What is TCDC?

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The institutionalization of TCDC was a sign that the countries of the South and the North had recognized two things - that, in terms of technologies and development experience, the South had much to offer itself, and that Northern solutions to Southern problems were often wide of the mark, precisely because project staff often lacked experience of local conditions.

So TCDC was seen as a way to boost the collective self-sufficiency of the developing countries, to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of development projects, and, last but not least, to cut costs as resources for foreign aid began to dwindle.

The Buenos Aires Conference was attended by all UN Member Nations, and a Special Unit for TCDC and a High Level Committee were established at the United Nations Development Programme. In 1979, FAO established its own Focal Point for TCDC, to promote, coordinate and integrate TCDC into the activities of the Organization. Mr Ramadhar, the current Chief of the TCDC Unit, has thirteen years experience of TCDC promotion.

In 1994, under the umbrella of the Partnership Programmes, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf launched a new initiative to put TCDC at the heart of development cooperation. The Agreements on the Use of Experts for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries and for Technical Cooperation among Countries in Transition (TCCT) in Central and Eastern Europe, provide a structured framework for the use of TCDC/TCCT experts in all FAO activities. Generally, this involves experts from one developing country or country in transition visiting another to give or receive training. The programmes are supported by databanks carrying details of more than 5 000 experts worldwide.

Since 1994, the number of experts participating in FAO projects under the TCDC/TCCT agreements has risen steadily. Up to April 1998, close to 1 000 TCDC/TCCT experts have undertaken assignments.