disciplinary lines. As an organizational framework,
however, this alternative is usually less productive.
 The specific number of trials and other activities
one person can manage will depend, among other things,
upon ease of access and mode of transportation available,
distance between trial sites, the number of plots, and
measurements and observations to be recorded. A typical
workload for each team member might involve the
supervision of 5 to 15 farmer-managed trials,
responsibility for 8 to 12 site-specific or regional
trials, and collection of crop records from 5 to 10 farms.
 Off-station research also requires a different mix of
research support staff, facilities, and equipment.
Regional on-farm research programs succeed or fail on the
strength and reliability of transportation and the flow of
financial support for fuel, materials, salaries, and the
like. Mobility of the team and timeliness in carrying out
the work are critical for accurate, reliable research
results and to maintain credibility with the farmers. A
vehicle which will not run or seeds which arrive too late
are of no immediate value to the research team and may
cause serious delays in programs or financial loss to
collaborating farmers.

DEFINING RESEARCH REGIONS

 The ideal number of agricultural research regions
defined for a country depends upon two main factors: 1)
ecological diversity, and 2) the spatial distribution of
farm system types. In practice, geographic limits of each
research region are typically established in either of two
ways. The most common is along geopolitical divisions of
the country. Alternatively, agro-ecological boundaries
may be used if they are known. The advantage of the first
is that public services and planning and budget
responsibilities are on the basis of political boundaries.
The advantage of the agro-ecological approach is that
major crop production zones, soil type boundaries, and
farming system boundaries are often closely correlated.
From a research management standpoint, this allows better
coordination between on-station and on-farm research,
better scientific support for regional teams, and easier
interaction with the parent research organization. In
either case the definition of recommendation domains