ABSTRACT
Although there is a corpus of knowledge and technique called ‘peasant science’ (unjustifiably neglected in the literature) and peasant farmers do innovate and invent, innovation in traditional agriculture is usually analysed in terms of farmer response to innovations generated by central government, research stations or international agencies. Methods by which the centre communicates with the periphery f such as extension agency, demonstration plot, distance learning and the role of education of farmers in agricultural development are assessed. Such studies make it possible to identify the pattern and personnel of successful technology adoption and abandonment. The argument is illustrated by examples from Northern Nigeria, Thailand and Libya.
