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Abstract
The major objectives of the study weree (a) to assess the farm equipment innovations generated by local R & D system and their commercialization; (b) to investigate sources of design of prototypes and appropriateness to farmer needs and local conditions; (c) to assess the collaborative linkages among R & D institutes, financial bodies, marketing agencies and farming community in the commercialization and dissemination of prototypes; and (d) to identify the form and mechanisms of and constraints to commercialization of prototypes.
All the major formal R & D institutions concerned with work on-farm equipment were closely studied. Five major manufacturing firms which make a significant contribution to adaptation and upgrading of farm equipment technology were also examined in depth. In addition, 30 farm equipment manufacturing firms and a sample of 100 farm households were included in the survey.
The most startling conclusion is that not a single prototype developed by the formal R & D institutions of Bangladesh has been commercialized. In contrast 20 prototypes developed by the private firms are being commercially manufactured. A number of factors which affect commercialization of prototypes generated by all R & D institutions in general and formal R & D bodies in particular, have been identified. The private manufacturing sector R & D has been more successful in commercializing their prototypes because they were more responsive to farmer needs and local conditions at the R & D stage. As a result market demand for the new product was not a constraint. The formal R & D system is handicapped by lack of institutionalized mechanisms for marketing and commercialization of their prototypes and the deprivation of the inventor in the formal R & D system of patency rights has acted as a disincentive to its commercialization. Conflicting government aid and commercial policies in the direct import of finished products have either made R & D efforts in certain agricultural equipment unprofitable or contributed to excess capacity in the manufacturing sector. The commercialization of prototypes generated by the formal R & D system is further hindered by lack of inter-disciplinary approaches and absence of coordination among R & D institutions (leading to duplication) and lack of collaborative linkages among R and D institutions, marketing agencies, financial institutions and the faming community.