Articles
IDENTIFICATION OF FARMERS’ PROBLEMS AS A BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY: A CASE STUDY ON SHALLOT PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT
In general, a new technology is rejected by farmers because the technology itself can not help farmers to solve their problems.
The main goal of farmers in their cash-crop management is to maximize profit.
The farmers’ decision making in utilizing a specific crop technology is based on their socio-cultural, economic and biophysical circumstances and problems related to these circumstances (e.g. capital, know-how, market uncertainty). Their choice is thus conditioned by what best fits their situation, thereby reducing risks as far as possible.
This means that, in order to be adopted by farmers, a new technology must be developed that is appropriate to what farmers need, i.e. that can solve their problems.
This paper presents a case study on how to identify farmers’ problems through Group Discussion Methods in a central area of shallot production.
The results of the study revealed that due to capital constraints, farmers’ main problems were: 1) their low bargaining position, 2) the high price of pesticides, and 3) the low market price of shallots.
It was recommended that new technologies should be developed to tackle the above mentioned problems.