Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGR-1 1 (zCG IA I _ - Study Paper Number 11 Ecuador and the CGIAR Centers A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Rafael Pcsada Torres 077-01H 0033-OCu t.ht l e.l. .'J-.#ir !i Ecuador and the CGIAR Centers CGIAR Study Papers No. I Technological Innovation in Agriculture: The Political Economy of Its Rate and Bias No. 2 Modem Varieties, Intemational Agricultural Research, and the Poor No. 3 Plant Genetic Resources: The Impact of the International Agricultural Research Centers No. 4 Costa Rica and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 5 Guatemala and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 6 Zimbabwe and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 7 Nepal and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 8 Bangladesh and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agzicultural Research No. 9 Brazil and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 10 Indonesia and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGIAR Study Paper Number 11 Ecuador and the CGIAR Centers A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Rafael Posada Torres The World Bank Washington, D.C. Copyright ©) 1986 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. First printing September 1986 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America At its annual meeting in November 1983 the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) commissioned a wide-ranging impact study of the results of the activities of the international agricultural research oganizations under its sponsorship. An Advisory Committee was appointed to oversee the study and to present the principal findings at the annual meeetings of the CGIAR in October 1985. The impact study director was given responsibility for preparing the main report and commissioning a series of papers on particular research issues and on the work of the centers in selected countries. This paper is one of that series. The judgments expressed herein are those of the author(s). They do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, of affiliated organizations, including the CGIAR Secretariat, of the international agricultural research centers supported by the CGIAR, of the donors to the CGIAR, or of any individual acting on their behalf. Staff of many national and international organizations provided valued information, but neither they nor their institutions are responsible for the views expressed in this paper. Neither are the views necessarily consistent with those expressed in the main and summary reports, and they should not be attributed to the Advisory Committee or the study director. This paper has been prepared and published informally in order to share the information with the least possible delay. Rafael Posada Torres is head of the Economic Division of FEDEARROZ, a national organization of rice producers in Ecuador that supports and cooperates with the national research institute (ICA) in research and extension. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Posada Torres, Rafael, 1949- Ecuador and the CGIAR centers. (CGIAR study paper, ISSN 0257-3148 ; no. 11) Translated from Spanish. Bibliography: p. 1. Agriculture--Research--Ecuador. 2. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. 3. Agriculture--Research--International cooperation. I. Title. II. Series: Study paper (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) ; no. 11. S542.E2P67 1986 630' .720866 86-19211 ISBN 0-8213-0787-8 v SUMMARY Ecuador is in the initial stages of development. This report begins with a review of the principal macroeconomic features affecting Ecuador's agricultural sector and of the institutional system for the generation and dissemination of agricultural technology. which includes four institutions: the Ecuadorian Agrarian Reform and Land Settlement Institute (Instituto Ecuadoriano de Reforma Agraria y Colonizacion -- IERAC), the National Agricultural Research Institute (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias -- INIAP), the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministerio de Agricultura -- MAG), and the Development Bank of Ecuador (Banco de Fomento del Ecuador -- BNF). A historical summary of the development of Ecuador's national agricultural research system, INIAP, which was created in 1959, is presented. To date, INIAP has carried out more than 14,000 trials and delivered 98 varieties of various crops to farmers. The core of this report begins with a description of the existing constraints on better interaction between the national research system and the international centers. The report goes on to describe the major types of interactions that have taken place in Ecuador, which include the exchange of genetic material; the exchange of information; personnel training; advisory assis- tance by scientific personnel; an'd equipment and financing. A product-by-product analysis of the relationships between the national program and the corresponding international centers focuses on potatoes, wheat, rice, maize, beans and other legumes. pastures and livestock, sorghum and other oil crops and cassava. The activities of other bilateral and multilateral agencies in Ecuador in the areas of agricultural research and technology transfer are also described. vi In conclusion, the report endeavors to depict in monetary terms the impact of research on Ecuador's agricultural produc- tion. The report states that agricultural research in Ecuador has contributed to the creation df new varieties in almost all products, which on average exhibit better properties, particularly yield, than the traditional varieties. The impact of these results on production has been less spectacular and less evenly spread partially because the political-economic climate of the 1970s did not offer adequate incentives for the adoption of new technologies. On the contrary, the area under most crops tended to decline during that period. The land-tenure structure and the social forces directed at changing or preserving it do not offer the best incentive for taking the risks inherent in any process of technological change or for making the investments necessary to supplement agronomic changes, such as investments for irrigation infrastructure and land improvement works. In these circumstances it could be argued that the impact of research on production should be evaluated with an eye toward the future, when the country will need to produce its own food and new varieties and technological packages begin to be adopted. Estimating that, on average, the new varieties and technological packages increase farm yields by 0.5 t/ha, an adoption rate reaching 10 percent over a period of 5 years would raise aggregate production by some 77,000 t for the principal crops (potatoes, wheat, rice, maize and barley), assuming no change in the present area planted. This increase, valued at an average price of US$200/t, would have a value of US$15.5 million. This rough estimate, based on highly conservative assumptions, serves only to give an idea of the impact that agricultural research could have on Ecuador's food production, apart from such additional benefits as employment creation and foreign exchange savings. vi i CONTENTS 1 General 1 1.1 Ecuador as a case study of a small country 1 1.2 Macroeconomic aspects of the agricultural sector 3 1.3 Supply and demand for IARC products 8 1.3.1 Wheat and barley 8 1.3.2 Maize 8 1.3.3 Potatoes 10 1.3.4 Beans 10 1.3.5 Rice 10 1.3.6 Sorghum, soybeans and pasture 11 1.3.7 Cassava 11 1.4 The institutional system of technology generation and dissemination 11 2 The National Research System of Ecuador 15 2.1 Historical summary 15 2.2 Structure and achievements of research 17 2.2.1 Experimental-station research 17 2.2.2 Regional research 18 2.2.3 On-farm research 22 2.3 Development of financial resources 24 2.4 Staffing 25 3 Interactions Between the International Agricultural Research Centers and the National Agricultural Research System 31 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 Types of interactions 35 3.3 Interactions at the commodity program level 45 3.3.1 Potatoes 45 3.3.2 Wheat and cereals 47 3.3.3 Rice 49 3.3.4 Maize 51 3.3.5 Beans and other legumes 53 3.3.6 Pasture and livestock 54 3.3.7 Sorghum and other oil crops 56 3.3.8 Cassava 56 4 Activities of Other Bilateral and Multilateral Agencies 57 5 Impact of Research on Production 61 Appendix 1 Varieties Developed by INIAP 69 Appendix 2 Summary of Research Advances in the Production Research Programs (PIPs) 71 Appendix 3 List of Persons Interviewed 74 References 75 viii ABBREVIATIONS BNF Development Bank of Ecuador (Banco de Fomento del Ecuador) CIID Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo CREA Arzuay Economic Conversion Center (Centro de Reconversion Economica del Azuay) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation IARC International Agricultural Research Center ICA National Research Institute IDB Inter-American Development Bank IERAC Ecuadorian Agrarian Reform and Land Settlement Institute (Instituto Ecuadoriano de Reforma Agraria y Colonizacion) IICA Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture INCRAE Instituto Nacional de Colonizacion de la Region Amazonica Ecuatoriana INIAP Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuario INTSOY International Soybean Resource Base (University of Illinois) IRTP International Rice Testing Program MAG Ministry of Agriculture NARS National Agricultural Research System PDRI Integral Rural Development Projects (Proyectos de Desarrollo Rural Integral) PIP Production Research Program (Programa de Investigacion en Produccion) PRACIPA Programa Andino Cooperativo de Investigacion en Papa USAID United States Agency for International Development ix CGIAR-supported centers CIAT Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical CIMMYT Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo CIP Centro Internacional de la Papa IBPGR International Board for Plant Genetic Resources ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ILCA International Livestock Center for Africa ILRAD International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases IRRI International Rice Research Institute ISNAR International Service for National Agricultural Research WARDA West Africa Rice Development Association x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Patricio Espinoza and Carlos Cortes, engineers of INIAP, helped with the preparation of this report by furnishing opinions and explanations concerning INIAP in particular and Ecuador's agricultural research system in general. INIAP furnished all the logistical support needed to conduct the visits and interviews in such a short time. Most of the ideas and hypotheses put forward with respect to interactions between Ecuador's agricultural research system and the international research centers arose out of the interviews with national leaders and center representatives. The report outlines these ideas and hypotheses. Full support was received from the international centers operating in the region -- IFPRI, CIMMYT, CIAT and CIP -- in the transmission of documentation and reference and bibliographic material. Uriel Gutierrez. economist, coordinated the bibliographic research, read the manuscripts and edited the final Spanish version of the report. The English translation was edited by Dorothy Marschak. 1 General 1.1 Ecuador as a case study of a small country Ecuador can be classified as a small country, particularly in terms of geographic area (275,000 km2) and population (about 9.5 million). It can also be classified as a country in the initial stages of the development process. Its population growth rate has remained constant at an annual average of 3.4 percent a year over the last 15 years. Just over 50 percent of the population still lives in the countryside. A large proportion of this rural population -- more than 50 percent -- is concentrated in the Sierra region of the Andes and earns its living on small family farms (smallholdings). About half the labor force is employed in agriculture, but underemployment is estimated at 40 percent. The population pyramid shows that 50 percent of the population is under 15 years of age. The illiteracy rate is estimated at 16 percent. Ecuador has a trade balance surplus. Its major source of income up to 1983 has been exports of petroleum and derivatives. Other exports are also basic commodities, such as coffee, bananas, cocoa and products of the sea. As is typical of developing countries, the structure of government expenditure is not favorable to the agriculture sector (Table 1.1). Taking as agricultural expenditures allocations to agricultural development and natural and energy resources, agriculture's share in the state budget was only 5.3 percent in 1983. The picture is made even more serious by the fact that 23 percent of the budget goes to service external debt. 2 Table 1.1 Ecuador: Structure of Government Expenditure Sector Millions of Sucres General Services 16,018.4 Education and Culture 14.211.5 Social Welfare and Labor 954.5 Health 5,551.9 Agricultural Development 3,929.8 Natural and Energy Resources 615.6 Industry and Commerce 407.0 Transportation and Communication 5,126.4 Interest on Public Debt 139537.0 Amortization of Public Debt 6,184.0 Others 9,215.6 Source: Central Bank of Ecuador, "Boletin-Anuario" Yearbook 1984. No. 7. 3 The interactions between the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) and Ecuadorts National Agricultural Research System (NARS) have to be evaluated against this socio- economic background which, as will be noted, later, imposes serious constraints. However, as it gradually loses its major source of foreign exchange, petroleum, Ecuador will tend to depend more and more on the technological advances achieved with the IARCs. 1.2 Macroeconomic aspects of the agricultural sector The most important macroeconomic aspect for inclusion in this study is the so-called oil bonanza. Between 1970 and 1981 income from oil exports grew by 14 percent a year in real terms. This income inevitably brought about dramatic changes in Ecuador's economy, which unfortunately were not positive for all sectors. Agriculture, in particular, did not gain from these changes. The sector continued to grow at a rate of 2.7 percent a year, while some sectors, such as manufacturing, grew by 11 percent. A number of reasons have been identified for this stagnation of agriculture: First, the exchange rate continued to be overvalued, and while other sectors enjoyed high tariff protection, agriculture remained totally unprotected. This fact, together with Ecuador's proximity to Colombia, which has the same food diet as the Sierra region, opened up the way for massive imports of foodstuffs, both legal and illegal. In the case of wheat, studied in greater detail by Byerlee (1983), the Government promoted imports. In spite of the political cost of agricultural stagnation, food imports were maintained to keep food prices at relatively low levels in order to counteract the negative effects of inflation, which averaged 13 percent over the period 1974 to 1982 (Table 1.2). 4 Table 1.2 Wholesale Price Index (1974-1982) Branch of Activity Period Total Food, Textiles, Wood Paper. paper beverages, clothing. and wood products. tobacco leather products printing 1974 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1975 - - - _ 1976 - - - - 1977 142.8 154.6 125.5 152.0 149.8 1978 165.5 172.8 138.7 170.5 167.3 1979 182.9 181.6 144.5 181.9 153.1 1980 193.4 200.3 156.1 196.6 170.7 1981 208.5 224.5 167.0 200.2 191.4 1982 239.3 268.0 195.7 221.1 215.3 Period Total Chemicals Non- Metal and oil metallic Basic products, derivatives minerals metals machinery 1974 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1975 - - _ 1976 - - -- - 1977 142.8 119.7 209.9 100.9 147.8 1978 165.5 131.1 337.7 107.0 174.3 1979 182.9 131.2 362.6 116.8 200.4 1980 193.4 144.3 371.2 128.3 206.8 1981 208.5 157.6 391.0 132.5 223.5 1982 239.3 179.8 400.2 142.7 257.1 Note: Industrial Sector (1974 = 100). Source: Central Univ. of Ecuador. Economic Research Institute. 5 Second, due to the increase in personal incomes, especially of the middle class, changes occurred in the structure of food demand. While the demand for meat, milk products and bread wheat rose, that for traditional products such as maize, potatoes, etc. tended to stagnate. The combination of these two impacts on prices and demand caused a decline in the economic profitability of agricultural activities in comparison with that of other sectors, and it can therefore be assumed that incentives to utilize new technologies and agrochemical products and to take risks were practically nonexistent. Third, agriculture was adversely affected by a decline in the supply of its most important production factor, labor. This decline was both absolute and relative, in the sense that migration to the urban centers accelerated in response to labor demand in construction and manufacturing. In Ecuador there are serious constraints on the replacement of labor by machinery. Chief among these are the predominance of smallholdings and the fact that most of the farms are located on hill slopes. The main components of advanced technology packages -- machinery, fertilizer, chemicals, etc. -- are imported. The rise in their cost has placed agriculture at a disadvantage, with sharper rises than in other sectors (Table 1.4). With the end of the oil bonanza, Ecuador is not in a position to pay for food imports as a means of keeping prices down. It can therefore be assumed that agriculture will have to play a more active role in the development process during the rest of the decade. However, some of the changes that have occurred are irreversible, such as the changes in the structure of demand and the decline in labor supply. The new agricultural technologies developed in the future will therefore have to be 6 Table 1.3 Minimum Living Wages. 1962-1984 (sucres) General Agricultural Wgrkers Year of minimum effect living Sierra Costa Oriente wage 1962 - - 1968 600 450 600 - 1969 - - - 600 1971 750 _ _ _ 1974 1.000 600 750 750 1974- 750 900 900 1975 1.250 - - - 1976 1.500 960 1.080 1.080 1978 - _ _ 1979 2.000 1,350 1.500 1.500 1979 - _ _ _ 1980 4.000 2.500 3.000 2.500 1982 4.600 3.200 3.600 3.200 1983 5,600 3.900 4.400 3.900 1983 - _ _ _ 1984 6.600 4.400 5.000 5.000 Source: Official records; laws and decrees on minimum wages. Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. 7 Table 1.4 Wholesale Price Index (1974-1982): Import Sector Raw Materials and Fuels and Intermediate Product Construction Period lubricants Agriculture Industry materials 1974 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1975 101.1 155.1 104.1 115.2 1976 101.2 128.1 108.3 112.2 1977 101.2 108.9 110.8 119.1 1978 101.2 120.0 115.3 134.6 1979 130.0 125.9 121.5 111.7 1980 137.9 128.7 115.8 1981 174.7 131.2 117.2 1982 203.0 137.4 126.0 Note: 1974 100 Source: Central Univ. of Ecuador, Economic Research Institute. 8 adapted to these new circumstances. To the extent that the IARCs are able to take this kind of information into account in decisions concerning the products to be researched and the most efficient forms of production. interaction with the NARS will be more likely to take place and will be more fruitful. In 19819 the agricultural sector grew at an overall rate of 4 percent. While fish and livestock production grew at 5 percent and forestry at 9.6 percent, per-capita production of food crops slowed, with a growth rate of only 2.1 percent. 1.3 Supply and demand for IARC products A brief summary of the major factors affecting supply of and demand for the products researched by the IARCs that are important to the diet of the Ecuadorian people is presented in this section. 1.3.1 Wheat and barley These two products are dealt with together because they belong to a single research program and compete for the same production resources. The domestic supply of both wheat and barley has fallen dramatically as a consequence of reduction in the area sown (Table 1.5). Up to 1982, the Government pursued a policy of unfavorable prices for these two products (Table 1.6). The demand for wheat has risen sharply as a consequence of the rise in incomes and of migration to the towns. The demand for barley for human consumption has declined, owing chiefly to changes in the diets of migrants. but the industrial demand, chiefly for beer-making. has risen. The increase in the demand for the two products has been met by imports, which reached 360,000 tons in 1983 (93 percent of total consumption). 1.3.2 Maize The supply of soft maize# chiefly for human consumption, has declined. while that of hard maize. chiefly for animal Table 1.5 Ecuador: Area and Production of Principal Crops, 1974-1983 _dbot -_____Barley 5r --rdCrn Year Area Production Area Production Area Production Area Production (000 ha) (000 ton) (000 ha) (000 ton) (000 ha) (000 ton) (000 ha) (000 ton) 1974 56.2 55.0 60.8 56.1 109.6 76.2 161.6 185.6 1975 76.2 64.6 71.5 62.8 108.7 90.2 165.0 190.0 1976 76.5 65.0 71.6 62.8 117.7 95.0 165.0 198.6 1977 40.9 39.8 60.0 40.7 84.0 54.3 163.0 164.1 1978 26.9 28.9 32.0 21.7 52.0 39.2 132.5 139.1 1979 30.3 31.2 30.7 20.7 48.4 35.5 170.3 182.3 1980 32.1 31.1 26.2 24.3 59.2 45.2 166.7 196.4 1981 37.2 41.4 28.8 27.0 59.7 48.6 184.7 232.6 1982 33.0 38.5 33.9 35.4 61.0 54.6 155.4 262.2 1983 25.7 26.9 29.7 39.5 60.5 44.4 145.2 184.9 q)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi_ _Potatoeans Year Area Production Area Production Production Production (000 ha) (000 ton) (000 ha) (000 ton) (000 ton) (000 ton) 1974 101.1 354.8 66.1 28.0 503.3 4.4 1975 135.4 449.1 62.5 26.1 499.3 12.3 1976 127.3 395.4 67.9 32.0 532.7 15.0 1977 107.0 327.6 59.0 26.0 417.0 19.3 1978 81.3 225.2 39.1 18.7 343.1 25.4 1979 110.8 318.8 44.3 23.1 254.5 33.5 1980 126.6 380.6 48.1 26.3 323.2 33.5 1981 131.2 434.4 53.5 29.6 391.5 33.1 1982 131.7 384.3 -- -- 416.4 37.4 1983 94.8 273.5 __ __ -- -_ Sources: Chamber of Agriculture of Ecuador and Central Bank Yearbook No. 7, 1984. 10 consumption. has remained relatively stable (Table 1.5). The demand for soft maize is delining in face of the tendency to replace it by wheat. As a result of the unfavorable price policy (Table 1.6) and rising demand for hard maize due to increased demand for meat, imports have averaged 10.000 tons a year in the last few years. 1.3.3 Potatoes The potato market is very unstable, with periods of over- production and of shortage. The price is determined freely by the market. Because of the price instability and the few production alternatives open to the potato growers, the most serious constraint on this product is marketing. The demand for potatoes appears to be very stable, and consumption is not affected by the induced changes in diets. There is temporary potential for export to Colombia owing to the production cost differential in Ecuador's favor. 1.3.4 Beans The production of beans has remained stable over the last 15 years (Table 1.5). Demand for beans exhibits two main features. First, per-capita consumption is very low, around 3.5 kg per capita, which indicates that beans are not an important item in the Ecuadorian diet. Second, demand is highly regionalized, mainly in terms of two properties: color and grain size. As in the case of potatoes, the price is determined freely by the market. 1.3.5 Rice The supply of rice tends to be unstable, owing mainly to variations in yield, especially with the traditional rainfed and flooding production systems. The area planted has remained relatively constant. Per-capita rice consumption was 37.2 kg and has tended to rise in recent years. The price is set officially. As with other products, the price of rice has been held at low levels during the last 10 years. Ecuador can be regarded as 1 1 self-sufficient in rice. However, imports of rice took place between 1978 and 1981 to meet seasonal shortages. 1.3.6 Sorghum, soybeans and pasture The demand for these products is indexed. Per-capita consumption of meat is low: 11.5 kg of beef and 2.3 kg of poultry per year. but demand for it is rising rapidly. Cultivation of sorghum began in 1976 and that of soybeans in 1971. The increase in the area sown to these two crops has stagnated in the last few years as a consequence of their low profitability. due to low official prices and high production costs. Cattle-breeding and fattening is predominantly of the low-density type, with little utilization of improved pasture and fodder. The dairy-cattle farms are relatively small and tend toward intensive land use. Ecuador imports 16,000 tons of soybeans. Sorghum imports depend on the availability of hard maize to meet the needs of the poultry industry. 1.3.7 Cassava In Ecuador cassava is traditionally eaten in the rural areas, mainly by the poorer people and on farms of under 10 hectares. The market is relatively small, since most of the cassava grown is consumed on the farm, although starch is also extracted for industry. Because the product deteriorates rapidly, the market price fluctuates sharply during the production cycle. A large proportion of cassava production that does enter the market is shipped to Colombia as the growing areas are near the frontier. 1.4 The institutional system of technology generation and dissemination Four, institutions are associated with the process of technology generation and dissemination. They are the Ecuadorian Agrarian Reform and Land Settlement Institute (Instituto Ecuadoriano de Reforma Agraria y Colonizacion -- IERAC). the Table 1.6 Ecuador: Historical Series of Official Prices of Agroindustrial Products, 1974-1983 Hard Corn Cotton Sorghum Rice Soybeans Wheat Barley Milk Year S/Kg S/Kg S/Kg S/Kg S/Kg S/Kg S/Kg S/Lt 1974 4.63 3.97 9.26 3.64 4.07 2.70 1975 4.63 3.97 9.26 3.97 4.07 3.15 1976 6.17 4.18 9.26 5.51 4.07 3.20 1977 6.17 3.30 4.18 9.26 5.51 4.07 4.20 1978 7.05 15.40 3.30 4.74 9.26 5.51 4.07 4.80 1979 7.05 15.40 3.30 5.07 9.26 5.51 6.40 5.90 1980 7.93 17.60 3.30 6.94 9.26 5.51 6.40 7.50 1981 7.93 18.48 3.30 6.94 10.14 7.27 6.40 8.00 1982 7.93 18.48 3.30 6.94 12.10 7.27 6.40 8.00 1983 12.75 22.26 3.30 20.90 14.29 9.92 10.12 12.00 13 National Agricultural Research Institute (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias -- INIAP). the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministerio de Agricultura -- MAG). and the Development Bank of Ecuador (Banco de Fomento del Ecuador -- BNF). As part of the process of land awards, IERAC is required to assess the technology and resource needs that have to be met to ensure the success of the agrarian reform and land settlement programs. INIAP is responsible for technology generation, MAG for technology transfer, and BNF for providing the necessary credit resources. The system has encountered a number of obstacles in pursuing the objectives set. First of all, the progress of the agrarian reform program has been slow, mainly for lack of resources. Secondly. MAG has not succeeded in putting together a strong group in the area of agricultural extension. MAG for a long time operated the system of "National Programs." one for each product (e.g., the National Rice Program). In recent reorganizations. however, these programs are tending to disappear. No information is available to determine clearly whether BNF has fully accomplished its purposes. The volume of credit has been large. especially during the oil bonanza periods; 80 percent of the total has gone to agriculture. There has been some criticism of the amount of commercial-type as opposed to development lending, diversification of BNF's goals in other areas, such as infrastructure development, warehouses, etc. as opposed to production loans. For some observers (Barsky and Cosse, 1981). the main obstacles to the process of technology generation and dissemination has been the compensation role that INIAP and BNF have had to play for landholders who were threatened by the agrarian reform programs. This compensation role has been relatively easy to fulfill since the landholders possess the institutional means to express their demands, being directly represented in both institutions. In contrast, HAG represents 1 4 the small farmers' organizations and tries to act as a channel for their technology demands. As will be seen later in this study. INIAP's technology supply has been limited by its human and financial resources. However, the rapid growth in the number of experimental stations, and the assignment of specific product responsibilities to each station, are indications that, at least at the directive level, the technology demands of the two groups. landholders and small farmers, have been perceived. The main problem in technology supply appears to lie in conceptualizing the problems at the producer level in each region. The following section contains a detailed study of how INIAP has modified its research structure to eliminate this constraint and to incorporate the producers' most pressing needs into its research criteria. 15 2 The National Research System of Ecuador 2.1 Historical summary In Ecuador agricultural research is concentrated in the National Agricultural Reseach Institute (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias - INIAP), an autonomous agency attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. Its main source of financing is the annual budget appropriation made by the central government. It also obtains a small amount of funding under agreements concluded with international agencies and foreign governments. INIAP is governed by a board of directors -- Consejo de Administracion -- with the following members: the Minister of Agriculture, a representative of the private agri- cultural sectors the Minister of Finance, a representative of the National Development Council, the General Manager of the National Finance Corporation* the Manager of the National Development Bank, and the Director General of INIAP. INIAP was created in 1959, but did not begin operations until 1969 with the establishment of the Santa Catalina Experimental Station. Prior to INIAP. agricultural research in Ecuador was conducted mainly under agreements with the United States Government which crystallized in two systems: a pre-World War II system known as the Ecuador Agricultural Experimental Station, and a subsequent system known as the Inter-American Agriculture Cooperative Service. The 25 years of INIAP operation has been a period of continuous formation, with the incorporation of new areas of research, new products and new agroecologic zones. In 1962, INIAP began work at the "Portoviejo" Experimental Station, located on a site different from that occupied in 1951 by a station of the same name. In 1963. the Wheat Research Program was transfered to INIAP at its headquarters at the 16 "Pichilingue" Experimental Station. Until then the Wheat Research Program had been the responsibility of the National Wheat Commission. The African Palm Program, which was under the Ministry of Development, was also transferred. The transfer to INIAP of the African Palm Program gave birth to the "Santo Domingo" Experimental Station, devoted mainly to research into that crop. Development of the station's physical infrastructure began in the same year. In 1969, the first research work was started at the "Boliche" Experimental Station, officially opened in 1971 to serve the Lower Guayas basin area through research work on rice, bananas, cotton, oil crops, etc. In southern Ecuador, INIAP has been conducting research since 1973 on lands of the Azuay Economic Conversion Center (Centro de Reconversion Economica del Azuay -- CREA) located in Ucubanba. Later, in 1974, the "Austro" Experimental Center was opened on the Chuquipata site, to the north of the city of Cuenca. By means of Ministerial Resolution No. 430 of March 23, 1973, the Government entrusted INIAP with responsibility for banana research, for which the National Banana Program was required to allocate the necessary funds annually. In 1978, the "Napo" Experimental Station was established to meet the technology needs of the northern part of Ecuador's Amazon region. In 1981, INCRAE handed over the Payamino Project, whereupon the station moved its location and came to be called the "Napo-Payamino" Station. In June 1980, an agreement was concluded under which MAG handed over to INIAP occupation (but not ownership) of part of the Tumbaco and Pillaro farms, where research was started into subtropical and deciduous fruit trees. In January 1982, INIAP acquired a site near Paltas in the Department of Loja to set up a Production Research Center. In 1980, INIAP opened the "El Oro" Regional Center in the city of Machala to provide support for the research work being done in the southern coastal area. In May 1983, under an agreement with MAG, INIAP acquired occupation of part of the Nagsiche farm in the province of Cotopaxi, where it will conduct research into deciduous fruit trees and small animals. In April 1983, a land-occupation agreement was concluded with the commune 17 of "Wanantial de Chanduy," located on the Santa Elena peninsula, under which INIAP received a tract of 200 hectares for production and research work on the cultivation of jojoba, using resources received under an agreement concluded between MAG and BNF. In 1984. under agreements with MAG, INIAP received the "La Margarita" farm in Manabi and the "La Guacotou farm in Bolivar for the conduct of research and technology transfer work. 2.2 Structure and achievements of research INIAP conducts research work at the experimental station. regional and (more recently) farm levels. Specific goals are set for each level. although theoretically all three are closely interrelated. In practice only the first two levels operate under a single coordination system. which is the responsibility of the chief of the product program. On-farm research is in process of organization and still operates separately from the other two levels. There is no clear dividing line between this types of research, which is to supply feedback to the agronomics and improvement projects. and extension activities. The goals and strategies for each research level are described below. 2.2.1 Experimental-station research This research is conducted under highly controlled conditions and with immediate access to logistical and technical support. The following are the major activities: (1) genetic improvement: development of new varieties that offer better quality and high yields, bear fruit early. and are pest and disease resistant; (2) cultural improvements: search for more suitable methods of planting. cultivation, fertilization, harvesting, processing. etc.; (3) plant health controls: search for more suitable and cheaper ways of combating crop pests and diseases; (4) livestock research: development of management practices, improvement and feeding of animal species. 18 INIAP has six experimental stations, an experimental center, a production research center, five experimental farms, and a regional center. The regional locations, products researched and support disciplines of each of these are depicted in Table 2.1. INIAP has carried out some 14,000 trials which have enabled it to deliver to the farmers 98 varieties of various crops. It currently has at its disposal a substantial number of families and lines which under the research program could develop. within a few more growing cycles, into varieties which would provide the farmers with new production alternatives. These achievements comprise: rice, 22 lines; hard maize, 3 families and 1 variety; soft maize, 2 lines; peppers, 1 line; cucumber. 1 line; beans, 3 lines; lettuce, 2 lines; onions, 5 lines; cauliflower, 3 lines; tomatoes, 2 lines; lentils, 1 line; peas, 2 lines; tropical pasture, 5 varieties; and sunflower, 2 lines. Livestock research has generated appropriate information concerning genetic improvement and adaptation of breeds, management, health and diets for swine, beef cattle and dairy cattle, and pasture management and fodder conservation. The improved varieties delivered by INIAP are listed in Appendix 1. Their yields, compared with the national averages, are shown in Table 2.2. 2.2.2 Regional research Regional research is conducted on private farms located in various agroclimatic zones. The behavior of new varieties with genetic potential is observed in localities with different climatic and soil conditions from those prevailing at the experimental stations. In addition, the incidence of pests and diseases is studied in terms of their interaction with environmental conditions. Proposed new cultivation practices are also evaluated to validate the results obtained at the experimental stations. The farmers provide the land for the varietal and agronomic practices evaluation trials. INIAP furnishes genetic material, pesticides, fertilizers. and technical supervision and execution of the experiments. The 19 Table 2.1 Agricultural Research and Technical Support Programs and Departments Location Programs Departments QQIIQ Central Administration Biometries Technical Training Coordination of Agreements Technical Communica- tion PIP Coordination Agricultural Planning and Economics General Subdirection Agricultural Planning and Economics SIERRA Santa Catalina Cereals Entomology Legumes Plant Pathology Corn Ag. Engineering Potatoes-Veg. Weeds Pasture, Nematology Livestock Nutrition Swine Seeds Soil and Fertilizer Austro Experimental Cereals Soil and Fertilizer Center Legumes Corn Potatoes-Veg. Pasture, Livestock Tumbaco and Fruit Growing Pillaro Farms Nagsiche Farm Small Animals Deciduous Fruits La Guacoto Farm Cereals Legumes AMAZQNA Napo Agroforestry - Stockraising Forestry - Stockraising (contd.) 20 Table 2.1 (contd.) Location Programs Departments Pichilingue Fruit Growing Entomology Cocoa Plant Pathology Coffee Weeds Corn Seeds Oil Crops Soil and Fertilizers Boliche Cotton Entomology Rice Plant Pathology Bananas Weeds Corn Seeds Oil Crops Soil and Fertilizers Pasture Swine Portoviejo Cotton Entomology Multiple Crops Plant Pathology Legumes Weeds Vegetables Nematology Corn Seeds Oil Crops Soil and Fertilizers Pasture, Livestock Swine Santo Domingo African Palm Entomology Pasture, Plant Pathology Livestock Weeds Fruit Growing Seeds Swine Soil and Fertilizers La Margarita Farm Pasture, Livestock Table 2.2 Improved Varieties: Comparison of Yields with National Averages National Aygragg Average for Improved Varieties Crop (qq/ha) (Kg/ha) (qq/ha) (Kg/ha) Cotton 18 818.2 55 2,500.0 Sesame 15 681.8 50 1,363.6 Rice 22 1,000.00 160 7,272.7 Oats 10 454.5 80 3,636.4 Cocoa 6 272.7 25 1,136.4 Coffee 5 227.3 60 2,272.3 Barley 15 681.8 115 5,227.3 Castor-Oil Plant 19 863.6 50 2,272.7 Hard Corn 20 909.1 130 5,909.1 Soft Corn 13 590.9 100 4,545.5 Groundnuts 19 863.6 80 3,636.4 African Palm 1.5 (tons of oil) 3 (tons of oil) Potatoes 250 11,363.7 600 27.272.7 Pasture 66 tons 3,000.0 Soybeans 24 1.090.9 60 2,727.3 Wheat 19 863.6 60 2,727.3 22 harvest is turned over to the farmer, together with the techno- logical data generated. Regional research has also functioned satisfactorily as a means of transmitting the technology generateds chiefly to the large and medium-sized farmers. Regional research has been sharply curtailed for lack of resources. particularly of vehicles to reach the work sites. 2.2.3 On-farm research In 1977. INIAP established the Production Research Program (Programa de Investigacion en Produccion -- PIP) as an institutional strategy designed to ensure consistency between technology supply and the production systems and the farmer clientele representative of each work area. The salient feature of the PIP methodology is that it is carried out under the same agroeconomic and socioeconomic conditions that prevail among the low-income farmers, on their own farms, so that the farmer plays an active and responsible role in agricultural technology generation. On-farm research is based on the premise that, for significant changes to be brought about in the adoption of technologies, it is essential that the alternatives generated substantially increase yields under the agroclimatic and socioeconomic conditions in which those farmers operates particularly the low-income farmers, who up to now have not adopted modern technologies. The production research programs (PIPs) in effect in 1983 are detailed in Table 2.3. The advances achieved in on-farm research are summarized in Appendix 2; that summary serves to contrast the degree of integration with the level of research on experimental farms. Table 2.3 Production Research Programs (PIPs), 1983 Name Location/Province Support Station Basic Research Crops PIP Carchi Carchi Santa Catalina Potatoes PIP Imbabura Imbabura Santa Catalina Corn-beans-oats PIP Cayambe Pichincha Santa Catalina Potatoes-wheat PIP Manabi Zona Seca Manabi Portoviejo Corn-castor-gourds PIP Balzar Guayas Pichilingue Corn-cassava-groundnuts PIP Napo Napo Payamino Pasture PIP Quimiag-Penipe Chimborazo Santa Catalina Corn-beans-oats-barley PIP Puerto Lla-Chone Manabi-Pichincha Portoviejo and Pichilingue Coffee-cocoa-corn-bananas PIP Loja Sur Loja Boliche and Pichilingue Corn-grounduts-cassava PIP Quininde-Malipia- Esmeraldas Santo Domingo and Nueva Jerusalem Pichilingue Coffee-cocoa-corn-bananas PIP Salcedo Cotopaxi Santa Catalina Corn-beans-barley-pasture * PIPs included in Integral Rural Development Projects (Proyectos de Desarrollo Rural Integral). 24 2.3 Development of financial resources INIAP is financed mainly by central government budget appropriations. In recent years its research resources have been financed in part by international agreements and conventions. These international funds are for the most part subject to local counterpart requirements. The percentage contribution of inter- national assistance could not be ascertained; however, from the information that will be presented later it can be inferred that it is still very small. Table 2.4 presents a historical statistical series on total budget appropriations by the central government to INIAP from 1961 to 1983. The average rate of growth (in current sucres) is 20 percent a year. This historical series could be divided into two periods. before and since 1973, since in 1973 INIAP's resources were doubled with the onset of Ecuador's oil exports bonanza. It should also be noted that INIAP had almost completed its expansion phase in terms of the number of experimental farms and research centers. The historical series for the second period. 1974-82. was deflated by the agricultural price index supplied by the Central Bank of Ecuador. It will be seen that. in 1974 sucres, INIAP's real budget has declined by an average of 3 percent a year over the last 10 years. Its real budget for 1982 was 38 percent lower than its 1974 budget. However, the most critical year was 1977. when the real budget fell by 50 percent in relation to 1974. INIAP's present accounts structure does not allow detailed product-by-product study of budget allocations. The design of the accounting system is based on the items allocated to the experimental farms and research centers. At the farms and centers the items are allocated among overhead expenses. support departments. and product programs. As a result, the allocations to a product program do not accurately reflect the intensiveness 25 and importance assigned to it at any given moment. Table 2.5 presents the historical series for the distribution of INIAP's budget items among the experimental stations from 1961 to 1983. Until 1976, INIAP was undergoing expansion, which makes it difficult to analyze the structure of regional allocation of budget items between 1961 and 1976. From 1977 onward the structure has been relatively stable, with central administration receiving 16 percent of the total. The most important experi- mental stations, in terms of volume of resources, are Santa Catalina. Pichilingue and Bolichet which receive about 60 percent of the resources. The other stations and centers can thus be regarded as marginal, the four of them together receiving only 24 percent of the budget. During INIAP's first years of operation, research was organized around commodity programs. In recent years it has been organized around support disciplines -- departments -- to form multidisciplinary groups which interact with the commodity programs. This reorganization could be motivated in part by the scarcity of resources, which has compelled the professionals to handle several product programs simultaneously. The result has been to eliminate product specialization in the support disciplines. Even among varietal improvement personnel, cases exist of a single professional handling more than one crop. 2.4 Staffing To trace the historical evolution of research personnel in INIAP is a very difficult exercise. In the first, places many of the more highly qualified personnel have left, mainly to join private enterprise, with an appreciable number joining international organizations. Conceptually, it is a complicated matter to determine whether this trained staff was replaced by individuals of equal academic qualifications and experience. It has to be borne in mind that 26 Table 2.4 Central Government Budget Allocations to INIAP, 1961-1983 Budget Allocation (Millions of Sucres) Year Current Real 1961 1.0 1962 6.1 1963 11.9 1964 16.4 1965 24.0 1966 24.9 1967 23.9 1968 28.7 1969 27.4 1970 62.8 1971 53.4 1972 63.8 1973 127.0 1974 162.0 162.0 1975 165.0 135.0 1976 151.0 105.0 1977 141.2 79.6 1978 193.2 94.7 1979 211.6 98.2 1980 248.0 106.5 1981 312.9 128.0 1982 276.9 101.0 1983 336.9 Note: Data furnished by INIAPts Budget Office: Deflated by the agricultural price index, Central Bank of Ecuador. Table 2.5 Historical Series: Distribution of INIAP Budget Items Among Experimental Stations, 1961-1983 General Santa Santo Year Administration Catalina Pichilingue Portoviejo Domingo Boliche Napo Austro 1961 1,000 1962 1t100 4,970 1963 2.157 4,409 3,897 1,499 1964 3,744 41,509 5,187 1,421 1,537 1965 7,142 6,306 5,975 1,974 2,561 1966 7,746 89295 5,077 1,761 2,010 1967 7,299 7,218 5,195 2,014 2,179 1968 5,429 8.428 8,335 3,017 3,556 1969 5,345 8.303 7,273 2,310 3,178 1,008 1970 7,805 17,691 18,526 1,799 7,012 7,991 1971 23,186 11,779 8,280 2,396 4,220 3,613 1972 26,600 13,960 10,265 2,134 5,148 5,771 1973 21,707 21,712 51,324 5,711 13,900 12,661 1974 34.656 30,435 45,512 12,773 16,726 21,898 1975 29,629 35,698 32,875 20,672 18,917 27,299 1976 29,224 36,154 31,348 23,537 16,725 14,097 1977 23,957 34,523 29,523 11,846 15,974 21,965 2,050 1,362 1978 62,039 36,610 31,940 13,142 17,757 22,706 7,150 1,856 1979 35,954 37,989 32,093 11,955 16,472 22,736 6.125 2,775 1980 56,748 43,260 35,130 14,929 19,625 24,902 4,040 6,468 1981 52,926 52,350 47,705 17,066 24,807 33,617 4,686 6.692 1982 59,963 539257 43,741 14,060 20.586 32.152 4,527 3,108 1983 53,530 73,336 68.189 23,171 27,273 47,349 8.068 5,357 Source: INIAP. 28 INIAP is the leading institution for the training of agricultural researchers. In the second places for persons who remain at INIAP for a relatively long period, the time available for research tends to diminish. These people tend to devote their time increasingly to higher-level administrative tasks. Between 1977 and 19839 the size of INIAP's technical staff remained relatively stable, increasing by 39. Its structure also remained relatively stable, with no change in the number of doctora,te-level staff, 12 at the master's level and the remaining 22 technical staff were all at the pre-graduate level. Table 2.6 depicts the 1983 distribution of personnel among the various crops and research activities. It is pointed out that three of the five doctorate-level staff were assigned to administration. For the crops of interest to the IARCs, only 48 researchers were available, of whom only 9 had carried out postgraduate studies. Among the support groups. the soils, plant pathology and entomology groups are the strongest. with 25 post- graduate professionals. From the standpoint of this analysis. it can be stated that there is a human resources constraint on effective interaction between Ecuador's NARS and IARCs. 29 Table 2.6 INIAP: Technical Staffs by Work Area and Academic Level, 1983 Work Area Academic Lveol Doctorate Master's Agronomist Manxaggmgnt Administration 3 9 12 Planning 3 4 Soils 12 17 Plant Pathology 6 12 Entomology 7 7 Nematology 1 5 Nutrition 2 9 Biometrics 2 Library Science 1 1 Agricultural Engineering 5 Weed Control 1 9 ExRort Crops Bananas 1 6 Coffee 1 4 Cocoa 2 7 Indugtrial Crops Cotton 2 4 Short-Cycle Oil Crops 1 9 Hard Corn 3 5 Seed Production 2 14 African Palm 1 3 (contd.) 30 Table 2.6 (contd.) Work Area Academic Level Doctorate Master's Agronomist Crops for Domestic Market Grains 1 4 20 Potatoes 6 Vegetables 1 7 Legumes 2 7 Rice 2 6 Fruit 3 15 Livestock Activities Dairy Cattle 2 14 Beef Cattle 1 13 Swine 1 7 Poultry 1 2 Production Systems Production Research 1 26 Multiple Crops 1 Agroforestry-Pasture 2 Forestry-Pasture 2 TOTAL 5 70 262 Prepared by: Planning Department, INIAP. Source: Personnel Departments INIAP. 31 3 Interactions Between the International Agricultural Research Centers and the National Agricultural Research System 3.1 Introduction The interactions between the IARCs and the NARS in Ecuador are complex. with the degree of interaction determined by the current situation of particular commodity programs. It is felt that, for the present study, a generalization would serve no useful purpose since the various programs are not all in the same situation. Cases exist of long-standing and well-established programs in which the theoretical division of work between the IARCs and the NARS is functioning in practice. Programs also exist which, though similarly of long standing. are dependent on the IARCs both for germplasm and for financial assistance for their operations. Evaluation is difficult in the case of commodity programs that have to serve different agroecological zones, for example the Andean and the coastal regions. and in which the IARCs have set goals for only one of the regions. In these cases the NARS is compelled to carry out some of the tasks that would theoretically belong to the IARC. Moreover, in some cases, because of the weakness of the program in all areas -- staff, genetic material and finance -- the IARC has totally replaced the NARS in the performance of its functions. Finally, cases exist of research programs that could have substantial potential in the future, either as intermediate or as final products, in which it has not yet become clear what the work of the IARC should be. A factor common to all research programs in Ecuador is financial constraint. This factor has to be carefully borne in mind because without it the interactions between the IARCs and the NARS would in most cases have been much more productive. It can be stated that the financial constraint on the NARS has retarded the impact of the IARCs by creating a situation in 32 which, for lack of research resources, most of the best-trained professionals have left to join private enterprise. In a number of cases, imported materials are not tested with sufficient stringency owing to scarcity of resources; for example, material may be planted in nearby localities that are not representative of the typical environment in which the crop develops. In other cases the researcher feels compelled to reduce the number of lines brought on to more advanced stages for lack of resources, and this may lead to rejection of material that has some potential for other regions or other purposes. Generally speaking the national programs face a wide range of tasks and targets, such as research, extension and not infrequently supervision, which means that coordination of efforts is crucial in a single institute, in regard to financial constraint. However, resolution of financial problems would not auto- matically improve the quality of the interaction between the IARCs and the NARS in every case. The drain of professional staff has affected some research programs more seriously than others. In some cases the human capital would have to be rebuilt before any refinancing policy was undertaken. Another factor common to the majority of research programs which limits not the interaction, but the impact, of the IARCs is the lack of a national seed production and utilization infra- structure. When we listen to both sides we learn that the country finds itself in a vicious circle: it does not produce seed, because there is no demand, and it does not use seed because supply is lacking or costly. There are two major aspects to this obstacle to the dissemination of new technologies. First, there is no technical assistance or extension system through which the NARS can reach the farmers, with the result that the technology remains "bottled up" in the experimental stations. Second, Ecuadorian agriculture consists mainly of small farms which could not afford, or would not wish, to pay for technical assistance or to purchase inputs such as seed. In some 33 commodity programs the concept of "unsophistication" of the variety is being adopted as one of the improvement criteria. This could help resolve the problem by reducing the fertilization and plant care demands on the farmer and thereby lowering his costs and increasing the benefits accruing from the improved variety. This concept arises at the NARS level; it is not clear whether the IARCs are prepared to sacrifice part of the increase in yields to achieve these objectives, which could facilitate seed use and production. In the case of all programs, a separation was observed between research and extension. The researchers state that the technological impact has been slowed for lack of an efficient extension system to bring the new varieties to the farmers. For their part, the extension agents state that research and its results have stayed in the experimental stations and therefore they do not have enough alternatives to offer to the farmers. Impartial observers diagnose that this separation between research and extension is due to the reduction in the number of regional trials, which are one of the principal means of communication between research and extension workers. The main reason for this reduction is the scarcity of funds that besets both research and extension systems. From the standpoint of the IARCs this limitation on the number of regional trials may be preventing impact when, for lack of more extensive evaluation, varieties or material are discarded that might perform well in specific agroecologic zones. The production research programs (PIPs) are designed to resolve this problem in part. However, the PIPs have two limitations. First, they are geared to very specific conditions, in most cases conditions of very restricted financial capacity. with the object of helping the poorest areas, thereby preventing exploitation of the variety's full potential. Second, communi- cation between the PIPs and the variety improvement workers is practically zero, with the result that the main objectives to 34 incorporate socioeconomic criteria into the improvement decisions, is not accomplished. Attention should be given in all commodity programs to the process by which the decision is taken to launch a new variety. There are personal and institutional factors that delay the decision. The improvement researcher is usually a person averse to risk who does not take the decision to launch a new variety until there is a high degree of certainty. Because of the financial limitations on the number and quality of the observa- tions he can make in a given period of time, the researcher postpones the decision. Institutionally, there is no pressure to launch varieties until a specifics regional-scale problem arises. At that time a new variety produces, politically, a much greater impact. Under the system of launching new varieties described above, the impact of the IARCs can be limited by the way in which the activities of the commodity program are evaluated. There appears to be a tendency to evaluate the programs in terms of the number of lines introduced and tested during a given time period and not of the number and quality of the final product varieties at the national or regional level. If this hypothesis is correct, the system of transmission of germplasm by the IARCs to the NARS needs to be reviewed to ensure in some way that the most promising material receives thorough and exhaustive evaluation. A final factor that needs to be taken into consideration in evaluating the impact of the IARCs on the NARS is the lack of continuity in the NARS in terms both of policies and of personnel. In the case of Ecuador, in the last 5 years INIAP has had five Directors General, who have each in turn reorganized the Institute. Each Director has not only changed the emphasis of INIAP -- in terms either of region or of product -- but has also changed the middle-management staff. such as assistant directors and product program chiefs. Shifts in emphasis have usually 35 entailed reallocation of funds. which in some cases has affected long-term plans under the research programs. The middle- management changes may help to account for the fact that the more highly qualified personnel, at the master's and doctorate levels, have left the Institute. As a rule, professionals of this category rise to management level, but when their management functions cease they cannot return to their old positions. 3.2 Types of interactions The IARCs and the NARS interact through: (a) the exchange of genetic material; (b) the exchange of information; (c) personnel training; (d) advisory assistance by scientific personnel; and (e) equipment and financing. These types of interactions are interrelated. The intensiveness of each inter- action depends on the maturity of the program, the common objectives existing between the IARCs and the NARS and, very particularly, the personal relationships that have been developed between the scientific personnel of the two systems. A general review of these types of interactions is given in the following paragraphs, with special attention to the variations that exist within each category. The most direct and tangible form of interaction between the IARCs and the NARS is the exchange of genetic material. The IARCs contribute effectively to raising production by increasing the availability of germplasm that is better adapted to the environmental conditions and the production systems of the NARS. Three variables need to be analyzed in evaluating this interaction: the degree of development of the material, its quality or adaptability, and its quantity. The degree of development depends on the length of time for which the product programs of the IARCs and the NARS have been interacting. Cases occur in which the exchange of material takes place in one direction only, from the NARS to the IARC in the form of collection of native species. Both the IARC and the NARS take 36 part in this collection. and it can make a substantial contribution to a national program that is just getting started. In these circumstances the IARC also collaborates in evaluating and classifying the material collected and thereby meets a basic need that the commodity program cannot for lack of technical or financial resources. A second stage, or degree of development, in exchanged material is represented by the observation nurseries, from which the commodity programs can select the material best adapted to local conditions, thereby widening the genetic base of their germplasm banks. These observation nurseries usually become the dynamic factor in the selection process. From this point on, the degree of development of the material received by the national commodity program will depend on the degree of maturity of the project and compatibility of its objectives with those of the IARC. Small programs with few personnel benefit by receiving advanced materials, F4-F5. In these cases the NARS plays the role of variety adaptor, and its main task is to eliminate materials that are not suited to the region. Large programs. with the capacity to perform crossings. get to handle segregation material. In these cases, the NARS contributes together with the IARC by sending promising national crossings. When there is relatively greater compatibility of objectives between the IARC and a given number of NARSs, as in the case of the regional programs of certain IARCs, the duplication of effort in the NARSs in the handling of materials tends to disappear. In these cases the IARC forms, with the help of the NARS, a bank of well-advanced materials tailored to the general characteristics of the region which can be introduced by the NARS. This exchange tends to be more effective because the NARS benefits from the variability of the germplasm obtained from the IARC, but part of the process of selection to meet local conditions is eliminated. This process is coordinated and executed by the IARC. 37 For the majority of commodity programs, the trial nurseries are not attractive because they usually concern materials that have been improved vertically to resolve a particular problem, with the result that even those lines that perform well in terms of that specific problem will undoubtedly fail to do so on other counts. For the small programs. with little acquired experience. these trial nurseries can become a drain on time and resources out of proportion to the benefits they yield. For the large. experienced programs. some of these nurseries can be used as a source of resistance, although it is felt that this is a task incumbent more directly on the IARCs. For the NARS, the quality of the material varies with the location of the IARC. The hypothesis may be advanced that, in Ecuador, when the quality of material is evaluated in relation to such parameters as quality and form of the product, adaptability of the variety to microclimates, and care requirements imposed on the farmer, the materials deriving from regional programs of the IARC have the highest probability of conformity and call for the lowest expenditure of time and effort on the part of the NARS. Next in order of probability follow the materials provided by IARCs from the same continent or area, but on average these demand more time and effort on the part of the NARS. Finally, intercontinental exchanges have a low probability of conforming to the three groups of parameters referred to above. In this study it was observed that the quantity of material received by local commodity programs may be controlled by the program itself. There is flexibility on both sides for decision as to how much to send and to receive. The programs decide. in light of their resources. how much material to test and what data to collect. The IARC assists, on the basis of information collected from a number of countries, with selection of the material that is most likely to be suitable at the local level. 38 In terms of division of work. all the commodity programs feel that the IARC's contribution can be valuable in three ways. First, the NARS can benefit from the great genetic variability within the IARCs' germplasm banks. Second. this variability is to some degree dynamic, owing to the IARCs' continuous improve- ment work. For each NARS this range of variation would be drastically reduced in the absence of the IARCs. Third, the NARS benefits financially through the cost-free transmission of material by the IARC. The financial situation of Ecuador's NARS means that most of the commodity programs would be unable to defray the costs of finding and transporting the material. The general consensus is that, in the case of Ecuador, the existence of the IARCs can speed up the process of selection and improve- ment of materials. All the commodity programs regard the receipt of information as a positive effect of interaction with the IARCs. Communication is a definite stimulus to the genuine exchange of ideas and information, which gives rise to a process in which the participating members act as members of a data receiving and transmission center. The data can be grouped into three categories according to their use: general data; data from international nurseries; and specific technical or logistical data requested by the NARS. The majority of the commodity programs receive the annual reports and information bulletins of the IARCs, either directly or through libraries. In some cases, the local researchers complained that this service is declining in relation to previous years. Another view expressed was that the information contained in the free publications is of a very general nature. The NARS cannot afford the more detailed publications, either on a personal, program or library basis. Most of the programs find the results of the work of the inter- national nurseries in the various countries very useful, since they furnish local improvement agents with broader criteria for deciding on the material they are going to select. For the programs that participate in the network of international 39 nurseries. the receipt of this kind of information makes up for all the effort and resources devoted to running the nurseries. The greatest diversity of opinion related to access to information and the timeliness of its receipt concerned the technical or logistical information requested by local techni- cians. The main determinant of this diversity is the degree of interrelationship existing between the local commodity program and the IARC. For example, the presence of the regional programs of the IARC facilitates interaction of this kind. Another determining factor is the degree of development of personal relationships between the research staff on the two sides. If the researchers know each other personally beforehand, the local researcher has greater confidence in asking for infor- mation and the IARC researcher has a greater commitment to seek and communicate solutions. Three suggestions were made for improving the exchange of information between the IARCs and the NARS. First, there should be more extensive cost-free distribution of documents containing detailed information, at least to the experimental station libraries, since most experimental station researchers do not have access to the central library. Second, technical journals should be established for the product programs of the IARCs, intermediate between the information level and the scientific level of the specialized international reviews; these would fill a gap, especially for middle-level researchers, at the agronomist and master's level. Finallys the IARCs could help promote and coordinate the publication of papers prepared by local researchers. On this point, IICA is coordinating the compilation of works on livestock breeding and fattening in Ecuador. In IICA's opinion, this is a task that could be performed more effectively with financing and coordination by bilateral agencies. The failure to publish work done locally may be dampening the impact of the IARCs to the extent that advantage is not being 40 taken of experience of individual cases to generate new hypotheses and methodologies. Moreover. failure to publish the results of programs and the instability of NARS personnel causes hypotheses that have already been fully accepted or rejected to be tested again. This kind of evidence is being encountered in the compilation by IICA, mentioned earlier. Finally. the major difficulty in quantifying the impact of the IARCs on the national system is the lack of communication. Without exception. all the product programs have benefited from the professional training offered by the IARCs. During the interviews with directors and program chiefs it became clear that the courses offered by the IARCs can be utilized by the national program to accomplish various kinds of purposes. Given the high staff turnover, the IARC short courses provide a means for rapid and effective training of replacement staff. This option is particularly useful when the vacancy to be filled is that of product program chief. The directors of the NARS expressed their appreciation that this training was almost always immediately available since it helps to alleviate the discontinuity in research work. Somewhat along the same lines, the short courses are used to train personnel within the program to take charge of product programs in the future. In the well-structured product program, in which it is sought to build up a strong corps of postgraduate- level researchers, the short courses serve to motivate and select out personnel who will be sent abroad. Finally, the short courses for widely experienced personnel are used to motivate them and stimulate their endeavors. Opinions vary with regard to the quality of the short courses. Directors consider that the quality is good and helps to train the researchers. Many commodity program chiefs feel that the course content is too rigorous. Most of them argue that the courses are too technical and do not provide the trainees 41 with the basic tools to go back and diagnose problems and devise solutions. As a result, this interaction could be creating dependence of the NARSs on the IARCs in the future execution of the programs and the research work. On this basis it is intended to refute the idea that the IARC short courses could replace the formal academic training of the postgraduate courses. One criticism of the short courses in some disciplines concerns the degree of technical sophistication of the materials and instruments used in the course. Although the trainee can assimilate the training and evaluate its usefulness, it is often difficult for him/her to put the learning into practice because the NARS lacks the infrastructure or the means to acquire it. It is therefore recommended that the country's infrastructure development be considered in designing courses so that less sophisticated alternatives could be offered. An additional benefit to the knowledge acquired is that the local researcher is able to see the problems of his country or region in better perspective, e.g., on a Latin American scale. Another such benefit is the opportunity to make personal contact with IARC researchers, conducive to better IARC-NARS interaction in the future. A variant of the IARC short courses is held in the country itself. The latter consist of a cycle of national-level meetings comprising: (a) conferences with international participants to diagnose the national situation and design and launch experiments; (b) a second meeting, some time later, to evaluate the intermediate results and plan local experiments for each participant; (c) a third meeting to "harvest" the experiments and discuss results; and (d) a fourth meeting to report and discuss the results of the local experiments and plan future activities. These courses are very well received by local researchers because they afford an opportunity for contact between themselves and for active participation in their development. They also serve to 42 identify specific problems at the local level. They are commonly very helpful when a new variety is being launched on the market by the NARS. Another training contribution by the IARCs has been support of the NARSs in obtaining international fellowships for post- graduate studies. Ecuador's NARS does not have the funds to send personnel abroad. There is a consensus that, given good coordination between NARSs, IARCs and bilateral agencies, the existing resources can be harnessed to put together an influen- tial group of local research personnel in each commodity program. Where there is a regional IARC program. the presence in the country of one or more international research personnel allows a form of in situ training to be given which has been greatly appreciated. This training allows local personnel to harness the experience of the international researcher to resolve day-to-day problems. However, the NARS representatives had explicit reservations about this assistance. It is essential that the international research officer possess wide experience in a number of countries and not just be a recently graduated PhD. Other requirements concern the personal qualities of the international research officer and his ability to relate to the local research personnel. Both the IARCs and the NARSs are devoting ever-increasing attention to on-farm experiments. Some of the IARCs are offering short courses to train personnel in this type of research. The national coordinators of the product research programs (PIPs) feel that inter-IARC coordination is lacking with respect to the goals of this line of research and that the courses offered in the various IARCs consequently lack homogeneity. An effort could usefully be made to standardize the goals and content of the courses. 43 The three types of interactions described above involve some of the varieties of indirect support of scientific personnel offered by the IARCs to the NARSs. In this section it is proposed to describe the direct relationships between the research workers of the two institutions. Where there is no local IARC representative, the support of scientific personnel is given during the periodic visits by IARC research staff. The most frequent visits are those by the staff responsible for the international nurseries, particularly the IARC improvement researchers. Visits by researchers in other disciplines are less frequent. In the opinion of local researchers, the usefulness of these visits varies in proportion to the interest of the visiting researcher. The visit is usually very short, so that there is no time to discuss local problems. In these cases the visiting officer concentrates on discussing the performance of the inter- national nurseries. As a rule the visits are scheduled to coincide with the time of harvesting of the international experiments. Where relationships between the local commodity program and the IARC are more highly developed, the visits are more frequent, and on occasion the international research officer responds to calls by the commodity program to resolve some specific problem. In these cases of more highly integrated relationships, support by scientific personnel extends beyond the area of genetic improvement to include other research disciplines. Scientific support by the IARC is greatest where there is a local IARC representative. As discussed in the case of training, the personal presence of an IARC representative permits day-to- day interaction with the local research personnel. In addition, they participate in the country or regional training courses and also collaborate in the selection of candidates for IARC specialized training courses. 44 The final type of IARC-NARS interaction is in the field of equipment and financing. It will be recalled that the birth and development of Ecuador's NARS were fostered and stimulated during the early stages by the Rockefeller Foundations and during the 1970s by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loans. There is therefore a tendency to call for greater IARC intervention in this area. Discounting these requests, it is recognized that the IARCs have made positive and above all timely contributions which have permitted and facilitated continuity of research work. First of all. the IARCs have defrayed the costs of collecting, looking after and transmitting genetic material, action which in the prevailing financial situation would have been seriously limited. Secondly, owing to import difficulties and budget constraints, some of the local product programs have had to ask the IARC to send, in addition to seed, supplies required to carry out the experiments. such as identification cards, bags for crossing varieties, etc., which do not cost a great deal but are essential to the work. Thirdly, the IARCs have donated equipment such as dryers, selectors, etc. which facilitate the research work and in some cases permit the use of more modern techniques. Finally, where there is a local IARC representative, the program benefits from the existence of an additional budget which often allows expenditures to be made promptly which are reimbursed laters upon completion of local bureaucratic procedures. Another advantage in these cases is the availability of vehicles for the commodity program, the local vehicles being immobilized for lack of spare parts. In discussion of the various types of IARC-NARS inter- actions, the type invariably described as most effective was that deriving from the presence of a local IARC representative. How- ever, this fact has to be considered in the context of Ecuador's NARS. As stated in the introduction, the major constraints are the scarcity of funds and of postgraduate personnel, so that any direct intervention in those areas has a large and immediate impact. Neither the local research personnel nor the IARC 45 representatives are clear about what would happen if this direct support were to disappear in the future. It is possible that the commodity programs would stagnate at the same level as the commodity programs that do not enjoy that support. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the degree of paternalism and dependence that these interventions are creating. Looking toward the future, ways must be sought to achieve the positive effects of the direct intervention of the IARCs through local represen- tations while ensuring that the commodity programs retain their autonomy in the three major areas: orientation of research, financing, and personnel development. The experience of CIMMYT in Ecuador teaches that. in this direct support, care must be taken to follow a clear and orderly methodology so that the national program can acquire experience in each of the steps or stages. In practice. because the inter- national research personnel have already covered some of the stages, there is a tendency to omit them; this creates research gaps that are disconcerting for local personnel. The result is to achieve one objective -- furnishing immediate solutions -- at the cost of the other -- providing training. 3.3 Interactions at the commodity program level With the object of furnishing a more concrete basis for evaluating the impact of the IARCs on Ecuador's NARS, the inter- actions at the commodity program level are spelled out in detail below. 3.3.1 Potatoes The Potato Program is one of Ecuador's oldest research programs. Before the NARS was organized. potato research was conducted at the Central University. Both the genetic material and the personnel were transferred from the University when the NARS was set up. Until 1972 the Potato Program focused on three main areas: improvement, storage. and agronomics. Relationships 46 with CIP were first established in 1972. Interactions have taken place through short courses in Ecuador and at CIP, economic studies of the profitability of improved seed production and storage of the final product, and the transmission of germplasm. As a consequence of these interactions, the National Potato Research Program has come to place less emphasis on storage studies and to focus on obtaining better quality seed. In this field CIP has offered two methodologies: a field-level technique of plant-by-plant selection. with little commercial applicability, and a laboratory technique of seed production via in vitro cultivation of meristem material. As regards the quality and usefulness of the germplasm received, a number of points are made. During the initial years of CIP the quality of the material was relatively good, though it exhibited notable defects which limited its use, such as lack of frost resistance. The material has improved with time and is used as the basis for local crossbreeding. In other words, in the case of this product, the potato, there is a clear division of effort. However. it is felt that CIP could send rather more advanced material if it changed its vertical-improvement type work system: each department -- nematology, genetics, etc. -- individually sends material with widely differing characteris- tics. CIP has collaborated in obtaining fellowships for long-term training and has itself offered short courses. The Program feels that short-course training is useful because it motivates local research staff, imparts a certain amount of knowledge, and helps make up the deficiencies due to the departure of technical staff. Courses have also been held in Ecuador for production of seed. An important element of CIP support has been the organi- zation and financing of a regional research group, PRACIPA. This group has served as a channel for interaction between the various 47 national programs (which appear to be well-organized in the area) and the division of work in facing up to common problems (which do not vary from place to place), helping to reorganize the utilization of resources for research at the regional level. In spite of CIP's recommendations, the national program sees no need for on-farm research. In the northern and central zones, the commercially-oriented growers tend to accept the technology. However, in this region there is intensive use of inputs, particularly fertilizer. In the southern zone are found sub- sistence farmers, who cannot afford to adopt the new technologies. A Production Research Program (PIP) is being conducted, in collaboration with CIMMYT, in the province of Carchi in northern Ecuador. In the south, a joint CIP-INIAP project has been developed for the transfer of seed storage technology. The program has launched varieties of good quality, particu- larly in terms of size and color, whose impact has been felt in the northern and central zones, about 90 percent of the area. It has not had any impact in the south. There are two varients to be launched, developed with CIP material. The main character- istics of these varieties are high yield, early maturity, disease resistances and good quality. 3.3.2 Wheat and cereals The Cereals Program also has a long history in Ecuador, having come into being with the establishment of the Santa Catalina Experimental Station 22 years ago. The Program is conducting research chiefly in three crops: wheat, barley and triticale. The main purpose in all three products is to increase disease resistance and yields. Interaction with the inter- national institutions can be divided into three stages. The first stage of interaction was with the Rockefeller Foundation which furnished genetic material, training fellowships and equip- ment. The second was with CIMMYT, beginning in 1968. Until 1976 48 CIMMYT contributed material and training, on a limited scale. In 1976 the Andean Regional Program of CIMMYT was set up, with headquarters in INIAP. With this event, relationships changed completely: the continuity and frequency of contacts made it possible to generate ideas about, classify and increase the flow of genetic material. The quality of the training also improved, since it became easier to identify needs and priorities. However, the basic condition for improvement of interactions between the IARC and the national program is the provision of funds by CIMMYT. It appears that the Ecuadorian technicians maintain a degree of control over activities related to Ecuador similar to that in the case of potatoes and different from that in the case of maize. It is suggested that this relative independence is possible because of the level of academic training of the chiefs of the national wheat and potato programs. At the regional level, CIMMYT finances materials exchange and annual working meetings. However, there is no division of work among the countries of the area, mainly because the national programs in the countries are very weak. The case is, therefore, diametrically opposite to that of potatoes. In the case of wheat, technology adoption, as an approximate estimation of the impact of the IARC, has to be evaluated against the background of the country's problems. Three variables have to be taken into account: first, the economic disincentive to wheat cultivation consequent on the Government's economic policies, particularly the subsidization of wheat imports; second, the limitation on extensive adaptation of the new varieties because of the different elevations of Ecuador's wheat- growing areas; and third, the land-tenure structure. More than 90 percent of farms are under 10 hectares, and average farm size is 3 hectares. These small farmers cannot afford to use inputs on a commercial scale. Lack of seed is also a serious 49 constraint. In spite of all this, an increase is noted of 0.5 t in average wheat yields in Ecuador. The IARC and the national program are working together to eliminate these constraints both directly and indirectly. An economic alternative to wheat production is being sought through the launching of a joint barley and triticale research program. The wheat improvement program is being geared to the search for adaptability to specific altitude ranges. The Cereals Program is one of the leaders in the establishment of production research programs (PIPs), with CIMMYT support, in Ecuador. As regards future material, the program is in a position to handle any problem that emerges in the next 5 years given that the material is ready for launching. 3.3.3 Rice The Rice Program is a relatively young one, having been started with the establishment of the Boliche Experimental Station in 1969. However, the development of the program is on a par with that of the wheat and potato programs. The objectives of this program are more specific than those of the IARCs. There are two examples: the need for a variety that hulls easily, to facilitate manual harvesting by small farmers, who occupy 33 percent of the area, and the need for varieties less demanding of inputs and adapted to the financial situation of the small and medium-scale farmers. From this standpoint the Program finds the observation nurseries more useful than the trial nurseries for specific problems. It finds the segregation material more useful than the advanced material. All the research staff of the Rice Program have received training at the IARC or support for postgraduate studies, and this is felt to be one of the most important contributions. The short training courses are described as good and useful as part of a research personnel selection system. The short course is 50 regarded as a preliminary stage for leveling knowledge and technical and academic preparation for entry into the post- graduate courses. It is felt that the IARCs should finance trips by program chiefs to the central institutions to update their knowledge, establish personal contacts, and so on. The meetings of the International Rice Testing Program (IRTP) accomplish this purpose to some degree, but the number of persons and the short time available prevent intensive personal contact. The Program staff feels that communications with the IARC are good, and it even receives analyses of the results of the IRTP's international trials. Visits by Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) scientific personnel are infrequento but the Program does not regard them as so important. An important development has taken place in the division of work. Until 1981 the Program worked mainly on the introduction of materials. Since then it has begun work on cross-breeding for adaptation to specific agroecologic conditions. This change is expected to increase the probability of obtaining new varieties, though this will take more time yet. In the case of the launching of new varieties, the present division of work between the IARC and the NARS appears to be more flexible. In some situations the IARC selection criteria are excessively stringent in terms of the overall varietal characteristics desired and consequently eliminate material with potential for specific, less demanding localities. For example, the problem of a given disease is not symptomatic in given ecosystems. The impact of technological change on rice in Ecuador has been very substantial. Between 60 percent and 70 percent of the area is planted with new varieties. Even average yield for the country as a whole shows an increase of 0.5 t. In some areas yields have doubled from 1.5 t/ha. The major constraints to a 51 greater technological impact are in the long term, the lack of a proper infrastructure (drainage and irrigation canals, soil amendments, etc.). and in the short term, the lack of a com- mercial system for producing improved seed. It is hoped that a new irrigation variety will be launched in 1985, and the first variety designed specifically for one of the rainfed ecosystems in 1986. It should be noted that during the discussions with this Program no reference was made at any time to the constraints due to the scarcity of funds, and a positive attitude was encountered on the part both of the program chief and of the other research staff. This suggests that, given minimum conditions permitting project execution, the most important ingredients are the human qualities and academic training of the research personnel. 3.3.4 Maize The interactions between the IARCs and the National Maize Program are illustrative, in that it is possible in this specific case to evaluate the effect of specific variables on the impact of the IARCs on the NARS. The case of maize has two facets. In the case of the Sierra region maize, there is substantial interaction between the local program and the pertinent IARC through a regional CIMMYT program. For the Costa region maize, interaction takes place basically through the international nurseries and is therefore reduced to the minimum. Until 1977, collaboration between the IARC and the Maize Program (both soft and hard maize) was rather informal, and the Program made no substantial progress for 15 years. In 1977 the Maize Improvement Agreement for the Andean Region was signed. Since that time, the genetic material available for the Sierra region has improved appreciably, due to the change introduced by the IARC technicians in the systems of formation of genetic bases. For the Costa region, the situation has remained basically unchanged. 52 In the Sierra, research has been diversified to pursue different grain-quality objectives based on hardness and color. Varieties are being sought for four categories of grains: hard white, soft white, hard yellow, and soft yellow. In the Costa region, because of the commercial orientation of the growers, there is a demand for hybrids that is not being met by the research program. As regards division of labor, it is apparent that in the case of the Sierra region, the IARC has completely assumed leadership and financing of the national program. In the case of the Costa region, IARC support is based essentially on the transmission of material and sporadic visits, chiefly at the harvest time of the international nurseries. A small amount of support is also given in the form of equipment and materials. The fact that the materials for the Sierra region are developed locally means that they are highly adaptable, and varieties have already been launched which have been adopted by the farmers. In the case of the Costa region, the materials are selected and developed outside Ecuador; their adaptability is much lower. The present staffing and financial situation of the Costa program suggests that new varieties are unlikely to be launched in the immediate future. To alleviate this situation, the Costa program is entering into agreements with commercial firms to carry out trials for the introduction of hybrids. Both the Sierra program and the Costa program have benefited from the training provided in CIMMYT courses. In the case of the Sierra, the presence of the regional program has led to very positive interaction between local and international research personnel. Although there are product research programs (PIPs) for maize, there was no evidence of any close linkage between them 53 and the improvement program, either of the Sierra region or of the Costa region. The PIPs are, in a way. totally independent. The Sierra program is launching two soft yellow and hard yellow varieties whose properties -- early production and late production, respectively -- make it very likely that they will be accepted. The financial impact is seriously limited by the reduction of the area under maize in the Sierra region. Two factors explain this reduction: an economic factor. in the form of the low profitability of the crop. due to its low price, which is set politically; and a demand factor, in the form of the decline in consumption consequent to the change in the diet of people who migrate to the cities. 3.3.5 Beans and other legumes Bean research is conducted as part of a general legumes program. As in the case of maize, the research is carried out in both the Sierra and the Costa regions. The programs in the two regions are totally independent of each other. The genetic material used comes from the CIAT bean program. Bean research began relatively recentlys in 1976. with IARC collaboration. The first work done was collection of local materials. in which two international researchers participated. The system of collaboration between the IARC and the local regional programs is based on the introduction of advanced material and observation of international nurseries. The quality of the material is generally good in terms of yield, but unsatisfactory in terms of presentation. color and size. In both regions it is felt that the division of work between the IARC and the NARS is very useful. The national program could not handle early-producing material. There is only one research officer in each of the regions, with responsibility for the entire legumes area. The impression exists that visits by IARC scientific personnel are concentrated for the most part in the Sierra region and are relatively sporadic in the Costa region. 54 In the latter region it is felt that, for planning and progress to be possible in the area of research, a diagnostic study is needed of the characteristics of bean production and consumption. The other forms of interaction with the IARC -- training, publications and international meetings -- were described as very important for development of the research programs. All the staff have received training through short courses or visits to the IARC when the researcher assumed charge of the program, thereby ensuring continuity of the research work. It was noted that the publications are less frequent and now have a cost that limits their acquisition. As a result of the research one variety for the Costa has already been launched. From the collection of local varieties one has already been identified for the Sierra. The impact of bean research in Ecuador is greatly limited by demand. Beans are no longer a major food item, and presentation, color and size requirements vary from place to place. Production conditions, particularly in the Costa, also impose limitations. Beans are produced by small farmers with low financial resources. In spite of these circumstances, the research programs are not tied in with the production research programs (PIPs). As regards other legumes, lentil material sent by ICARDA has been tested for the Sierra. Here again, most of the material is eliminated owing to color and size restrictions. In the Costa regions cowpea material has been received whose performance has been relatively acceptable. The programs are participating in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) genetic material collection network for legumes. 3.3.6 Pasture and livestock This program has minimum contact with the IARC. This case illustrates how a difference between the goals of the national and international institutions limits the impact of the latter on 55 a country's NARS. Research for the Costa region is being conducted independently of the IARC. The national program is not receiving material from CIAT. The reason given is that the IARC is working only on the development of materials for acid soils. However, regional tests promoted by CIAT are being carried out at the INIA on the "El Napo" Experimental Station in Payannino for the evaluation of germplasm, in which substantial progress has been made. In the past, a number of pasture grass varieties (>Q114dij ;2) and gramineae (Andr.gzg.n and bragbiarW) have been introduced into the area and have adapted well. Propagation has been slow for lack of seed. The local research staff feel that the major constraint in the area is not pasture but the lack of a sound livestock management technology. Such a technology must be designed for the financial conditions in the region, where average herd size is 6 to 10 head. In the Oriente (Amazonas) region, material supplied by CIAT is being introduced under a CIID-IICA-CIAT-INIAP cooperative working agreement. The IARC is responsible for administering and executing the project with the collaboration of INIAP. Most of the research staff of the Costa have never heard of this project. In the Sierra region the research is geared more to dairy farming activities with the financial support of a number of European governments. Other constraints on the impact of the IARCs on this program are the lack of national-level leadership and the almost total lack of funds. Of all the programs visited in Ecuador, this one constituted the most critical case of dearth of personnel, motivation and infrastructure. Knowledge of IARCs other than the one located in Latin America, such as ILCA, is almost zero. The extremely low number of material tests performed during the year is an indication of the poor organization of the national-level pasture program. 56 3.3.7 Sorghum and other oil crops The Sorghum Program is new. It has benefited from the production and improvement courses and from attendance at the workshops of ICRISAT's Latin America program within CIMMYT. The major obstacle to greater cooperation between the IARC and this program is the difference in objectives: the national program aims to produce sorghum for concentrated feed, as an alternative to maize, while the IARC's research is geared to sorghum for human consumption. Another constraint is the scarcity of staff. The program has only one agronomists of BSc level, who has to deal with other oil cropst such as cotton. Genetic material has already been received which has not been sown for lack of money and time. There is a tendency to work under agreements with commercial firms for the introduction of hybrids as an alternative way to raise money. 3.3.8 Cassava Research work began in 1976 in cooperation with CIAT's Cassava Program. Varieties and hybrids have been introduced which have been undergoing regional testing, and work has begun on the organization of a research program, also under CIAT auspices. There is no strong institutional support by INIAP for cassava, since human consumption of the product is relatively low in Ecuador. 57 4 Activities of Other Bilateral and Multilateral Agencies It can be stated that none of the bilateral and multi- lateral agencies is directly associated with agricultural research in the strictest sense of the term, i.e. the generation of new varieties and agronomic practices. Ecuador's NARS has developed on the basis chiefly of donations from private institutions such as the Rockefeller Foundation# support from international institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IICA, and project financing by bilateral agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Generally speakings this international support has been furnished in four main areas: (a) institutional and infrastructure development of the NARS; (b) collection and maintenance of germplasm for the best known crops and some typically local foods; (c) development and maintenance of a group of agricultural research personnel in the various branches; and (d) technology transfer, with the assistance of international consultants and farm-level studies. This international support has evolved over time, as has the magnitude of the work of some of the participating institutions. In the 1970s the NARS was consolidated and an autonomous agency created, and relations with the IARCs began. Since the end of the 1970s and during the 1980s the field of research has begun to expand to include other products and activities not catered to by the IARCs, and emphasis has begun to be placed on on-farm research. The Rockefeller Foundation participated actively in the initial stages of the above process. in the form of donations for infrastructure and personnel training. During the most recent period it was participating in the process of technology transfer indirectly, through USAID, chiefly in the field of rice and fruit, but this activity ended in mid-1983. 58 The IDB has made two loans to INIAP specifically for infra- structure development of experimental stations, training, administrative reorganization of the Institute, and startup of the production research programs (PIPs). It was planned to make a third loan for the same purposes. but owing to problems within INIAP and changes in IDB's lending policy, geared to more integral development of the agriculture sector. disbursement has not so far taken place. .Close scrutiny of the interaction between INIAP and the IDB reveals defects in communication and planning. The original objectives of the project in relation to construction, equipment, personnel training and expansion of the corps of research personnel were over ambitious, with the result that INIAP was unable to meet the targets set for each stage. From the IDB administration standpoint, this puts the project out of phase and makes it necessary to suspend disbursement. FAO has furnished its support through specific projects. It is currently financing a project for collection of germplasm of food legumes for the Andean region. In this project INIAP is acting as coordinator, while CIAT will finance a working meeting. FAO has also made donations of machinery and laboratory equipment and has sponsored trips to international conferences. FAO's most active field is that of financing and the provision of technical consultancy services, using international personnel. It is currently processing a consultancy project for evaluation of INIAP's training system. USAID has supplied funds for training, both formal (post- graduate studies) and informal (attendance at seminars or short courses). A two-part study has been under way since 1976 under an agreement with the University of Florida, comprising a soil and water management and conservation study, and participation in the production research projects (PIPs). The USAID- 59 University of Florida study is currently financing five of the existing eleven PIPs. IICA's major contribution in Ecuador has been assistance in the areas of sector planning and organization of the Ministry of Agriculture. In reseach, IICA is administering and executing a joint CIID-CIAT-INIAP project of tropical pasture management in the Amazon region. As part of this project. a compilation is being made of all technical works on cattle breeding and fattening produced in Ecuador. In addition, an Ecuadorian technician is being trained in =iU. There is an agreement between CIID and INIAP for the col- lection and identification of natural species of guina (cinchona, a cereal very typical of the region). There is also an agreement concerning the execution of nutrition studies in the Andean region. Direct contacts of GTZ in Ecuador in relation to agriculture concern two projects. One is a forestry project relating essentially to wood utilization. The other is a plant health project. The first stage of the project has begun with a study of coffee rust, physically integrated with the Agriculture Ministry's national plant protection program. Fairly heavy emphasis is being placed on the training component. since the local infrastructure is good but trained personnel are scarce. In a second stage of the project it is planned to carry out a more comprehensive study of plant protection in Ecuador. geared to the development of biological controls as an alternative to the chemical control currently being applied both extensively and intensively. INIAP has a contract with Cornell University to work in three main areas: (a) support for bean and cowpea research; (b) support in the agronomic and socioeconomic areas. particularly in the study of rural consumption patterns; and 60 (c) an individual contract for execution of a production research program (PIP) in the Manabi area. The NARS also has international contracts with: (a) the University of Illinois International Soybean Resource Base (INTSOY) for the receipt of soybean genetic material; (b) the British Government, for technical advisory assistance on cocoa and banana research and personnel training; (c) the Swiss Government, in the areas of plant and animal nutrition. personnel training, fruit research, and dairy research equipment; and (d) the Board of the Cartagena Agreement, for the conduct of coffee rust and borer research. 61 5 Impact of Research on Production In light of the foregoing discussion, it can be stated that agricultural research in Ecuador has contributed to the creation of new varieties in almost all products (Appendix 1), which on average exhibit better properties, particularly yield, than the traditional varieties (Table 2.2). The impact of these results on production has been less spectacular and less evenly spread among the various products. The reasons that this impact is not greater are implicit in the text. First of all, the political- economic climate of the 1970s did not offer adequate incentives for the adoption of new technologies. On the contrary, the area under most crops tended to decline during that period. The land- tenure structure, and the social forces directed at changing or preserving it. do not offer the best incentive to take the risks inherent in any process of technological change or to make the necessary investments, supplementing agronomic changes. such as irrigation infrastructure, land improvement works, etc. Finally, the institutional system for the dissemination of technology has not been able to operate effectively, for the reasons already stated and for lack of clarity both in its objectives and in the way it functions. In these circumstances it could be argued that the impact of reseach on production should be evaluated looking to the future, when the country will need to produce its own food and new varieties and technological packages begin to be adopted. Estimating that, on average, the new varieties and technological packages increase-farm yields by 0.5 t/ha. an adoption rate reaching 10 percent over a period of 5 years would raise aggregate production by some 77,000 t for the principal crops (potatoes, wheat, rice, maize and barley)* assuming no change in the present area planted. This increase, valued at an average price of US$200/t, would have a value of US$15.5 million. This rough estimate, based on highly conservative assumptions, serves only to give an idea of the impact that agricultural research 62 could have on Ecuador's food production, apart from such additional benefits as employment creation, foreign exchange savings. etc. In 1974 most of the general varieties in INIAP had already surpassed the assumed potential increases in yields. Table 5.1 shows that the experimental yields for rice. maize, wheat and barley were almost double the national average yields. The results were slightly more spectacular in the cases of pasture and meat production. A contribution stemming from agricultural research that is difficult to quantify is recognition of the financial and technical constraints on the farmer's ability to adopt the technological packages completely, a situation that lowers the impact of these new packages. Table 5.2 shows INIAP's estimates of the potential impact of the new varieties for different technology levels. It will be seen that, on average. the new varieties tend to exhibit a similar performance, with the traditional technologies, to that of the varieties used by the farmers. The exceptional cases are rice and potatoes. in which the new varieties show more than double the yield. These results tend to confirm that the impact of agricultural research on production in Ecuador has been seriously limited by the socio- economic climate, in which there has been no incentive to agri- culture to use supplemental inputs that permit the application of intermediate technologies, nor to carry out infrastructure investments that permit the application of modern technologies. Table 5.3 shows that increases have occurred in average yields for the five crops of greatest interest to the IARCs located in Latin America that have had structured national research programs for a relatively long time. Historical performance in terms of yields varies from product to product. 63 Table 5.1 Comparison of Experimental with National Average Yieldst 1974 Experimental National Crop/Activity Variety Yield qq/ha Average qq/ha S3 Rice INIAP 2 160 22 14 Soybeans Mandarin 60 24 40 Tropical Maize INIAPA 515 130 20 15 Temperate Maize Chillos 100 12 13 Wbeat Amazonas 90 19 21 Barley Dorada 115 13 11 Potatoes Sta. Catalina 600 250 42 Tons/year Pasture 60 30 45 Years Cattlel 2.0 4.5 225 Swine2 0.6 2.0 333 Liters/animal/day Milk 14 4.0 29 lTime required to fatten a 400-kg animal. 2Time required to fatten a 100-kg animal. 3National average as percentage of Experimental Yield. Source: Ampuero, Dora de: Graduate Thesis, Technology Transfer in Ecuadorian Agricultures University of Guayaquil. 1975. Table 5.2 Experimental and Farm-Level Yields Under Three Technology Levels. 1974 Farm-Level Yield (qq/ha) Experimental Modern Intermediate Traditional National Crop Yield Technology Technology Technology Average Rice 96 80 30 40 22 Barley 80 50 -- 15 11 Hard Maize 80 -- 50 25 13 Soft Maize 70 -- 50 20 15 Potatoes 800 500 -- 300 42 Wheat 80 50 -- 25 21 * Yields under INIAP agronomic recommendations. Source: INIAP, Economic and Technical Aspects of Certain Short-Cycle Crops, Miscellaneous Publication No. 40, November 1974. 65 Table 5.3 Ecuador: Area, Production and Yield of Major Crops, Historical Series 1961-65 1969-71 1980-82 Average Average Average Potatoes Area (000 ha) 36 47 29 Production (000 t) 322 560 305 Yield (t/ha) 8.90 11.8 10.50 Barley Area (000 ha) 146 127 33 Production (000 t) 94 75 29 Yield (t/ha) 0.64 0.59 0.87 Maize Area (000 ha) 259 312 223 Production (000 t) 159 239 248 Yield (t/ha) 0.61 0.76 1.11 Wheat Area (000 t) 74 84 29 Production (000 t) 70 81 31 Yield (t/ha) 0.94 0.96 1.08 Rice Area (000 ha) 106 78 127 Production (000 t) 164 234 380 Yield (t/ha) 1.50 2.90 2.99 Source: FAQ, Production Yearbook. 66 In the case of potatoes, yields increased at an average of 0.8 percent. However, potato yield peaked in 1969-71. This could be explained by the potato-fertilizer price relationshipt which began to deteriorate in the latter half of the 1970s. In the cases of maize and wheats the increase in yields has been constant. Maize yields have risen at a compound rate of 3.0 percent a year and wheat yields at 0.6 percent. Barley yields tended to decline up to 1969-71; the growth rate for the entire period was 1.5 percent. In the cases of maize, barley and wheat, the increase could be explained in part by the dropping out of the less efficient farms. Rice yields rose until 1969-71 and have since remained constant. This may be due to the entry into production of new lands with low and intermediate technologies. This annual growth rate was 3.5 percent. These figures show that, although the impact of research on incremental yields has been relatively small in absolute terms, the impact on production has been relatively large. However, the most positive contribution has been coverage of part of the production that was lost through the decline in the area planted to all crops, except rice. Table 5.4 seeks to measure the value of the incremental production generated by agricultural research. In making these calculations a number of very bold assumptions were made. In the cases of potatoes, maize, wheat and barley, the area planted having been drastically reduced, it was assumed that only those farms that had adopted the new technologies could have survived the sector crisis of the 1970s. In the case of rice it was assumed that the number of farms that had adopted the new technologies in 1969-71 remained constant. For rice, maize and wheat yields, the 1969-71 yields were taken as the starting point. For potatoes and barley, the 1961-65 yields were projected to 1969-71 using the estimated growth rates for the entire period (1961-65 to 1980-82). For each year of the period 1971-81 the yields were projected, for each product, on the basis 67 of the estimated growth rate for the entire period (1961-65 to 1980-82). This estimated yield was multiplied by the area planted annually with new varieties, and the annual figures were added together to obtain the 1971-81 cumulative incremental production for each commodity. The prices used are the average world value of imports of each products estimated from the FAO Yearbook by dividing total value by total volume of imports. The value of cumulative incremental production, in 1981 dollars, was estimated at US$135.5 million. During this period the value of research investment. also in 1981 dollars, can be estimated roughly at US$55 million, i.e., an average of US$5 million a year. The cost-benefit ratio would therefore be of the order of 2.46. Crude as these estimates are, the size of the cost-benefit ratio indicates that even in the extreme case -- e.g., reduction of the benefits to one-half -- the investment return has been high in spite of the limitations on dissemination and application of the results. 68 Table 5.4 Ecuador: Value of Incremental Production Due to Agricultural Research. 1971-1981 (1981 US$) Basic Information Potatoes Barley Maize Wheat Rice Area planted annually with improved varieties 1971-82 (000 ha) 29 33 33 233 78 Yield in 1970 (t/ha) 9.4 0.64 0.76 0.96 2.9 Annual growth of yield (S) 0.8 1.5 3.0 0.6 3.5 Cumulative increase in production 1971-81 (000 t) 17.11 25.41 365.72 11.31 49.14 1981 price (US$/t) 30 400 315 323 116 Value of incremental production (000 1981 US$) 531 10.164 115.201 3.653 5.70 69 Appendix 1 Varieties Developed by INIAP WHEAT Crespo, Atacazo, Napo, Ruminahi, Amazonas, Romero-73, Cayambe-73, Antizana, Chimborazo, INIAP-Altar-82, and INIAP-Tungurahua-82 BARLEY Paccha, Forada, Duchicela and Teran-78 OATS INIAP 67, Santa Catalina-67, Hinhafer Sel., INIAP-82 and Santa Catalina-82 TRITICALE INIAP-Mana POTATOES Santa Catalina, Maria, INIAP-Gabrieal, INIAP- Esperanza and INIAP-Santa Cecilia SIERRA MAIZE Chillos Mejorado, Santa Catalina, INIAP-1976, Amaguana, INIAP-101, INIAP-126 and INIAP-153 COCOA HYBRIDS SCA-6 400, SCA-6 67, SCA-6 EET-62, SCA-6 ICA-6, SCA-6 EET-95, EET-103 EDT-387 COCOA CLONES EET 400, EET 300, ECS 95, BET 19, EET 95, EET 103. IMC 67 and EET 397 COFFEE Caturra Rojo, Mundo Novo, Pacas, Bourbon Amarillo, Geisha and the hybrids Timor 4387 and Timor 4390 COASTAL MAIZE INIAP-515, VS-2, Pichilingue-504 and INIAP-526 COTTON Empire WR-61, Dixie King and Coker Carolina Queen RICE IR-8, INIAP-2, INIAP-6, INIAP-7 and INIAP-415 SOYBEANS Mandarin, Pelikano, Abura, Americana, Manabi, INIAP-Jupiter, INIAP-301 and INIAP-302 SESAME Portoviejo-1 and Portoviejo-2 CASTOROIL PLANT Portoviejo-67 and INIAP-401 AFRICAN PALM Dura and Tenera GROUNDNUTS 47-67-D, 48-115-B, Tarapoto, and Boliche BEANS INIAP-Bayito, INIAP-Caupi and INIAP-400 PEPPERS Florida VR-2 70 PASTURE GRASS Pichincha (rye grass). INIAP-Napo-701 (Brachiaria). INIAP-700 (Guinea), INIAP-702 (Siratro). INIAP-704 (Centrosema), INIAP-705 (Soya perenne), INIAP-706 (Limpo), INIAP-707 (Buffel) and INIAP-710 (Leucaena) 71 Appendix 2 Summary of Research Advances in the Production Research Programs (PIPs) In the Production Research Programs (PIPs), significant advances have been made in the various zones. In the Carchi PIP, the work has been geared to optimizing production factors, and it is considered that the same level of production can be maintained at lower cost. Additional activities carried out in the area include white grub control, improvement of the method of applying phosphorus, and research into accessible procedures enabling farmers to produce their own "reasonablyn virus-free seed. In the Imbabura PIP area, fairly complete knowledge has been assembled of the preponderant production systems. The advantages and limitations have been indicated of INIAP-101 early maize, which is widely accepted among the small farmers of the area. The trial results indicate that this maize makes a net contribution to the improvement of local production systems by permitting, under rainfed conditions, a second harvest of a short-cycle crop. Positive results have been achieved in the fertilization trials, especially with the application of nitrogen, and one of the best economic alternatives is the dosage 80_40 kg/ha (N, P205). The Legumes Program of the "Santa Catalina" Experimental Station is well advanced with the base material of early beans, required for association with INIAP-101 maize in accordance with the system in the area. In the Cayambe PIP area, with wheat as the base crop, research is at the stage of verification/demonstration with technological components (variety-fertilization and weed control) which it is hoped will allow yields of 3 t/ha among farmers who currently obtain 1.2 t/ha. The varieties outstanding for yield are Altar, V-19 and Romero, and the fertilization dosages 80-80 kg/ha and 80-160 kg/ha (N, P205). 72 The recently established Salcedo PIP has produced the following promising varieties. Maize: INIAP-101 and several valley (chillo) varieties; beans: line E-794; barley: the Teran and Duchicela varieties. In the service area of the Quimiag-Penipe PIPt the INIAP-101 maize variety introduced and evaluated by this Program has been widely accepted. In the last 2 years there has been a substantial increase in the area planted with this variety, which in many cases is harvested in early-cob (choclo) form. In the Loja PIP, weed control is the practice with the greatest impact on maize yields. Chemical control can increase yields as much as 100 percent, and study is proceeding of its interaction with soil conservation and fodder availability during the dry season. The INIAP-526 improved maize variety is performing excellently and the crystalline yellow group and Tuxpeno low-plant yellow appear to be promising varieties. The Boliche improved variety of groundnuts and the CMC-40 variety of Cassava are also performing well. In the research work being done in the Quininde PIP on plots for coffee technology verification trials, having regard to the price of the product, treatment limited to sanitary pruning is proving to be an economic alternative. This pruning reduced attack by the insect known as the "twig borer" (taladrador de la ramilla) and thereby increases yields. In maize, the improved varieties INIAP-504 and Tuxpeno low-plant yellow are performing well. In cocoa, the clone EET-95 is the most resistant to witches' broom and the insect "orosco." In the Puerto Ila-Chone PIP, the best variety of maize was the advanced composite group crystalline yellow. Excellent yields are obtained with 80-40 and 120-40 kg/ha fertilization (N, 73 P205). Treatments with sowing density 90 x 90 cm are particularly successful. In the Portoviejo PIP, located in the Manabi rainfed ar- work is fairly well advanced on maize associated with pumpkin (summer squash) and castor-oil plant. Appreciable emphasis has been placed on the cultivation of maize with zero tilling, and very good results have been obtained. In the Balzar PIP area, maize research is in the verification/demonstration stage with the participation of the National Maize Program. The INIAP-526 maize variety, with intermediate technology, permits yields three times as high as the average for the area and offers the best economic alternative. With advanced technology this same variety gives the highest yields. 74 Appendix 3 List of Persons Interviewed 1. Julio C. Delgado, Director, INIAP, Quito 2. Julio Cabrera, Director-Sierra, INIAP, Quito 3. Patricio Espinoza, Planning, INIAP, Quito 4. Francisco Mufloz, Potato Program, Santa Catalina 5. Mario Caviedes, Maize Program, Santa Catalina 6. Jaime Tola, Cereals Program, Santa Catalina 7. Cristobal Villasis, Legumes Program, Santa Catalina 8. Kamal Down, USAID 9. Guillermo Toro, IICA 10. Ivan Alvarez, FAO 11. Jaime Florez, Chamber of Agriculture, Quito 12. Carmen Suarez, Plant Pathology, Pichilingue 13. Santiago Crespo, Maize Program, Pichilingue 14. Leonardo Bewegueta, Pasture Program, Pichilingue 15. Nelson Motato, PIP Regional Coordinator, Pichilingue 16. Eduardo Calero, Director-Costa, INIAP, Guayaquil 17. Hector Brestan, Legumes Program, Boliche 18. Francisco Andrade, Rice Program, Boliche 19. Carlos Rolando, Pasture Program, Boliche 20. Andres Brando, Oil Crops Program, Boliche 21. Jorge Rivadeneira, PIP Coordinator, INIAP, Quito 22. Cesar Caseres, Cereals Program, MAG 23. Jesse Dubin, Representative, CIMMYT 24. Patrick Wall, Agronomists CIMMYT 25. Carlos Klein, Representative, GTZ 26. Horacio Hallyburton, Representative, BID 27. Pablo Larrea, Seed Program, INIAP-Quito 75 References Ampuero, D. de (1975), "La Transferencia de Tecnologia en la Agricultura Ecuatoriana", Graduate Thesis, University of Guayaquil. Avesrik, 0. (1975), "The Role of the International Centers in the Strategy for Agricultural Development in the Less Developed Countries". European-Review of-Agricultural Economics, 2(4). Basky, 0. and Cosse, G. (1981), "Technologia y Cambio Social, las Haciendas Lecheras del Ecuador, Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences. Brown, K. J. (1977), "Contribucion de la Investigacion del CIP a los Programas Nacionales de Papa", Latin American Meeting on Coordination of Activities, CIP. Byerlee, D. (n.d.), "Comparative Advantage and Policy Incentives for Wheat Production in Ecuador", CIMMYT. Cabezas, L. and Espinosa, P. (1984), "INIAP al Dia", Miscellaneous Publication No. 46, INIAP. Central Bank of Ecuador (1984), "Boletin-Amariol", FAO "Production Yearbooks", No. 7. Espinosa, P. and Moscardi, E. (1983), "Los Programas de Investigacion en Produccion (PIP), Miscellaneous Publi- cation No. 45, INIAP. INIAP (n.d.), "Aspectos Economicos y Tecnicos de Algunos Cultivos de Ciclo Corto", Miscellaneous Publication No. 40. Iowa State University (n.d.), "Analysis of Cooperation and Coordination between the International Research Centers and National Centers of Latin America," Ames, Iowa. World of Information (1983), "Latin America and Caribbean" Fourth Edition. I ISSN 0257-3148 ISBN 0-8213-0787-8