foreign donations programs - PDF, 101 mb - usaid

Utilization Research
Awards of grants and contracts continue to be made to
foreign scientific institutions for commodity research
aimed at expanded markets for U.S. farm crops. This
USDA program emphasizes fundamental chemical and
physical research needed to provide a basis for technological
developments. It is an extension of the Department's
domestic program in this field.
During the reporting period, 34 new grants, for periods
up to five years and totaling about $1.7 million equivalent,
were made to institutions in Finland, France, India,
Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The research is
designed to contribute to increased use of cereal grains,
cotton, vegetable oils, animal products, and other commodities.
Seven other grants, totaling more than
$350,000 equivalent, have been negotiated and offered
to foreign institutions. The formality of institutional
concurrence is all that remains in these cases.
Since the inception of the program, 238 grants and
contracts in 21 countries, valued at about $15 million
equivalent, have been made. One hundred s x
of these are still active,
The following examples illustrate some of the objectives
and accomplishments of this work:
Cereal Grains.-Italian scientists have obtained new
information providing a more exact picture of the
molecular surface of starch. This information is needed
for applied studies on the chemical and physical modification
of starch.
Indian scientists have found that certain sorghum
varieties contain up to 25 percent protein. Sorghum
breeders in the United States will find this information
helpful in increasing the protein level and feed value of
domestic grain sorghums.
Cotton.-Present-daycotton processing systems, based
on mechanical principles now 200 years old, are nearing
the limits of speed and operating efficiency. Further
improvement in cotton processing must come through
entirely new approaches. Swedish investigators are
workin n astdofche aedic ivestig on
working on a study of the aerodynamic forces acting on
cotton fibers moving in an airstream. Basic data are
being accumulated on factors that affect the separation
and parallelization of the fibers as they are transported
in the fluid medium. This is a prerequisite to the en­
gineering development of possible new and unorthodox
systems for processing cotton.
JVool.-Knowledge of the protein structure of wool can
be used in the development of procescs to modify wool,
to meet the competition of synthetic fibers. A grant to
French scientists has uncovered an enzyme which scparates
two different kinds of cells in the cortex of a wool
fiber. Proteins of the cells may now be put into solution
without damaging important sections as was the case
with more severe techniques.
Fats antd Oils.-Research in England has developed
metal primers based on chemical interaction between
modified linseed oil and metal surfaces. Tests have
shown the new primers to be uniquely suited to protect
steel during storage before welding. Five U.S. public
service patent applications have been filed on this and
related discoveries.
In Spain, tests conducted on habitual consumers of
olive oil showed that they were unable to distinguish
between olive oil and soybean oil, when u-ed in the
preparation of their usual meals. Improvements in the
frying quality of soybean oil could increase its acceptability
in Spain, and perhaps in the whole Mediterranean
area. A taste panel has been trained for more critical
tests of frying quality.
In the production of paint vehicles from tung oil, heat
treatment is required. Research in India has made
progress in identifying reactions and reaction products
during heating. Catalysts for improving heat treatment
procedures are being developed which will be useful in
improving surface coatings containing tung oil.
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