VIII

 Initiating and Managing

 FSR/E Programs


 Previous chapters have dealt with technical and
statistical aspects of on-farm research in FSR/E. This
chapter discusses problems and practices involved in the
organization and management of FSR/E programs.
 Most countries consider the development of the small
farm sector as a high national priority. Existing public
and private sector research and farm service organizations
often address the needs of the larger, more commercial
farms and those in the best agricultural regions. For
these reasons, an early and necessary step in initiating
on-farm research is likely to be a conscious political and
management decision to target a larger share of research
and extension resources on the problems and priorities
common to small, limited-resource farms. The goals of a
national FSR/E system can be broadly stated to be
generating, testing, evaluating the acceptability of, and
disseminating new or modified technology which can be
directly applied by farm families in their farm
operations. The adoption of the improved technology would
be expected to result in an expansion of production and
improved standards of living for farm families.
 In describing the organization and management of a
national FSR/E system, it is assumed here that a decision
has been made by the directors of national research and/or
extension organizations to develop an on-farm research