In September and October 1980, a sample of 29
collaborators from a group of 35 involved in an FMT for
new upland rice varieties was surveyed in eastern
Guatemala (Ruano, 1981). The farmers had planted the new
varieties the year before and compared them with their own
varieties, using their own cultivation and management
practices. Of the 29 farmers surveyed, 27 (93%) used the
new varieties the following year. These 27 farmers
planted 81% of their rice in 1980 with the new varieties.
The index of acceptability is calculated as follows:

 Ia = (93 x 81) / 100
 = 75

This high value indicates that the new varieties possess
characteristics that are quite acceptable to the farmers
in the recommendation domain. (Unfortunately, this report
does not differentiate between the two improved lines
tested in the trial.) Following are the major
characteristics and reasons given by the farmers for using
or not using the new varieties the second year.

Reasons for using No. of responses (n = 29)
Excellent yield 13
Easy to thresh 10
Appropriate growing period 5
Others 10

Reasons for not using
Could not find seed 3
Shatters easily in the field 1
Less straw than local varieties 1

The reasons given by the farmers for using or not using
the new varieties support the high value of the
acceptability index. These varieties can be promoted on a
large scale with confidence that they will find a high
degree of acceptability and ultimately be widely adopted
in the recommendation domain.
 In another area, 30 farmers participated in an FMT in
maize in 1979, and 27 were interviewed in 1980 to
ascertain their evaluation of varieties and fertilizer
practices (Ruano, 1981). The results for the fertilizer
practices are in Table VII-2. The recommendation for