INTERPAKS, Considers the feasibility of using the US institutional approach to promote agricultural development in developing countries. Noting that farming systems research is concerned about understanding the whole farm in a comprehensive manner, the social and agricultural structures of the USA and developing countries are compared to establish any differences which would affect the implementation of this approach. Six comparisons are made: 1) US farmers were politically active in obtaining a mandate for research, while limited-resources farmers in developing countries are marginal to political power; 2) US farmers and researchers share common goals, while researchers in developing countries tend to be from urban and/or elite backgrounds and have little in common with the farmer; 3) many developing societies do not place an equivalent value on mental and manual energy as in the US; 4) the US farm economy was founded on a husband and wife team sharing management, labor and farm ownership in contrast to the present situation in developing countries; 5) development of US agriculture was assisted by the ability of the non-agricultural sects to absorb noncompetitive farmers; and 6) in the US there has always close cooperation between private and public sectors in developing and disseminating agricultural technology, while developing countries do not have mediating factors.
Reisner, INTERPAKS, Information flow among research and extension organizations has traditionally been portrayed as emanating from the research system. An alternative perspective of information flow in the research and extension system expands the number of participants in the model to include farmers, agribusiness people, legislators, government officials, and scientists. This perspective adds three dimensions previously neglected: the researcher is seen as producing research in response to demands of clients; it is recognized that some clients have more access to the research system than others; diffusion is seen largely as giving certain clients what they initially requested. This perspective is illustrated by the information flows that must take place in sorghum research.
