ABSTRACT
Technology is defined as the range of activities, including the physical means of production and farmers own management practices, used by, or potentially available to, farmers to produce their desired output. Farmers have always learned new techniques, either from their own experimentation or from their neighbours and, over time, these new techniques become traditional. Resource-conserving technologies are defined as those that enable a farmer to produce her or his desired output, while maintaining the productive capacity for the future. This book argues that the current technology generation and dissemination process, and the overall policy environment is, and has been for some time, biased in favour of short term production maximisation. Public sector research needs to complement research in the commercial sector in order to redress the balance with affirmative action in favour of poorer smallholders and sustainability. Genetic engineering provides some controversial and powerful new tools which could result in damage or benefits to smallholders and consumers in Southern Africa.
