Agroindustrial project analysi

PrefaceTHE SEEDS OF THIS BOOK were planted in 1973 by Giinter Koenig-atthat time Division Chief, French and Ibero-American Courses, andcurrently Regional Coordinator, Latin America and Europe-in theEconomic Development Institute (EDI) of the World Bank. EDI haddetermined that the importance of agroindustries in developingcountries warranted increased attention to the unique characteristicsof these enterprises within the World Bank's training efforts.Accordingly, Giinter was given the responsibility for creating andadministering a course on agroindustrial projects for officials ofdeveloping countries. I had the privilege of assisting Gunter in thisundertaking. His experience, intellect, and good humor were essentialto the successful creation of the first agroindustrial projectscourse and its subsequent development.This book is an outgrowth of that course development and wouldnot have been possible without the continual encouragement andinsights of Giinter. I express my deepest appreciation for his supportand friendship and hope that this book does justice to hisefforts. Price Gittinger, currently Coordinator of Training Materialsand Publications at EDI, also provided critical support for our effortsto produce a book that would contribute to the educational activitiesof the international development community.Our original concepts and materials underwent an iterativeprocess of refinement to increase their utility for agroindustrialproject analysts in developing countries. They were tested overseveral years in many different courses held both in Washingtonand in developing countries. Furthermore, the concepts and methodologyhave been applied by various government officials informulating strategies for agroindustrial development and in analyzingagroindustrial projects. The comments and suggestions ofthese hundreds of colleagues from developing countries were invaluablein our tailoring the materials to the realities and needs ofthe developing countries.ix