4.2 Increased productivity is achieved through two types of developmental
 strategies:

 (a) Farming systems research (FSR)-involving the development and
 dissemination of relevant improved practices (technologies).
 (b) Farming systems perspective (FSP)-involving influencing the
 development of relevant policies and support systems (external
 institutions).

4.3 Both developmental strategies have a "micro to macro" or "bottom-up"
 .orientation compared with the more "top-down" or "macro to. micro"
 orientation of research work that starts at the experiment station'
 or in the upper echelons of planning ministries.

4.4 Given the right institutional setting and linkages, both FSR and
 FSP are possible. However, because FSR programs have usually
 been located in agricultural research institutes-primarily crop
 oriented-often with poor linkages to planning or policy-making
 .agencies, the FSP has usually not been operative. Thus, the support
 systems have been considered parameters (implying a submissive
 approach to them on the part of the FSR team) rather than variables
 amenable to manipulation (implying an interventionist approach on the
 part of the FSR team). An interventionist approach permits a wider
 range of possible improved technologies to be considered in the
 research process.

4.5 The term FSR has often been used very loosely. There are programs
 called FSR that are not FSR, and there are programs not called FSR that
 are indeed FSR. The following characterizes FSR:

 (a) The farm, as a whole, is viewed in a comprehensive manner.
 (b) The choice of priorities for research reflects the initial
 study of the whole farm.
 (c) Research on a farn sub-system is legitimateFSR, provided the
 connections with other sub-systems are recognized and taken
 into account.
 (d) Evaluation of research results explicitly takes into account
 linkages between sub-systems.

 Using the above characterization, as long as the concept of the whole
 farm and its environment are preserved, not all factors determining
 the farming system need to be considered as variables-some may be
 treated as parameters. Therefore, FSR may be called FSR "in the
 small" (low ratio of variables to parameters) or FSR "in the large"
 (high ratio of variables to parameters). Incorporation of FSP into
 FSR increases the ratio of variables to parameters. However,
 methodological and implementation issues become more complex as the
 ratio of variables to parameters increases. In addition to the
 methodological issue, the scope of the FSR program will be partially
 determined by the mandate of the institution in which- it is located,
 the effectiveness of linkages with other institutions and agencies,
 resources available, i.e., time, skill, finances, etc.