suggest an underlying common environmental or shared social cause. The system also can be used to identify conditions that may preclude use of a planned intervention such as agriculture on areas that have both steep slopes and fine soils, or to select areas for interventions where soil type, distance from transportation, land value and availability of water would be appropriate for specific crop types.

Communications for Technology Transfer in Agriculture. Research is underway in Niger to explore ways in which improved communications, including state-of-the-arts video technology, can be used to enhance indigenous agricultural innovation and technology diffusion in West Africa. Social scientists identified local agricultural innovations and the informal communications networks (such as marketplaces and mosques) that traditionally are used to transmit information on technological change throughout the countryside. Research demonstrates that local farmers eagerly seek out information on new agricultural technologies and do their own agricultural experimentation to identify those technologies which are most suited to their

particular production environments. Such findings provide key methodological insights that can improve the efficiency of formal agricultural research and extension.

Population

Support for voluntary population and family planning programs is an essential part of U.S. development assistance. Family planning programs enhance individual freedom to choose the number and spacing of children, provide critical health benefits for mothers and young children, and contribute to more rapid social and economic development.

Biomedical Research in Family Planning. The main advances in FY 1988 include: (a) Submission of a new drug application to the FDA for the Norplant implant system which provides up to five years of effective contraception; (b) Initiation of a phase III clinical trial of the USAID 90-day norethindrone microspheres injectable contraceptive this system shows great promise of being the first injectable contraceptive approved by the FDA; (c) Initiation of a phase II clinical study of the 90-day norethindrone biodegradable implant in the U.S.; (d) Completion of preclinical toxicology on a method for female non-surgical sterilization which uses an iodine solution--the FDA has granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) exemption to initiate a phase I clinical trial; and (e) The FDA has approved an IND to initiate a phase I clinical trial of propranolol, a compound with spemicidal activity which is being developed in an attempt to improve the efficacy of currently available spermicides.

Improved Surgical Technique for Vasectomy. The Association for Voluntary Surgical Contraception (AVSC) is introducing an improved vasectomy technique in the U.S. and in its international family planning programs. This refined "no-scalpel" technique can be performed faster than conventional vasectomy, eliminates the need for a surgical incision and has a much lower incidence of post-operative complications.

The introduction of this technique is expected to make vasectomy more acceptable to male involvement in family planning.

Demographic and Health Surveys. USAID is recognized as a leader in promoting the use of sample survey technologies for population and health program evaluation and for documenting demographic and health trends. Data from these surveys have impacted on policies, programs and scientific knowledge. In fact, most current knowledge about recent trends and determinants of fertility, family planning and infant mortality has come from these surveys.

Program in Science and Technology Cooperation (PSTC)

The PSTC seeks to take advantage of breakthroughs on the cutting edge of science and to explore the potential uses of innovative technologies. The program is implemented primarily through a competitive research grant mechanism. Some 57 new grants totalling over $8 million were awarded during FY 1988. Competitive Research Grants Program. Evaluations were completed of three modules--Biomass Production and Conversion, Biotechnology in Plant Systems, and Biotechnology/Immunology. All were judged generally successful by outside scientific review panels, and recommended for continuation. Attention may be directed to PSTC for improved potato cultivars; particularly important are developments which may lead to commercial true seed or hybrid potato lines, and techniques to introduce recombinant genes into potato cultivars.

The National Academy of Science (NAS) Program. The NAS held a meeting in October to review PSTC funded research on acute respiratory infections in children. The program has provided a unique insight into the causes of mortality from these diseases in LDC. The NAS report entitled Quality Protein Maize has indicated that cultivars are available which can yield improved nutrition with no cost in yield or farm inputs. A new USAID-NAS Cooperative agreement was negotiated to strengthen the support and networking of the PSTC grantees.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to be very active in supporting scientific and technical exchange activities with other countries throughout the world. A number of USDA employees are on loan to USAID, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and other government and multilateral agencies. Such activities usually are not reflected in the USDA budget, as salaries typically are paid by the borrowing organizations. They are a significant showing of USDA support for these activities. For example, U.S. meat inspectors are inspecting packing and processing plants in many areas of the world to assure wholesome products, some of which are imported into the U.S.; foresters are attempting to control damage to watersheds and improve the environment; landscape architects are introducing new species and are turning wastelands into recreational areas; soil conservationists are working on water and soil projects designed to lessen harm to the environment; and nutritionists are attempting to improve the diets of socio-economic disadvantaged populations.

Joint research activities and exchanges continue to bring U.S. scientists into close collaboration with agricultural scientists in some 30 nations, including China, Egypt, Israel, Poland, Spain and the USSR. Much of the costs to USDA of cooperatively supported research is borne by funds generated from surplus commodity sales, income from trust funds or other income not included in the USDA budget. The largest USDA program, in terms of dollars is the Mexico Screwworm Commission and the closely related Mexico Screwworm Support activity. This program is designed to completely eradicate from Mexico a dangerous livestock pest. At the same time, it has provided a barrier against the re-entry of this insect into the U.S. also is very active in supporting efforts to eliminate foot-and-mouth disease in Mexico, Panama and Colombia.

USDA

USDA jointly sponsored several international conferences during 1988. These included the Water Quality Modeling Conference in Logan, Utah, and the first International Walnut Conference in Yalova, Turkey. Numerous scientists from many countries attended. Plans already are underway for conferences to be held in 1989 and 1990.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Productivity,
Technology and Innovation

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Productivity, Technology and Innovation comprises the Office of Productivity, Technology and Innovation (OPTI), the Office of Federal Technology Management (OFTM), and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).

Office of Productivity, Technology and Innovation. OPTI promotes a favorable climate for private sector innovation and improvements in technology utilization and productivity. Its

activities focus on the removal of policy barriers, incentives for investment in research and development, information and catalytic services, and domestic and international cooperation in science and technology. Key projects have dealt with the cost and availability of U.S. capital, antiquated features of U.S. antitrust laws, the lack of adequate protection for intellectual property, and the need for metric conversion.

International cooperation between American and foreign technology-based companies can expand U.S. access to foreign markets, increase trade, and provide access to technology being developed abroad. To assist small and medium-sized companies access foreign markets, OPTI has worked with other governments creating cooperative arrangements modeled after the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F), a bilateral agreement that has resulted in more than 160 joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli companies since 1977.

Twenty joint ventures have resulted from the agreements signed with India in 1985 ("PACT", funded by USAID) and France ("FACET") in 1986. OPTI serves on the advisory boards of the two agreements and counsels U.S. companies interested in participating in the programs.

The Office of Metric Programs (OMP). In 1988, OMP counseled numerous firms engaged in engineering, manufacturing and trade regarding the increasing import restrictions that many metric countries place on non-metric goods. OMP also maintains a metric coordinating committee structure for metric initiatives of the federal agencies and state governments. In 1988, OMP co-sponsored several conferences with trade groups and professional organizations on the role of metric use in international trade. OMP staff also counseled members of the education community on issues relating to the teaching of two measurement systems in the U.S. In addition, OMP advised and assisted members of Congress and congressional committee staffs in connection with specific metric usage issues and policies.

Office of Federal Technology Management. The Office of Federal Technology Management (OFTM) develops policies and procedures for promoting the commercialization of technology developed with federal financial support. It accomplishes this objective through policies that (1) permit federal contractors who have developed inventions to retain ownership, and (2) encourage federal laboratories to enter into cooperative research arrangements with private sector firms; under these agreements the laboratories can grant favorable patent rights to the firms. The objective of these policies is to ensure that the technology remains under the control of those who developed it, understand it best, and have the ownership incentives to exploit its commercial possibilities.

As such, OFTM is directly involved in reviewing bilateral science and technology agreements under which federal agencies engage in science projects with other nations. The office reviews these agreements to ensure that there is a fair allocation of resulting property rights between the U.S. and the foreign participant. In addition, it ensures that appropriate consideration has been given to whether the substantive law of the foreign partner adequately protects technology that may result from such cooperation.

Many international science and technology agreements that the U.S. entered into in a different economic climate are now inconsistent with new laws. OFTM has been active in reviewing and negotiating U.S. government science and technology agreements with other countries in order to ensure that they