Food grain technology : agricultural research in Nepal

Project accomplishments include development of a functional and decentralized research system with five stations in the Tarai flatlands, training to B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. levels of almost 600 Nepali agricultural scientists, a sharp increase in farmers' awareness of the need for agricultural development, and the beginnings of a partnership between research and extension. Technology packages including improved wheat, rice, and maize varieties were extended to Tarai farmers and farmer awareness of the new technology was found to be virtually universal. However, channels of communication between researchers and farmers - whose problems and priorities differ - are less open than they might be. Researchers urge adoption of demonstrably high-yield varieties, while farmers, who have adopted the new technology only selectively, worry about the risks involved and point out other needs, especially for reliable water and fertilizer supplies. Further, the green revolution in Nepal has not yet led to long-term food security and economic independence as expected, but rather has contributed to economic and environmental destabilization. Indeed, the potential for serious ecological deterioration associated with increasingly intensified cropping is enormous; stabilizing the process will require major changes in the coming decades. Finally, the productivity of researchers, extensionists, farmers, and agricultural input agencies is far from optimal. The project has taught: the need to understand farmers' needs, resources, and constraints in order to establish sound research priorities; the importance of off-station research, long-term research programs, and long-term environmental considerations; the inappropriateness of monopolies in the distribution of agricultural inputs when farmer demand is strong; and the decisive importance of close communication among researchers, extensionists, and farmers. Tarai-related discussions of farming systems, population pressure and agricultural change, and agricultural research and risk are appended.