PROPOSED SUPPORT BY ASHA TO THE PAN AMERICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001969

SIPDIS

AIDAC FOR GEORGE LIKE, DCHA/PVC-ASHA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID HO
SUBJECT: PROPOSED SUPPORT BY ASHA TO THE PAN AMERICAN
SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE LOCATED IN HONDURAS

REF: SECSTATE 175560 dated August 13, 2004

The present cable provides comments regarding the Pan-
American School of Agriculture (AKA Zamorano) request
for financial assistance from American Schools and
Hospitals Abroad.

Zamorano has requested $1,126,000 for the following
actions/investments:


1. Increase the storage capacity of a reservoir used
for irrigation from 30,000 cubic meters to 340,000
cubic meters.


2. Increase the cultivated area under irrigation by
adding 96 hectares.


3. Increase the plantation forest area under irrigation
by adding 45 hectares.


4. Purchase timber harvesting equipment (a skidder).


5. Purchase wood processing equipment and improving the
wood processing area.


6. Construction and furnishing of a women's dormitory.

In response to the request for comments, USAID/Honduras
is pleased to provide the following comments regarding
the Pan-American Agriculture School, Zamorano:

Zamorano is a private U.S. chartered non-profit
organization that has been in existence for 60 years.
Zamorano is recognized as the premier agricultural
institution in Honduras because of its high standards
and reputation of excellence in the workplace
established by its graduates over the years.

Zamorano graduates are key contributors to the
agricultural development of all of the Central American
countries.

At the Central American level, four institutions are
recognized as quality centers of higher learning:
CATIE, INCAE, EARTH and ZAMORANO.

The combination of quality staff and field experience
possessed by Zamorano cannot be matched by any other
Honduran agriculture institution.

Zamorano's training program is recognized and
accredited in various U.S. universities with premier
agricultural programs. U.S. universities such as
Cornell, Purdue, Auburn, and Iowa State have developed
collaborative research, faculty exchange, and
international training programs with Zamorano.

SICE, the "Foreign Trade Information System" of the
Trade Unit of the Organization of American States (OAS)
indicates that:

"The Zamorano Pan American School is a good example of
what is needed in terms of improving the human
resources of a nation in order to offer skills to
industry. Zamorano is a world-class, specialized
undergraduate institution. It is dedicated to
spreading expertise in agro-industry in which the
region has a solid opportunity to build a market
leadership position. It is a regional institution,
attracting bright young people from all over Latin
America. It offers direct assistance to the farming
sector in those countries. It has research facilities
which are creating and disseminating knowledge about
new agricultural technology, methods and systems."

USAID/Honduras cables to ASHA from previous years amply
describe Zamorano's background, the excellence of its
training program and faculty, and the constant
collaboration that Zamorano has provided in the
execution of USAID's development programs. At present,
Zamorano is executing a one-year cooperative agreement
with USAID in water resource management activities.

Zamorano is constantly improving its capacity and focus
according to the changing needs of Latin America. For
example, Zamorano has recently changed from a three-
year program with an additional one-year specialization
to a four-year, university-level academic program.
Zamorano now offers four career paths: agribusiness
development, agricultural science and production, agro
industry, and socioeconomic development and
environment. Beyond the classroom, students learn-by-
doing as they participate actively in planning,
production, and marketing activities related to
educational business operations called ZamoEnterprises.
The new program begins with a two-year core curriculum
comprised of courses and learning-by-doing activities
offered by each of the four careers and six
ZamoEnterpirses. During their third and fourth years,
students undertake a specialized program of study in
one of the four careers and return to the
ZamoEnterprises to further develop their skills and
deepen their knowledge. In addition, Zamorano and the
University of New Mexico are presently executing a two-
year collaborative program to establish a Central
American Water Resources Development Center and
training Honduran professionals in water resource
management.

Zamorano is a non-sectarian institution. There is no
religious orientation nor is religion a factor in the
curriculum or entrance requirements. Since Zamorano
serves predominantly Catholic countries, the majority
of the students are Catholic but the institutional
atmosphere provides an open welcome to students or
faculty of every religious belief.

We concur with Zamorano that the current water storage
capacity is already insufficient and that a major
expansion of Zamorano's water storage capacity is
necessary to expand the area under irrigation.
Zamorano has indicated that, during the dry months, the
daily requirement to properly attend the land area
presently apt for irrigation exceeds the supply by
almost 3,000 cubic meters. Therefore, to place
additional land under irrigation, the large increase in
water storage capacity proposed by Zamorano is
necessary. We also concur that Zamorano, as a regional
leader in agriculture, must improve its water
catchments, irrigation and water management practices
to generate and transfer appropriate technologies.

USAID concurs that Zamorano must improve its forest
harvesting and processing equipment to be able to
execute and teach sustainable forest management
practices and efficient wood processing techniques.
The skidder being requested will complement the cable
extraction equipment being purchased under ASHA Grant

842. The sawmill improvements along with the wood
products facility will allow Zamorano to teach and
promote cost effective production and value added
alternatives.

USAID also concurs with Zamorano's proposal to
construct a dormitory for women. Already one-third of
Zamorano's student body is women and it is projected
that this percentage will rise in the future. Also,
the present lack of dormitory space is limiting
enrolment and forcing less than optimal spacing for
some students (living three to a room instead of the
normal arrangement of two per room). The construction
of an additional dormitory facility for women will
allow Zamorano to accommodate the increased number of
female applicants and to improve the living space
provided to the students.

USAID/Honduras supports the objectives of Zamorano's
request, but suggests that a grant contain
conditionality that the institution complies with all
the required environmental actions, reporting, and
monitoring applicable to USAID-financed activities,
including those set forth in title 22 of the United
States Code of Federal Regulations, part 216 and with
the requirements of the Foreign Assistance Act, Section
118 Tropical Forest.

Section 118 of the FAA indicates that the President
shall deny assistance to developing countries for the
procurement of logging equipment, unless an
environmental assessment indicates that all timber
harvesting operations involved will be conducted in an
environmentally sound manner which minimizes forest
destruction.

If you require additional information regarding
environmental compliance, please contact the agency's
environmental coordinator, James Hester,
jhester@usaid.gov.

Any questions about the comments which USAID/Honduras
provides in this cable may be addressed to Ramon
Alvarez, Mission Forestry Advisor, by cable or e-mail,
ralvarez@usaid.gov. Regards.

Palmer