Agricultural Technology Management: Draft Guidelines

Agricultural technology management involves the interdepen­dent relationships between new and existing institutions and new and existing technologies as they are directed to meet acceptable and feasible responses by individual producers. No single blueprint can be universally applicable in planning an agricultural technology management system. Different ap­proaches are needed for different situations. This does not mean that every situation is unique. It should be possible to identify principles that characterize successful systems by focusing on key concepts that cut across disciplines and departments. Key activities, which are the pressure points in the strategy of agri­cultural technology management can also be identified. This paper provides a framework for (1) evaluating proposed agricul­tural research and extension projects in low-income countries and (2) identifying the limiting factors that must be dealt with to fit a proposed project more closely to the national goals and resources available in the country concerned.