The project was conducted as an effort to produce information on how to better deal with water shortages and excesses that keep yields of rain fed crop production low and highly variable. As part of the project, an analytical tool in the form of a water balance computer model was to be developed both to analyze project results and to distribute it to future users. Thus, the main project objective (pg. 2 of proposal) was to "develop and test a water--use model based on deterministic components of the soil-crop-atmosphere continuum and on probabilistic rainfall analysis, designed to optimize rain fed crop production in a wide range of tropical agro ecosystems.... both water deficits and excesses are considered... making the best feasible use of rainfall and soil water".