On numerous occasions, modern agricultural or agroprocessing techniques introduced to small farmers under short-term TCP assistance have been extended to other parts of the country concerned, resulting in marked increases in production and employment. Cases include the processing and drying of fruit and vegetables in Senegal and artisanal tomato processing by women's groups in Burkina Faso.
TCP projects for the promotion of new and improved technologies in the livestock sector, including animal feeding, training in animal husbandry and disease avoidance, have increased the quantity and quality of livestock products and led to the wider application of such technologies with the support of funding from external donors. A notable example is the promotion of straw urea treatment for cattle feed in China: thanks to government backing and follow-up support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, the process is now used by more than 7 million Chinese farmers.
TCP PROJECTS AND THEIR CATALYTIC EFFECTS... |
With the introduction of appropriate equipment and technology, a TCP project in Burkina Faso set up artisanal tomato-processing centres to be operated by women's groups. These centres have since served to extend the technology needed for conserving locally produced tomatoes during the off-season. The training and demonstration processing units provided by the project have allowed thousands of farmers and their families and several women's groups to process crops for commercial as well as home use. With support from NGOs, the national Food Technology Institute has extended the technology throughout the country and organized the local manufacture and sale of large numbers of solar dryers. The result has been reduced post-harvest losses and the significant generation of rural income and employment.
A project for the introduction of new and improved methods of animal feeding in Hebei and Henan Provinces of China is one example of a TCP activity that has had a major impact. Launched in 1988, the project was initially planned to promote the appropriate use of straw urea treatment for cattle feed. Following the success of this new technology under field conditions, follow-up was ensured through projects funded by UNDP and the World Bank. Hebei and Henan Provinces have become the largest meat-producing provinces of the country and, in 1995, more than 7 million Chinese farmers treated about 21.5 million tonnes of straw for cattle feed, compared with 3 000 tonnes in 1985.
In Tonga, a TCP project was successful in controlling a virus that had previously prevented the export of squash to Japan. Consequently, the country was able to move from a negative to a significantly positive balance of trade for the first time in decades. The project set up a disease tracking and mapping system that enabled the Department of Agriculture to rationalize and deploy its extension services in different locations following a pattern of synchronized planting dates. The project will bring additional long-term benefits through the establishment of effective cooperation between research institutes, extension officers and farmers.
In the Republic of Korea, a TCP project stimulated major private sector investment by introducing technology to reduce the physical and quality losses incurred during post-harvest handling of fruit. Together with research and demonstration, the project provided training and helped facilitate the transfer of the technology to entrepreneurs. Within two years of the project's completion, the private sector had invested more than US$6 million to implement the technology on a commercial basis. |
