AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER I. ARNON Ing. Agr., Ph.D. Former Director, Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research; Professor of Agronomy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE LONDON and NEW YORK ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD Crown House, Linton Road, Barking, Essex IGlJ 8JU, England Sole Distributor in the USA and Canada ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO., INC. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010, USA WITH 10 TABLES AND 27 ILLUSTRATIONS © 1989 ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1989 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Agricultural research and technology transfer 1. Agriculture. Research I. Arnon, I. (Isaac), 1909- 630'.72 ISBN-13:978-94-011-6773-4 e-ISBN-13:978-94-011-6771-0 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-011-6771-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Arnon, Itzhak, 1909- Agricultural research and technology transfer/I. Arnon. p. 00 cm. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Agriculture-Research. 2. Agriculture-Technology transfer. I. Title. S540.A2A755 1989 630' .72--dc 19 No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Special regulations for readers in the USA This publication has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Inc. (CCC) , Salem, Massachusetts. Information can be obtained from the CCC about conditions under which photocopies of parts of this publication may be made in the USA. All other copyright questions, including photocopying outside of the USA, should be referred to the publisher. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Photo~et by Ensct (Photo!'cttmg), Mld~omcr Norton, Bath, Avon To my children-Dan, his wife Naomi and Gideon; my grandchildren-Orna and her Yochanan, Tamar, Y oram and Amir; and to my great-granddaughter, Shai, for all of whom my greatest wish is peace in their time. Contents Preface ............................................................................. IX Acknowledgements ....... ................ .... ..... ..... .. .............. .. ..... xv Part One: Agricultural Research Systems 1. National Agricultural Research Systems: Selected Case Histories ........................................................................ 3 2. National Agricultural Research Systems: An Overview ...... 191 3. Components of the National Agricultural Research Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. 222 4. International Agricultural Research Systems and Co-operation ............................................................... 271 References to Part One ................................................ 302 Part Two: Agricultural Research-Form and Content 5. The Conceptual Framework ........................................... 315 6. Allocation of Resources for Agricultural Research ............ 348 7. Planning the Research Programme ................................. 373 8. The Research Project ................................................... 418 References to Part Two ................................................ 434 vii Vlll Contents Part Three: Human Resources in Agricultural Research 9. Formation of the Research Worker ................................ 443 10. Manpower Needs, Recruitment and Personnel Policy ........ 481 11. The Research Organisation as a Social System ................ 505 References to Part Three .............................................. 533 Part Four: Organisational Structure at the Institutional Level 12. Structure of a National Agricultural Research Institute ..... 541 13. Regionalisation of Agricultural Research ......................... 557 References to Part Four ............................................... 580 Part Five: Administration in the Service of Research 14. Principles of Research Management ................................ 585 15. The Scientist as Research Administrator ......................... 599 16. Administrative Personnel and Service Units ..................... 612 References to Part Five ................................................ 623 Part Six: The Transfer of Technology 17. National Extension Services. Selected Case Histories and Overview .................................................................... 627 18. The Role and Objectives of Agricultural Extension .......... 690 19. The Structure of National Agricultural Extension Services ...................................................................... 697 20. Human Resources in Extension ...................................... 736 21. The Adoption of New Technology ................................. 746 22. The Agricultural Information System (AIS) ..................... 781 References to Part Six .................................................. 813 Index ............................................................................... 825 Preface Agricultural research was probably the first and is the most widespread form of organised research in the world, and one in which both the most developed and underdeveloped countries are engaged. Whilst most forms of research activity, such as in the field of medicine, have world wide application, agricultural research, by its very nature, has to be regional; practically no research finding can be adopted without studying the results of its application under the infinite number of ecological situations with which the farmers of the world are faced. The improvement of agricultural production is the essential first step whereby developing countries can hope to raise their standard of living. Research is therefore an activity in which no underdeveloped country can afford not to engage; nor can countries in which agriculture has reached a high level of development and sophistication afford to neglect agricultural research. It is not because of inertia or vested interests that highly industrialised countries maintain, mostly at public expense, a costly and complex infrastructure for agricultural research. Even when problems of overproduction weigh heavily on the economy, agricultural research is considered the essential key to further progress: the objectives and goals are simply changed and adapted to the needs of the economy. All the more surprising the fact that the organisation and management of this vast and complex activity are so haphazard. In almost every country, the agricultural research organisation has 'grown up' from small beginnings, without this 'growth' having been planned or directed. This has resulted in innumerable organisational forms, different for each country. The stock explanation for this state of affairs is 'that each country has developed the agricultural research organisation adapted to ix x Preface its needs'. A dispassionate analysis of the situation will, however, usually indicate that the multitude of organisational forms is the result of lack of planning and not of planning, and that inter-departmental power politics, institutional prestige considerations and personality problems have had a greater hand in shaping the organisation, than has planning according to the specific needs of the country. Most developing countries have either remnants of former research services, or are organising their agricultural research starting, from scratch. During the first period after its inception, the organisation of agricul tural research in Third World countries has generally been in a state of flux, changing with almost every change in the political constellation. It has suffered from a lack of understanding by the political leadership, hampered by excessive bureaucracy, hamstrung by lack of adequate facilities and by insufficient budgets. Linkages between research insti tutes and universities, liaison with extension services and contacts with farmers have generally been weak. Under these circumstances, research efforts have had little impact on the economy, reinforcing the negative image of research in the minds of the political leaders. In recent years, the leadership of the agricultural research organisa tions in a number of developing countries are showing increasing concern with the poor image presented by their institutions, their limited contribution to the advancement of agriculture, and their limited effec tiveness in achieving their declared goals. Re-evaluations and reorgani sations of the national research systems follow each other, sometimes with counterproductive results. The choice they face is whether to let agricultural research grow haphazardly, in response to temporary situa tions and pressures, or whether to develop it according to a well thought out organisational blueprint, planned according to the needs of the country and implemented gradually as manpower and resources become available. Developed countries would probably be justified in taking a hard look at the elaborate and expensive infrastructure for agricultural research that has developed over the years. They might consider whether a plan ned reorganisation would not be justified, and whether public control of research policy is effective in assuring its orientation towards the needs of the community. The management of the research organisations at all its levels is, in most cases, in the hands of veteran agricultural research workers who have risen from the ranks. This is as it should be. However, here we Preface Xl have people who, by training and inclination, have usually been con ditioned to averseness to administration in all its manifestations. They are then made responsible for managerial activities in an extremely complex field, for which they have had little or no training whatsoever, and for which their only qualifications are their individual character traits and standing with their research colleagues. Administrative under standing is usually incidental, and rarely present. The change-over from an activity in which the individual was highly competent to one for which he does not have even the rudiments of essential know-how may be a traumatic experience. A frequent solution is to place the effective management of the research organisation in the hands of a trained administrator, who rarely has experience in, or under standing of, research, whilst the veteran research worker remains a figure-head; this results in a situation fraught with difficulties and tension. This was the kind of situation I faced when, in 1958, I was appointed Director of the Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research (later renamed the National Agricultural Research Service). For the first time in my professional life I found that I had undertaken an assignment for which I had no training, formal or otherwise. My situation in this respect was not unique, as training for agricultural research management simply did not exist at the time. My response to this dilemma, conditioned by long years as a research worker, was to search in the literature for guidance. In vain. For, with the exception of a few descriptive case histories of agricultural research in a limited number of developed countries, there was simply nothing to be found on the subject. This dearth of literature on the management of agricultural research contrasted with the situation regarding management of industrial re search. Though a much newer field, far less widespread, and infinitely more segmented, a considerable amount of literature on the organisation and administration, as well as planning of industrial research, was avail able to the scientist-administrator. This literature, in turn, had drawn largely on studies on general organisation and management problems, which had appeared since the beginning of the century, and in which the basic principles of management were discussed. After an intensive study of this important source of information, much of which is relevant to the management and planning of agricultural research, and drawing on my own personal experience in the field, I prepared a text, published in 1968 by Elsevier Publishing Company Ltd, Organisation and Administration of Agricultural Research.