ABSTRACT
Small farmers in the developing countries need research that is aimed directly at the practical problems of agricultural development, and attuned to the actual circumstances of their lives. The method includes a certain amount of basic research in varietal improvement, disease and pest management, plant physiology, and soil fertility. The approach to research suggested has important points of similarity to the Japanese system of locating testing stations in each minor political unit-prefecture, county, parish and sub-district. The Japanese system has proved extremely effective in adapting national and international research findings to local farming conditions. The farmer’s actual participation in the planning, execution, and evaluation of research should be clearly distinguished from mere research in farmers’ fields initiated and controlled completely by scientists. The latter approach simply provides a test of technological components in various actual farm environments.
