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 -which has often been lacking in the more conventional "top-down"
 approaches.
 (b) Through bringing about linkages between farmers, extension
 personnel, and researchers (FSR), and farmers, extension personnel,
 and planning/implementation institutions (FSP).

 7.3 FSAR-type "programs provide a "practical component" in the on-the-job
 training of research, extension, and planning personnel. In fact,
 much of the SKIll obtained to date in FSAR-type activities has been
 derived from longevity in the field rather than through formal
 training programs. Although formal degree training is not available
 in this general area, short courses in the interdisciplinary
 characteristics of FSAR-type activities are being developed at a
 number of international (CIMMYT, IRRI), regional (CATIE), and
 national (ICTA) institutes.

 7.4 In these various functions, FSAR-type activities perform a facilitating
 or integrating role rather than initiating role. Therefore, these
 types of activities should not come right at the beginning of the
 development process unless funding agencies are willing to accept a
 long gestation period in terms of achieving results. For example,
 FSR programs are likely to have low immediate returns if the "body
 of knowledge" (Figure 2) is poorly developed. FSR activities are not
 a substitute for experiment station based commodity research. Such
 national research programs can benefit from linkages with CRSPs and
 IARCs (provided understandable inhibitions are overcome)-which can
 provide expertise in deficient areas and provide critical masses of
 staff and- resources for looking at complex problems ("upstream" or
 developmental FSR).

8. Components

 8.1 Because of the locational specificity of FSAR-type activities, the
 future-particularly of "downstream" or applied activities-must lie
 within national programs.

 8.2 Problems within national programs that make introduction of FSR
 activities difficult include:

 (a) Staff constraints:
 -relative immobility of staff within national settings sometimes
 discourages changes and encourages maintenance of the status quo,
 therefore resulting in opposition to "new" FSR programs.
 -interdisciplinary FSR activities require the interaction of both
 technical and social science disciplines-the latter are usually
 lacking in technical agricultural research institutes in Africa.
 (b) Organizational/operational constraints:
 -national research programs used to be organized along discipline
 lines which have more recently given way to programs organized
 along commodity lines.
 -however, FSR programs involve crossing both discipline and
 commodity lines.
 (c) Research resource constraints:
 -financial and manpower constraints are both common in national
 settings.