RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Session 8 Socioeconomic Considerations
Discussion
N. G. P. Rao
B u s c h and Lacy in their paper have listed four
m o d e l s of research t o w a r d generating relevant
t e c h n o l o g y . I w o u l d like an additional o n e called
t h e " i n n o v a t i o n " m o d e l t o b e added, w h e r e
e m p h a s i s is on innovation and its diffusion. I
w o u l d also like t o express m y d i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h
t h e o f t e n repeated e m p h a s i s o n generating
technological options. In my v i e w , it will be m o r e
effective to have a " p a c k a g e a p p r o a c h . " Generation
and adoption of an integrated package of
innovations alone can lead to a rapid transformat
i o n of low-yielding a n d stagnant agriculture.
N o r m a n
T h e f o u r t h m o d e l entitled "dialogue m o d e l " in
t h e Busch and Lacy paper is really not a separate
m o d e l . In fact " d i a l o g u e " is an integral c o m p o ­
nent of an u p s t r e a m approach to f a r m i n g syst
e m s research w h e r e t e c h n o l o g y identification
a n d d e v e l o p m e n t effort start f r o m t h e f a r m e r ' s
field rather than being i m p o s e d f r o m t h e experimental
station. Dialogue is an important link
b e t w e e n f a r m and research station.
M . J . J o n e s
N o r m a n ' s suggestion about fitting crops to
(socioeconomic, natural) e n v i r o n m e n t s to ensure
relevance of t e c h n o l o g y in different zones m a y
not bring about a lasting solution in areas like
Upper Volta w h e r e t h r o u g h soil erosion, falling
land p r o d u c t i v i t y , etc., t h e e n v i r o n m e n t is
a l r e a d y d e g r a d i n g . O n e has to think in t e r m s of
b o t h t h e short- and t h e long-term context.
N o r m a n
I do not disagree. There are t w o p r o b l e m s . First,
addressing private short-run interests of f a r m e r s
a n d record dealing w i t h t h e long-run societal
c o n s e q u e n c e s of an irreversible decline of ecological
base. T h e f o r m e r required incremental
c h a n g e s w i t h m i n i m a l reliance o n m a r k e t s y s t e m
d e v e l o p m e n t , e.g., i m p r o v e m e n t s relating to
cultivars a n d their a g r o n o m y . T h e latter requires
long-term strategy involving e x t r e m e transform
a t i o n m e a s u r e s to arrest degradation of t h e
resource base. Developmental research and
efforts including d e v e l o p m e n t of infrastructure is
essential to deal w i t h t h e p r o b l e m of resource
depletion.
Bruggers
N o n e of the four constraints conditioning f a r m ­
ing s y s t e m s s u g g e s t e d by N o r m a n include t h e
vertebrate pests damaging preharvest and postharvest
grain. The t i m e required by crop protection
(including scaring birds) is e n o r m o u s . In
m a n y areas of the Sahel, t h e a m o u n t of land
f a r m e d i s d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e f a r m e r ' s capacity t o
protect t h e crop f r o m birds. H o w d o e s this
p r o b l e m stand vis a vis the four constraints
listed?
N o r m a n
W e have delineated four general sets o f c o n ­
straints. The bird d a m a g e as a yield-reducing
factor and as a source of pressure on labor
d e m a n d to control it gets into t h e general set of
constraints. The technology or control m e a s u r e
in this context should be one w h i c h helps avoid
intensive use of labor.
Singhania
Dr. Arakeri's s t a t e m e n t about t h e policy of
releasing crop varieties is rather c o n f u s i n g . H o w
can a simultaneous release of hybrids a n d
v a r i e t i e s d i s c o u r a g e t h e s e e d industry? If
varieties or hybrids are g o o d and productive,
t h e y should b e released. W e should bother m o r e
about the farmer rather than t h e s e e d industry.
Arakeri
M y point w a s that our seed release policy s h o u l d
be consistent regarding varieties or hybrids. We
should not w a v e r in supporting o n e or t h e other.
O u r variety release policies can greatly contrib
u t e t o w a r d s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e s e e d
industry.
Prasad
Dr. Arakeri m e n t i o n e d t h e very limited spread of
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