from an urban or wealthy rural background himself, will find it far more pleasant dealing with the large farmers, who can provide food and drink and who is likely to be literate (or have a literate son) and to be interested in farming innovations. Moreover, due to the political power of the larger farmers, it is likely that the very technology developed in the research system will be better suited to the needs of larger farmers, making it even more rational for extension agents to orient their energies to large farmers. In a broad sense, the village elite generally serves as the linkage point between the village and the government for many functions--police, tax collection, military recruitment, political mobilization. It is normal that the rural elite be perceived by government, extension agents, the rural poor and the rural elite themselves as the logical way for extension agents to enter the village economy and society. Thus, both the philosophy underlying some extension methods, the administrative practices of most exten- sion systems and technological factors match precisely the needs of a small minority of "progressive farmers," who generally own more land. Not surprisingly, the empirical research in most countries shows that a small minority of farmers do get the bulk of extension services. In one survey in Kenya, progressive farmers (who con- stitute only 10 percent of all farmers) received 57 percent of the extension visits. The 47 percent of farmers considered non- Rene Benalcazar R., "New Techniques, Agricultural Extension Services and Credit Facilities as Instruments of Economic Development, with Special Reference to Latin America," in Theoda Dams and Kenneth Hunt, ed., Decision Making and Agriculture (Lincoln:University of Nebraska Press, 1978), p. 521-22.