Identification and selection of priority projects are indispensable not only for achieving suc-cessful agriculture and rural development in developing countries but also for enhancing the sufficiency of such assistance.
Although identification of such projects is, in principle, the task of developing countries, the donor community needs to help them go through the task by providing expertise and information, to the extent best possible, on the basis of the request from developing countries, which still face the problems of inadequate human resources, expertise and financial resources.
The major objective of the "ADCA project finding" is to facilitate the agriculture and rural development cooperation for both the Government of Japan and developing countries. Once a prospective candidate project is identified through field work, ADCA mission provides the result of its findings to the Government of the developing country concerned and recommends the Government to take initiative to consult with the Government of Japan for official assistance.
Upon return the ADCA mission prepares an ADCA project finding report for each identified project. ADCA submits the report with the recommendation to the Government of Japan for review and consideration of the possible official technical and/or financial assistance, such as support by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In this sense, the ADCA project finding holds its significance as an essential part of the process of development assistance provided by the Government of Japan. Recognizing such role and importance of the ADCA project finding, the Government of Japan decided in 1977 to partially finance this activity. From 2011 ADCA has been carrying out project finding with its own fund (Overseas Agriculture Development Research Fund). ADCA has smoothly and successfully identified a large number of candidate pro-jects in over 110 developing countries.
The chart shows the process of the ADCA project finding:
Upon submission of ADCA project finding reports, the government of a recipient country and Japan may hold bilateral negotiation in accordance with the recommendations and findings of the reports, and come to a conclusion to give priority to projects identified by ADCA for implementation. Consequently an official prelimi-nary survey is conducted by JICA as a JICA grant aid program, based on the Exchange of Notes agreed upon between the two governments.
In general, a feasibility study is conducted to examine whether the target project will be carried out in phases, regardless of the size of the pro-ject. It also determines the necessity of formu-lating a master plan prior to a feasibility study in case of request by the recipient government for a comprehensive development plan or a long range development plan.
One of the objectives of feasibility studies is to look into the viability of the project in terms of technicality, socio-economy, financing, insti-tutions and so on. Hence carrying out a feasibility study requires a high level of expertise provided by a number of qualified professionals, specialists and engineers which are in short in developing countries. Another important objective of JICA-supported feasibility study is that most of the field work as well as desk work are jointly carried out by the staffs of the recipient government and the members of the JICA study team based on the on-the-job training program.
In case of agriculture and rural development projects, the expertise made available for the feasibility study and related work is retained solely by ADCA and its members. ADCA members are able to dispatch a number of well-experienced specialists and engineers in order to successfully carry out studies on agricul-ture and rural development. It should be noted that these specialists and engineers are familiar with JICA schemes and procedures including the capacity building arrangement for the recipient country.
After conducting a feasibility study, its finding is reported to both the governments of Japan and the recipient country. Concurrently, the project is incorporated with high priority into a national plan of agriculture and rural development of the recipient country. In case immediate implementation of the project is needed, the report may turn into a part of documents requesting for financial assistance from bilateral or multilateral financing organizations, such as JICA.
JICA's technical cooperation covers various activities, such as the dispatch of experts, the provision of equipment and training programs, which are integrated into technical cooperation projects or development study-type technical cooperation, which also serves as on-the-job training (OJT) for development studies. Most of the training programs are conducted within Japan. Each year, more than 10,000 participants from many countries visit Japan to acquire knowledge and technical skills in a wide range of fields. When they return home, they not only bring back expertise, but also foster a deeper understanding of people from other countries. These returnees are expected to contribute to the development processes of their home countries by offering perspectives shaped by their international experiences.
These training courses are categorized according to various characteristics, such as duration, technical area, professional roles of the trainees, implementing institutions, and distribution of beneficiaries. The Training and Dialogue Program is a unique initiative in which Japan proposes programs to developing countries and implements them only upon receipt of applications. This program stands out in the field of official development assistance (ODA) because it is driven by proposals from donor countries rather than requests from recipient countries. Currently, ADCA is designing and implementing three training courses under this program.
The country-specific training and dialogue projects are implemented on the basis of specific requests from developing countries. Most of the counterpart training programs, in which counterparts involved in technical cooperation projects are sent to Japan for training, fall under this category. ADCA supports these programs in response to the needs of its member companies.
LECTURE
Our lectures invite key figures in international cooperation (such as practitioners from JICA and other implementing agencies, academic institutions, consultants, construction companies, and NGOs) to speak on various topics related to international cooperation. Together, we explore the potential and future directions of global agricultural and rural development.
SEMINAR
Seminars are open not only to international cooperation professionals, but also to a broader audience, including students and the general public. These sessions provide insights into global issues such as food security and poverty, as well as Japan's contributions and specific methodologies in these areas. Through lectures, case study presentations, and panel discussions, participants will gain a deeper understanding of global agricultural and food issues and the role of Japan's ODA in agricultural and rural development.
STUDY GROUPS
Organized by the ADCA Youth Council, made up of young engineers from ADCA member companies, our study groups focus on areas of interest where consultants want to deepen their expertise. Experts are invited to give presentations, participate in discussions, and conduct workshops or training sessions.