ABSTRACT
The engineers had ignored the advice and experience of the farmers, to the misfortune of the latter; they responded by withdrawing and avoided further communication. The socialist political and economic context of agriculture promotes direct participation of Israeli farmers in decisions affecting their lives. On occasion, the social worker would translate complaints and anxieties expressed by local people to the technical expert. In the summer of 1973 I spent a few days with a technical expert from the office of the water commissioner. Far more important is the amount of information which is already there, stored in the minds of the technical experts. Major technical developments in agriculture anywhere, inevitably meet with problems. Several other factors are more critical, including the fact that there are a large number of technical experts, proportionately, in relation to the number of farmers.
