ON-THE-SPOT COURSES- CINADCO GOES ABROAD

ON-THE-SPOT COURSES: CINADCO GOES ABROAD

by Ruth Seligman with Ophra (Braude) Bar-Am*

"On-the-spot" is an apt and precise phrase to describe Israel's extensive program of mobile courses given in the participants' home countries. It is there on their own turf that the trainees learn how to solve problems indigenous to the resources and conditions of their particular locality. The hallmark of all missions abroad is the way they are hand- tailored to meet specific local needs and requirements.

(* in charge of on-the-spot courses for CINADCO)

CINADCO (the Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation) is a professional entity within the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture which works in close cooperation with MASHAV, the Centre for International Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CINADCO is one of a number of institutions and bodies in Israel which provide training in areas as diverse as agriculture, rural and community development, cooperative organization and trade unionism, public health and medicine, early childhood education and the role of women in all aspects of nation-building. Since, however, agriculture is the training most sought by developing countries, CINADCO plays a significant role in Israel's programs of international cooperation, with approximately 40% of MASHAV's activities under its wing.

Training by CINADCO and other institutes in Israel is given both in Israel, via seminars, workshops, courses and individual study tours, and abroad in mobile on-the-spot courses. Although both activities enable trainees to benefit from the transfer of Israeli skills and expertise, there are certain advantages to those given abroad. First, these on-the-spot courses are tailored to meet a specific need as recognized and pinpointed by the host countries. In the courses given in Israel, where participants come from different backgrounds and countries, the material, by definition, generally has to be broader in content and less focussed.

Second, as a rule it is financially more cost-effective to send two instructors abroad than to bring 30 or 4O participants to Israel. Third, in on-the-spot courses, participants have easy access to data for solving local problems since it is right there at their fingertips. An example of how advantageous is this access to local data are the final projects required by each participant in all courses, those given in Israel as well as those given abroad. In on-the-spot courses, these final projects have an added relevance since, oriented to an actual situation, they address a specific set of problems and needs which exist in the trainee's home country.

In addition, in on-the-spot courses there is the possibility of working with local experts and utilizing their knowledge and experience. The motto of these courses is partnership and sharing with host country professionals a teaching and learning venture that is of mutual benefit for both sides. For instance, with reference to courses given in cattle husbandry in Latin America, there, unlike in Israel, cows roam free in pastures. Thus, the local professionals know the situation well, but they lack some of the nutritional expertise which Israel has. The result both learn from one another.

Impressive and valid as are these advantages, let no one for a moment think that on-the-spot courses compete with the programs given in Israel or that experience abroad is better or more meaningful. On the contrary, both activities are essentially two sides of the same coin meshing and complementing each other in many significant ways. Take, for instance, one of the roles played by trainees who come to Israel. Exposed to what Israel has to offer, many return home and initiate requests for courses to be given for their colleagues in their own countries. Often these graduates even know the experts they would like to have come to their countries, having met and studied with them in Israel.

For the professionals who teach in the courses in Israel, there is a similar benefit. Their experience in the courses in Israel is of tremendous value to them when they go abroad on a short-term mission for they have gained an understanding and awareness of the mentality and background of those who come from the developing countries, the target populations for the bulk of Israel's programs of international cooperation. This exposuremakes it easier for them to work with them at home.

In like manner, the experience of Israeli instructors abroad enhances and enriches their work in Israel. Many times, participants in Israel are delightfully surprised by the knowledge and familiarity their instructors have of their home countries. Thus, for the Israeli professional, there is little doubt that their teaching experience abroad is also a learning experience for them, enhancing their professional knowledge and enabling them to be more effective trainers. This is a two-way street: The giving in Israel enhances the giving abroad and vice versa.

CINADCO has been in the business of supplying experts to run on-the-spot courses for over three decades. Starting with courses in agricultural extension work, today it offers over 42 choices in specific subjects. Agriculture is a very dynamic subject, one which requires policy-makers to make constant changes and innovations in the planning and preparation of courses. Even within the same field, there are now many different subtopics.

Change is very much the name of CINADCO's planning game, whether it be upgrading the content and material of existing courses, or introducing new topics and subjects. Responding, for instance, to the new and growing interest all over the world in preserving the environment, CINADCO now offers courses in agroecology. In these courses, participants study, among other things, the damage resulting from the contamination of water resources, soil erosion, deforestation and the improper use of pesticides, thus becoming aware of the need to find alternative solutions to reducing ecological damage. in all courses now the effect that every factor and/or activity has on the environment is being taken into consideration.

Another new area is that covered by courses on the role of women in agricultural production, especially women in rural areas who often bear the main brunt of running their farmsteads. Last year, for example, CINADCO sent a team to Guatemala and Honduras where its course for rural women was geared to improving their self-image and giving them the tools with which to better and more easily carry out their multiple tasks in family life, household economics and agricultural production.

Innovations at CINADCO also include the utilization of new technologies, such as computers and computer programs in the planning, production and management of different agricultural-related projects from irrigation and water management to dairy cattle husbandry and beef cattle raising.

To this dynamic picture of change and progress one must add the growing number of countries to which experts are now being sent. Recent additions include China and India. Moreover, with the new situation in Central and Eastern Europe, and the former USSR, there is now the tremendous possibility of expanding activities there.

The introduction of new technologies, the changes in course content and the expansion of "markets" for Israel's expertise and experience do not, however, negate the basic principle behind all of CINADCO's programming flexible programs that are tailor-made to meet specific requests. From the onset of its work, this has been the guiding principle for all of CINADCO's activities. As an example there was a request from Nepal for an expert in cattle breeding, specializing in artificial insemination or proper nutrition for cattle.

On-the-spot courses require extensive planning and preparation from choice of topics to selection of the team to head the mission. Often a younger person, more familiar with modern technologies, will be paired with an older, more experienced instructor. Such was the case in a recent course in cattle husbandry conducted in Peru and Ecuador which sent out Shabtai Avni and Dr. Baruch Shofy. Avni, known and respected for the dedicated way he has promoted dairy cattle husbandry all over Latin America, so much that he is regarded as a "spiritual father" in this field, is a member of Kibbutz Gaash where for the past 40 years he has been in charge of its dairy herds. Constantly called to lecture in Israel and abroad, he has a wealth of practical experience to offer. Shofy is a young veterinarian, employed by Israel's Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Services. His youth and training complemented Avni's extensive practical experience.

Never resting on its laurels, CINADCO is always searching for ways to improve its performance. By early fall of 1993, for example, it had already managed to line up and prepare its list of courses for 1994. As every year, the list is sent to Israeli embassies all over the world who distribute it to the relevant institutions in their country from the Ministries of Agriculture and their different departments and branches, such as the agricultural extension services, and on to organizations of growers, various NGO bodies and even to some banks. As previously noted, trainees who have been in Israel on courses are often the best 'ambassadors" for, when here in Israel, they learn about the possibilities of mounting mobile courses in their home countries. They become so familiar with what is offered that they are able to activate many courses, often sending out their request directly. Each mission includes two intensive three-week sessions, given in two adjacent countries. Sometimes, three one-week sessions may be given in different localities instead of one three-week course. Due to the short time at their disposal, both the participants and the experts are aware that every minute must be exploited to its maximum.

During a particular mission to Ecuador, almost 200 trainees were directly trained in six one-week courses of approximately 30 participants each. Indirectly, however, at least twice that number was reached. Actually, it is quite unbelievable how many can be reached, directly and indirectly. Many times trainers are also interviewed in the press and on television, thus creating a ripple effect that helps to reach many more people than those actually registered for the actual courses.

Basic to CINADCO's work is its reserve corps of experts in many different subjects and fields. These professionals undergo a special two-week course given by CINADCO which concentrates on helping them develop and improve their skills in communication and interpersonal relationships. This training emphasizes the concept that international cooperation is basically human relationships and that getting your message across, i.e., while transmitting skills and knowhow, one must also take into consideration the human factor of interpersonal relationships and the value and importance of team work.

In 1993 CINADCO offered a varied program: on-the-spot courses in Irrigation were held in Uruguay, in India, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia and Thailand; a course in Irrigation and Extension in Hungary; in Agricultural Extension in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Zambia and Kenya; Aquaculture in Nepal and the Philippines; Planning and Management of Agricultural Projects in the Seychelles Islands, the Philippines and Kenya; Agroecology in the Republica Dominicana, Nepal, Chile and Thailand; Women in Agriculture in Guatemala and Honduras; Beekeeping in Nepal and the Philippines; Dairy Cattle Husbandry in Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Poland; and Management of Guided Credit Systems in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Of all these subjects, those on irrigation are among the most in demand: Water and land rank high among the basic means of production in every country. Improper use, even in countries which do not suffer from a scarcity of water, can adversely affect the lives of millions.

Thus, it was quite logical that the first course CINADCO gave in India, conducted in 1992, was on irrigation systems. Although India has months where there is extensive rainfall, it as many other developing countries needs to maximize utilization of this resource.

CINADCO has 30 years of experience in more than 80 countries and with thousands of trainees. Many of the on-the-spot teachers return to their own farms when they come home, sharpening their abilities and planning the next courses.

Every year the Centre for International Cooperation (MASHAV) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides close to 80 on-the-spot courses in a wide range of subjects, reaching Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and the Caribbean. Training abroad remains one of MASHAV's mainstay activities after 35 years of existence.

These courses given in the respective countries on subjects of their choosing, transfer technology to relatively large numbers of trainees. They combine Israeli experience gained over more than 45 years of its own development with grassroots confrontation of problems found in the developing world.

Shalom Magazine, for the Alumni of Israel Training Courses, is published twice a year in English, Spanish and French. The magazine deals with development issues and is published by:

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