previous levels at a reduced resource cost? In order to be acceptable to farmers, any new technology should be production (income) increasing, cost reducing, or both.
DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES Institutional requirements
FOR ADOPTION Br SHALL FARMERS:
AN EXAMPLE FROM THE PHILIPPINES What will be the effect of the new technology on the community
resource system? Will new inputs, or greater quantities of current Inputs have to be provided? Are marketing channels available for the James A. Chapman increased output? Input delivery systems (including credit) are often
poorly developed in rural areas. This fact tends to favor technologies that do not call for great changes In resource delivery systems over The development of new tec 'nology appropriate for adoption by those that do.
small-scale farmers is :iajo: )bjective of farming systems research (FSR). This paper presents a set of criteria to aid in the design and Hanagerial requirements
evaulation of new technologies, and then uses them to examine a number of technologies potentially useful for small farmers in a rainfed area Small farmers generally make changes in small steps which they view
of the Philippines. as consistent with their circumstances, abilities and risk preferences.
They rarely adopt complete complex technological packages, which are sometimes quite dependent upon appropriate timing of crop activities THE CRITERIA (e.g. planting, fertilizing) and high levels of non-traditional capital
inputs (e.g. fertilizer). Preferred technologies are those which are The determination of criteria to be used in judging whether or not flexible: only a few, fairly simple managerial adjustments are required
a new technology is potentially beneficial and acceptable to farmers and the success of the technology is not overly contingent upon timing
should come during the initial stages of the farming systems research and level of input use.
process. Such criteria guide the research, enabling technicians to specify aspects of new technologies which must be present in order to Agroclimatic requirements
enhance productivity. They also aid in the determination of research priorities by helping to identify those new technologies with the Is the new technology compatible with the natural circumstances
highest potential payoffs or levels of acceptability. prevalent in the area? New technologies must fit Into the natural
environment, especially when new crops or crop sequences are being Based on a review of FSR literature (particularly Collinson, 1978) proposed.
and the personal experience of the author in participating in a cropping systems research effort In the Philippines, the following criteria were Acceptabilitv to farmers
selected for assessing current and potential farm technologies.
The criterion of the farmer acceptance summarizes the preceding .Resource utI1zDtLo.n. criteria and allows for the inclusion of other criteria that may not
have been detected previously. Farmer acceptance of existing technology How does the technology in question make use of scarce resources can be objectively determined by examining adoption trends. Judging the
(e.g. land and capital) and plentiful resources (e.g. labor)? acceptability of notional technologies is more difficult, as farmers
Technologies which maximize the use of abundant resources or minimize cannot draw upon their own experience with the technology In order to
the use of scarce resources will be favored. reach a conclusion. Once the characteristics of the technology have
been explained, however, most farmers are able to predict a likely Contribution to household objectives response.
Will the new technology increase the quantity of preferred food for family subsistence or the amount of income derivable from productive activities? Is food produced at times when family food stocks are usually running low? Does the new technology enable production at
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