Status Report

f_/ - PRN-A 9 C- S 28t1h STATUS REPORT on the Regional Services to the U.S. Agen cy for International Development Missions in Latin America 'July 1, 1969 - December 31, 1969 Re-fereWcA.I.D 0 C- . ,rf, TW-ENTY EtGHTH STATUS REPORT ON THE REGIONAL SERVICES OF THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MISSIONS IN LATIN AMERICA CONTENTS Page REGIONAL SERVICES TO THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MISSIONS .............................................. i PROJECT No. 2 ...................................... 1 A . Training .......................................... 1 1. Graduate School ................................ 1 Z. International courses and other activities ......... 1 B . Consultation .............................. ........ 2 C. Research ......................................... 3 D. Publications ....................................... 6 List of Personnel Changes ...................... ...... 8 Resume of Action Circulars ..................... ... .. 8 AppendixA - Aid Contract Staff ........................... 9 Appendix B - Advance Training ................. o ...... 10 Appendix C - Financial Statement ....................... 11 REGIONAL SERVICES TO THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MISSIONS This report covers the activities of the project provided for under the AID/IICA Contract during te period July 1, 1969 to December 31, 1969. PROJECT No. 2 RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT A. TRAINING 1. Graduate School During July-September, 1969, the following course was offered: Field Work in Resources Inventory, by the staff. In this course, an inventory and evaluation of the Natural and Human Resources in the counties of Ate nas, Esparta, Grotina and San Mateo in Costa Rica were done. Olman Augustin Rodrfguez (Hydrologist) and Mario Fernandez (Geologist), also participated in this course as consultants. During October-December, 1969, the following courses were offered: Resources Evaluation, by Dr. C. V. Plath, UNDP Agricultural Economist assigned to the Project, with the collaboration of Dr. J. A. Aguirre, Agricultural Economist of the Rural Development Department. Cartography, by Sandy Bustamante. Photointerpretation and Photogrammetry, by personnel of the Inter- American Center of Photointerpretation (CLAF), of Bogot6, Colombia. Number of students advised by staff members: As major Advisor As member of committee Senior Rural Sociologist 2 10 Senior Ecoloigt 4 13 Junior Pedologist 1 15 2. International courses and other activities 27-31 October, 1969 - The Senior Ecologist organized and taught the first national course of Ecologic Zonation 2 in Panama at the request of the Regional Office for the Northern Zone of IICA and the Ministry of Agriculture of Panama with the participation of 12 national specialists, 15-16 August, 1969 - The ecologist lectured a group of students of the Organization of Tropical Studies, in Cerro de la Muerte, Costa Rtica, on the "A-nalyais of Tropi cal Vegetation"; a comparison and evaluation of the systems of Kuchler, Dansereau and Larson. 3-21 November, 1969- The ecologist taug" ' course on "Classification and Cartography of Vegetation" in the Forestry Center for graduate studies at the Faculty of Forestry Sciences in the University of M6rida, Venezuela. Fifteen students from different .Ins titutions of Venezuela participated in this course. B. CONSULTATION 1. The ecologist, J. M. Montoya M., gave advice to the Ministry of Agriculture of Panama during the first week of September on ecological zoning of beans. This was in response to a request from the Ministry through the Regional Office for the Northern Zone of IICA. 2. The ecologist also worked in ecological zoning of the principal plant diseases that attack the bean crop in Guatemala. This was in response to a request of IICA Is Regional Of;ice for the Northern Zone. 3 C. RESEARCH 1. In the period under consideration, work on crop zoning was continued by the ecologist Montoya Maquin. By request of the Government of Panama through IICA's Regional Office for the Northern Zone, zoning was prepared for beans and corn; the level of detail was one of "Second 1A.pproximatioi," and the cartographic scale was of 1:250000. A program for the zonin, of ten basic crops for Panama was advised to be done in the next fcvw months. 2. Ecological zoning was also prepared for cotton, rice, beans, corn, African palm, cocoa, coffee, banana. "ajonjoli" (sesame) and sorg hum for the Republics of Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. In this case, the scale was 1:1000000 and the approximation corresponds to the first one of the propose:] methodiology, which is being developed by the ecologist Montoya Maquin. This work is part of the Agricultu ral Regionalization of the Central 1.merican Isthmus which is being done by IICY!', SIECA and the Interamerican Development Bank. 3. Utilizing part of the data of last year's inventory of the physical and human resources of the Turrialba county, the student Arnulfo Ibarra Escudero (Ecuador) completed a study which consists of an integral evaluation of the resources and preparation of a pilot program of agricultural diversification for the area. 4. The Dominican student Marcelo Jorge P. completed a study which is a contribution to the knowledge of the climate dynamics of Santo Doming island. This study was later published in IICA's series "Ptl blicaci6n Miscelanea" No. 64. 4 5. Gilles Lernieux' thesis "Opportunities for the Touristic Development of the Atlantic Coast South of Puerto Limon, Costa Rica" was a pioneer study of the local conditions for touristic purposes and a se ries of alternate recommendations for development of the area based on the utilization of its natural resources. 6. Telmo Siiva) i ,lisiswas a study of the relationships between some climatological factors to the growing and yielding in sugar cane, in the Juan Vilas area in, Costa Rica. 7. Vi'ctor Tunarrosa, a student from Colombia, completed his thesis on topoclimatology on the slope of the Turrialba Volcano, in Costa Rica. 8. Work was continued on some agroclimatological aspects of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. This research is under the respon sibility of the graduate student Moacir Berlato, under the supervision of the ecologist Montoya Maquin. 9. The rural sociologist, Levy Cruz, continued working on his research on spatial mob*Uity and social structure in small communities in Northeastern Brazil. 10. Crop Diversificatioi 10.1 Macadamia (M. integrifolia & M. tetraphylla) Two experiments have been started in Orosi and Turrialba tc, record the actual yield of macadamia trees in these areas. This information is urgently needed in orde to know the eco nomic potentiality of this new crop in Costa Rica. A new experimental planting is being established in Cervantes, where a few trees planted one year ago have grown exceptional ly well. 5 10.2 Routine work has continued in the 'pejibaye' plantings. The planting for production of 'palnitos' (palm hearts) was cxtended using plants grown from seeds originating from spineless trees. This planting vas started in Tecember 1967 and in about six more months a good number of plants will be ready to cut and start processing trials. An official from Tropical "Products Institute (London) visited Turrialba to discuss the research they are carrying out on the utilization of thc pcjibaye fruit. 10.3 Various introductions a. Mangos (Manguifera indica) and Avocados (Persea ameri cana). Routine work was continued. No additions have been made to the collection. b. Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense) . An experimental planting was put out in Aquiares, at an elevation of 1500 meters. A large number of -arieties were planted with the objective of finding out if some of them have resistance to the preva- I ent diseases of this area. c. Lychee (Litchi chinensis). A nursery has been established for the production of rootstocks for grafting the varieties that have been introduced from Hawaii and Florida. 11. The Junior Pedo]igist continued working his research on vol canic ash. 6 D. PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS 1. The sociologist Levy Cruz participated in the FAO Panel of Experts in Rural Sociology. This meeting took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ,N'Tovember 2-8, 1969. En route to Buenos Aires Mr. Cruz visited, in other countries (Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil), organizations and projects related to rural development, including National Agricultural Extension Services. E. PUBLICATIONS CAMACHO V. , Edilberto. Injerto de Macadamia in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Turrialba 19(4):576-512. 1969. CRUZ, Levy. Book review of Arthur T. Mosher, Getting Agriculture Moving: -,ssentials for developmnt and modernization, and Raymond Borton (ed. ). Selected readings to accompany "Getting Agriculture Moving: essentials for developmcnt and modernization on". Turrialba 19(3):432-434. July-September, 1969. MALDONADC, Fausto (Junior Author, together with Ellis G. Knox). Soils from volcanic ash; excursion from Turrialba to Volcgn Irazui. Panel sobre suelos durivados do cenizas volcanicas de Am'rica La tina. IICA, Turrialba, 6-13 July, 1969. pp. A. 8.1-A. 8.12. TUNAROSA M., V. M. Topoclimatologia de la ladLaa del Volcin Turri alba, Costa Rica. Mag. Sc. Thesis. Turrialba, Costa Rica, Insti tuto Interamericano de Ciencias Agricolas, 1969. 1')9 p. SILVA, T. C. A. da. Rcla4oes entre alguns fatores clim6ticos corn crescimento e rendimento da cana de acucar. Mag. Sc. Thesis. Turrialba, Costa Rica, Instituto interamericano de Ciencias Agri colas, 1969. 63 p. 7 LEMIEUX,

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