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Evaluating Technical Innovations under Low-resource Farmer Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

J. C. Flinn
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria
J. Lagemann
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria

Summary

Before an innovation can be judged as superior to existing technology, its relevance should be jointly evaluated by researchers and farmers by testing the proposed practice in a farm environment. Using a proposed maize technology as an example, it is demonstrated how site-related and management variables can be used to quantify the factors influencing actual yields on farmers' fields. Similarly, economic and management analysis of the practice provides an estimate of the probability of the farmer being better off by using the technology. The integrated analysis of the practice provide insights for the design of problem-oriented research projects.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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References

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