International Trade

Review of Effectiveness of FAS Cooperator Market Development Program Gao ID: NSIAD-87-89 March 17, 1987

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effectiveness of the cooperator programs that the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) implemented to develop, maintain, and expand foreign markets for U.S. agricultural commodities.

GAO found that FAS has: (1) allowed cooperators to implement numerous and varied long-term programs and has placed few restrictions on the funding a cooperator can receive for a program; (2) not established criteria to help cooperators focus on opportunities for market development or expansion; (3) not critically assessed program results; (4) failed to evaluate programs sufficiently to determine which market development activities were effective or which needed refinement or termination; (5) established guidelines that encourage, but do not require, cooperators to contribute annual amounts equal to FAS funds; and (6) defined cash, goods, and services contributions inaccurately, conveying the impression that cooperators participated more fully in financing marketing activities than they actually did.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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