Institute (ICA) was created as an autonomous public
agency to conduct agricultural research and to coordi-
nate agricultural education in the country [20]. In
1967, national extension responsibilities were also
assigned to ICA. In 1968, ICA assumed responsibility
for quality control of agricultural inputs, regional
development, and numerous other functions. Thus, in
terms of the U.S. experience, ICA is now equivalent
to USDA and performs several functions performed
by the Land Grant University system and by the
Food and Drug Administration.
The National University of Colombia offers agri-
cultural instruction on each of its three campuses
located in the three major cities of the country. In
addition, six state universities (Cardoba, Narino,
Tunja, Caldes, Tolima and Santa Marta) offer agricul-
tural instruction leading to a degree in Agriculture.
Recently, ICA, in cooperation with the National
University, has initiated a masters program in the
agricultural sciences. Also, one of the state univer-
sities offers graduate work in agricultural economics
and, in cooperation with National University, offers
undergraduate level training in agricultural economics
and agricultural engineering.
THE MASUA PROGRAM
The MASUA-Nebraska agreement with ICA is to
provide an interdisciplinary agricultural technical
assistance team to assist in the development of a
coordinated program of agricultural teaching, re-
search and extension in ICA and the National Univer-
sity. The MASUA-Nebraska Mission in Colombia
began building toward an authorized staff of approxi-
mately 40 persons during the summer of 1966. The
Mission, as of January 1970, has been fully staffed
for somewhat more than two years.
In addition to the technical assistance personnel,
the program provides a major fellowship program for
graduate education, primarily in the USA. The first
contingent of fellowship holders educated under this
program began returning to the country in 1969, As
of December 1969, 90 Colombians were studying in
the U.S. under the program, and 12 had returned to
Colombia and were working with their sponsoring
institutions [6]. In general, Colombian students have
taken precisely the same programs as their North
American counterparts, and their performance has
been exceptionally good.
In view of the appeal of the consortion idea, an
interesting analysis could be made of the factors
contributing to success in the various consortions
which have been tried, including the MASUA Colom-
bian one. Such an analysis might provide highly
useful insights into matters of inter-university co-
operation, as well as with respect to relationships
between North American universities and institutions
in other countries.
The MASUA-Nebraska project is interesting not
only from the consortion standpoint but from the
standpoint of multiple sources of financing. Major
support has been derived from AID. However, the
Ford Foundation is making an important contribu-
tion to the support of agricultural economics and the
Kellogg Foundation is supporting part of the work in
extension education. Multiple funding sources, with
varying policies and perhaps objectives, clearly create
an administrative challenge. In the initial phases of
the Nebraska project, a one-staff concept was defined
and adopted. In essence, the government of Colombia
and the three sources of financial support agreed that
all staff, regardless of source of funding, would be
eligible for the same benefits and subject to the same
personnel policies. This concept obviously required
considerable flexibility on the part of all parties
concerned. Yet, it has operated effectively and, one
would guess, much more effectively than would have
been the case under any other management scheme.
University Institution Building
Development is seldom noncontroversial. Rather,
development is change in political, social and eco-
nomic institutions as well as in technology, and there-
fore, often may involve reorganization or replacement
of existing systems and institutions. One should not
be deluded by thinking that Latin American citizens
today are similar to the homesteaders of our West, or
that the technology and the institutions that so well
served our pioneers can do equally well for the people
of Latin America today. Clearly, institution building
must be considered to be one of the major objectives
of the MASUA group in Colombia. The various teams
of USA consultants, which have analyzed the Colom-
bian agricultural scene, have, not surprisingly,
unanimously recommended an organization along the
North American pattern where research, teaching and
extension are coordinated within the context of an
institution such as a university. This same image has
probably guided most of the activities of the MASUA
team.
The Land Grant Institution agricultural structure
constitutes one of the most imaginative social inven-
tions of all time. Yet, presumably, these institutions
are concrete reflections of the response of a particular
society under specific circumstances over a particular-
period of time. It is not clear that these particular
circumstances prevail now in Colombia nor in other
developing countries of South America. Thus, it is
not entirely clear that the Land Grant system is the
only appropriate model for development efforts in
that area [22].
In 1969, under the leadership of a dynamic new
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