III. Some issues in CIMMYT"s concepts and procedures for the use of FSR in agricultural research and planning

In brief, the CIMMYT approach to FSR - which it attempted to introduce in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya during 1976-80: uses information on target groups and considers personnel resources in identifying research priorities and determining the number of groups to be worked with; provides the FSR economist - whose perspective on resource allocation is congruous with the farmer"s - a unique role in coordinating interdisciplinary research planning; eschews sophisticated modeling in favor of a low-cost, rapid turnaround approach which can cover 4 to 10 target groups in the time taken by a single modeling investigation; and uses a general-to-specific problem identification strategy to identify the enterprise(s) offering the greatest leverage for positive change within the farming system. In attempting to institutionalize this approach in national research services in eastern Africa, CIMMYT found the greatest problem to be lack of interdisciplinary cooperation, especially with regard to the primacy of the economist"s role.