Improving administrators' feedback concerning extension, training and research relevance at the local level : new approaches and findings from Southeast Asia
INTERPAKS, Describes selected extension programs in six Southeast Asian countries. Among extension approaches observed in these countries, those programs directed by Southeast Asians overwhelmingly favored technicians' one-to-one contact with farmers in solving their problems on the spot, whereas those programs designed by Westerners included larger classes and instruction in agricultural concepts. Reviews the advantages of each approach. Given the increasing complexity of irrigated agriculture, technicians and even supervisors were found to need more training in both social and intellectual initiative. Describes how anthropological research methods can be useful in improving the accuracy and insights of administrators' information from the provincial and farm levels and how administrators can benefit from the breadth that anthropologists bring to understanding both technicians' and farmer's decision making.
