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department director8 concerned. Ha would ba directly responsible for the management of the center⁹s cotnroon resources.

4.09    Assurances wara obtained at negotiations (para. 6.01) that; (i)

Government would craata a Donor Consultative Group (GCBF) for agricultural rataarch programming and financing, wlth rules of operation acceptable to IDA, to which it would invita all donors funding agricultural research in Niger to participata and which would ba chaired by a Goverament repraaentative nominated by tha Minister of Agriculture and Environment; (ii) not latar than four months after tha data of the Credit Agreement, all key positions in 1NRAN would be fulfillad, including the Director for Administration and Finance, tha Sciantific Director, the Personnel Officer, and Chief for Administration and Finance for aach research center, as well as Coordinators for aach Research Program* (iii) not later than nine months after the Datę of the Credit Agreement, the National Committee has held its first meeting. It would be conditions of affactiveness, that the revised statutes of INRAN would be approyed and adopted, and that the National Committee on Research Programs and the Regional Research/Development Counclls would be established (para. 6.02).

4.10

Research Programning

To ensura adeąuate and timely research programming (enabling field preparations to be mada sufficiently in advance of sowing), the research programming process and timing would be as foliowa :

(a)    January - February. The INRAN commodity groups would tset to leam of the results of aach scientist⁹8 program of the past season and discuss his proposed program for the following season (including ezperimental designs and geographic spread). Then the group Coordlnator would ba responsible for assembling the program and for pruning it with INRAN management to fit the resources available. This stage to be completed by the end of February*

(b)    March (aarly). The plenary Working Groups meetings would gather INRAN management, scientists and outside inyitees from the International research community, university and the eztension service. Commodity Coordinators would present a summary of the past season⁹s results and a broad outline of the proposed program under their superyision. The participants would concentrate on the major findings of the past program and focus on the new program in the contezt of past results, feedback from farmers and goyernment priorities*

(c)    March. The coordinators would discuss the results of the Working Groups meeting with their scientists and finalize the programs. The scientists would then complete their individual trials protocols and preparation of supporting materiał (seeds, plot fertilizers, etc.)*

(<*) April * The technical Staff/junior scientists responsible for implamenting the trials in tha field, would assemble in their respectiwe centars (Kolio or Tama) for saven to ten days to discuss the objectiyes, design, traatments, observations, and