Annual report 1989 -1990 Head Office IDRC, P0 Box 8500, Ouawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9 Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia IDRC, Tanglin P0 Box 101, Singapore 9124, Republic of Singapore Regional Office for South Asia IDRC, 11 Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110003, India Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa IDRC, P0 Box 62084, Nairobi, Kenya Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa IDRC/CRDI, P0 Box 14 Orman, Giza, Cairn, Egypt Regional Office for West and Central Africa CRDI, BP 11007, CD Annexe, Dakar, Senegal Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean CuD, Casilla de Correos 6379, Montevideo, Uruguay Please direct requests for information about IDRC and its activities to the IDRC office in your region. The cover reflects the global theme of this annual report through the faces of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Canada. Photo credits: All photographs including those on the cover are by Peter Bennett except that on page 11 which is by Anwar Hossain. This book is printed on 50% recycled paper. IDRC CRDI INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE CENTRE DE RECHERCHES POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT INTERNATIONAL Chairman of the Board Président du Conseil July 14, 1990 The Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, P.C., M.P. Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester B. Pearson Building 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2 Dear Minister: In accordance with Section 22 of the International Development Research Centre Act, I have the honour to transmit herewith the Annual Report of the International Development Research Centre for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1990 which includes the financial statements of the Centre and the Auditor General's report thereon. Yours sincerely, Wardlaw BOX/CR 8500, OTTAWA, CANADA, K1G 3F19 CABLE: RECENTRE © International Development Research Cenire 1990 P0 Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9 IDRC, Ottawa CA IDRC-003j90e,f IDRC annual report 1989-1990.Ottawa, Ont., IDRC, 1990.94 p.: ill. /Annual report!, /IDRC/ - /development research!, /research projects!. UDC: 338.001 ISBN: 0-88936-561-X ISSN: 0704-7584 A microfiche edition is available. Mention of a proprietary name does not constitute endorsement of the product and is given only for information. 3 Annual Report 1989-1 990 International Development Research Centre The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to stimulate and support scientific and technical research by developing countries for their own benefit. The fields of investigation to which IDRC gives its financial and professional support include: farming; food storage, processing, and distribution; nutrition; forestry; fisheries; animal sciences; environment; tropical diseases; water supplies; health services; education; population studies; economics; communications; urban policies; issues relating to women in development; earth and engineering sciences; and information sciences. Although IDRC is funded by the Canadian Parliament, its operations are guided by an international 21 -member Board of Governors. Under the IDRC Act, the chairman, vice-chairman, and 9 other governors must be Canadian citizens; currently, 7 of the remaining 10 governors are from developing countries. The programs that the Centre supports help developing countries build the scientific competence of their institutions and researchers so that these countries can work to solve their own problems. Research projects supported by IDRC are, therefore, identified, designed, conducted, and managed by developing country researchers in their own countries, to meet their own priorities. IDRC helps to create and supports international networks through which developing countries can learn from each other, share common experiences, and conduct similarly designed studies in areas of mutual concern. The Centre also promotes cooperation between researchers in developing countries and their counterparts in Canada. IDRC has its headquarters in Ottawa, with regional offices in Cairn, Egypt (Middle East and North Africa); New Delhi, India (South Asia); Nairobi, Kenya (Eastern and Southern Africa); Dakar, Senegal (West and Central Africa); Singapore (Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific); and Montevideo, Uruguay (Latin America and the Caribbean). 4 Contents Introduction 5 Divisional summaries Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences 6 Communications 10 Earth and Engineering Sciences 13 Fellowships and Awards 17 Health Sciences 20 Information Sciences 23 Social Sciences 26 Board of Governors 30 Officers of the Centre and Regional Directors 31 Financial commentary and highlights 32 Auditor's report 42 Projects for which funds were approved during the fiscal year 1989-1990 Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences 50 Communications 54 Earth and Engineering Sciences 55 Fellowships and Awards 56 Health Sciences 58 Information Sciences 61 Multidivisional 64 Social Sciences 66 Special program activities 70 Divisional activity projects 71 Fellowships 73 Publications 78 5 Introduction The Parliament of Canada created the only in this way can competence be enhanced International Development Research Centre and problem-solving emerge. (IDRC) 20 years ago in a display of unanimity that was as rare as was the enthusiasm with which the For 20 years, IDRC's staff has endeavoured to Members of Parliament approached this task. remain constant to these visionary directions and to Parliamentarians were aware that never before had keep pace with succeeding waves of brilliant a country of the Organisation for Economic interpreters of the world scene who serve on the Cooperation and Development (OECD) created - Board. These men and women have emphasized and agreed to finance entirely - an international that development is a qualitative exercise, not a institution, agreeing in the process to relieve it of quantitative one, that quality of life and individual the burden of domestic bureaucratic constraints. human dignity are the appropriate goals, that The mechanism they chose for this leger de main science and technology are the servants of humans, was an international Board of Governors, selected not the reverse, and that development in its broadest on the basis of their scientific accomplishment and interpretation is the only effective path to developmental experience. sustainable security. Twenty years and 2 000 research projects later, In the span of two decades, this Board has IDRC is proud of its record, is touched by the attracted a richness of talent and acclaim cascade of awards and citations it has received, and unsurpassed elsewhere; it has been composed is warmed by the realization that it has contributed throughout of individuals whose names and to the betterment of life in many places. IDRC has accomplishments are legend. The developing changed constantly during that period, countries have been well served by them, as have endeavouring always to be more responsive, to be all Canadians whose future is increasingly most effective. It seeks to make a difference. dependent upon a wholesome environment, upon However, its Board of Governors always insists that economically buoyant trading partners, and upon its role is subsidiary - to help the developing socially responsible and politically stable members countries help themselves. of the international community. In an era when financial resources are At the first gathering of the Governors, in constrained, when all-too-many Canadians seem to 1970, the potential of IDRC was well understood, be preoccupied by the narrowest of self-interest, as was the burden that rested upon it. The and when the ineptness of inappropriate observations made then were years ahead of the technologies serves as a disincentive to research popular perspective: support, IDRC will endeavour to deserve in the Northern technologies were seldom of future, as it has in the past, its reputation as an immediate advantage to countries in the South, innovative, intellectually honest, and it was said, even if transfers were possible; human-oriented organization. In the pages that follow, IDRC reports to Parliament, as its statute Energy-dependent, environmentally damaging demands, on its activities in the past fiscal year. activities were to be discouraged; The errors and failures associated with alien, top-down development approaches must be understood and avoided; Local cultural and societal traditions must be observed and respected; The role of women must be studied and the well-being of women and children bettered; Discarded northern practices and products must not be passed off on developing countries; and, above all, The research activities supported by IDRC must be undertaken by developing-country scientists within their own institutions because 6 Divisional summaries Agriculture, Food and Nutrition population densities are still relatively low (compared with Asia), pressure on the land is Sciences rapidly increasing. Traditional farming systems are The Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences unable to meet the increased demands for food. The Division (AENS) helps ensure access to food and transition to more intensive farming is causing other basic necessities for the individual through major problems in many areas as lands with high the sustainable use of renewable resources. The potential become fragmented and marginal lands Division strives to achieve stable and sustainable are brought into intensive production despite the increases in productivity while maintaining risk and low returns. Many countries have