Phase 2, INTERPAKS, The evolution of socio-economic thought concerning the diffusion of innovations started with a debate about the relative importance of social and economic factors in the adoption of hybrid corn and hybrid sorghum in the United States during the 1928-1941 period. Sociologists and economists agreed that an array of factors, not too well understood, and varying from one farm and farm area to another, stimulate adoption. The literature on the Green Revolution of the 1960's added new dimensions to the debate by considering not only adoption and production, but a host of other conditions such as markets and income distribution. The very nature of the adoption process tends to favor early adopters with favorable social and economic characteristics. Those less fortunate fall behind because they are unable to assume the added production costs and the risks associated with the potentially higher returns from the new technology. These new findings point to the necessity of formulating technological packages based on integrated socio-economic research where the entire decision environment of the farmer is considered.
Clarke, G.B. (author / Agricultural Economics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK) and Agricultural Economics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
1963
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 44 Document Number: B05317
Notes:
cited reference, In: J.M.A. Penders, ed. Rural Extension at the Crossroads. Wageningen, The Netherlands: International Agricultural Centre, 1963. p. 124-135.
Camboni, Silvana M. (author), Napier, Ted L. (author), and Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1993
Published:
UK: Elsevier Science Publishers, London
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 96 Document Number: C07724
search through journal, Data were collected from 371 farmers is east central Ohio to assess how attitudes, personal characteristics, and farm structure factors influence use of soil conservation practices at the farm level. A diffusion-farm structure model was used to guide the study. The findings revealed that the theoretical perspective had limited utility for predicting use of several farming practices evaluated in the study. The best predictors were farm structure variables, which suggests that structural conditions of the existing farming system in the US are significant considerations int eh decision making process concerning the selection of specific farming practices. The implications of the study findings for future soil and water conservation efforts in the US are discussed. (original).
