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CARDI | < Latin America & the Caribbean
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development
Funding source: USAID
The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) was
SECID's partner organization within this project. Supported by eight countries
in the Eastern Caribbean, CARDI represented a major potential for applying
farming systems research and development (FSR/D) methodologies toward
improving the productivity of farmers in these islands. To help realize CARDI's
potential, the project focused on strengthening the capabilities of the research
and extension staff at CARDI through collaborative efforts with SECIDS's
team in the areas of technology generation, technology transfer, and
institutional development.
SECID conducted preliminary evaluations of the probability of the general farm
system input/output model by developing specific farm system budgets for each
island. The team created outlines of Technological Improvement Files (TIFs),
produced model case studies, and developed a methodology to analyze and
monitor marketing systems.
Technology transfer was achieved primarily through workshops, which provided
in-service training for CARDI staff and the country teams on the new techniques
yielded by the technology generation activities. Extension personnel participated
in the development of the TIFs, and produced directives that identified specific
information to be included in the TIFs to evaluate technology generation and
transfer activities.
Institutional strengthening focused on providing technical assistance at the project
level in the Eastern Caribbean islands and at the CARDI central offices in Trinidad
and Tobago. A prototype program budgeting system was developed to produce the
FSR/D work plans at the country, sub regional, and region-wide levels. Activity
record sheets were generated to allocate resources accurately among the different
CARDI activities. Project staff generated and implemented recommendations for
an improved financial management system at CARDI headquarters. |
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