Seepersad, Joseph (author / Lecturer, Agricultural Extension, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, W.I.) and Lecturer, Agricultural Extension, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, W.I.
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1986
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 73 Document Number: C03498
AGRICOLA IND 92017545; Presented at the VIII World Congress of IAALD, May, 1990, Budapest, Hungary, The mid-term review of the Fifth Malaysia Plan (1986-1990) has stated that emphasis will be placed on accelerating transfer fo technology to small holders to improve their productivity and efficiency. Technology transfer can be achieved through publications, newspapers, radio and television networks and interpersonal methods as exemplified by the Agricultural Information Dissemination Programme launched in 1983 by the Ministry of Agriculture which has contributed to increased farmers' awareness of new agricultural technologies. Communication through the printed media can be tailored to specific clientele needs if their demography, psychological response, literacy and real information demands are understood. The advent of information technology has benefited Malaysia in the transfer of technology by reducing costs in terms of time. This is seem in the rapidity with which information can be mass produced for dissemination by using desktop publishing which further allows information transfer though the printed media to be expedited, thus bringing to the farmers new information quickly. This approach to publication is not only more cost effective, but faster.
9 pages, In agricultural research for development adoption of new technology tends to be cast in categories: adoption, partial adoption, dis-adoption or non-adoption. While these may serve for pragmatic classification and measures for project success or impact they fail to properly acknowledge the ongoing and independent efforts of farmers (and others) in experimentation and integration of knowledge across a range of sources. This paper explores responses to practices for cattle management introduced during a research project, at project close, and five years after the project has finished. We consider the perceptions and application of new knowledge by farmers, extension staff, and policy makers. By taking a longer-term view, we demonstrate how farming households adapt and integrate knowledge from different sources into their daily practice, influenced by local institutions and changing cultural expectations, as well as external researchers. We also consider the influence of changing government priorities and incentives in steering farm-management decisions. Results suggest that a focus on measures to build capacity and empower farmers with information to adapt and respond to change, regardless of project activities, is a much more important goal and indicator of impact than measuring adoption.
