Nepal : organization and management of on-farm research in the national agricultural research system

This case study presents a comparative analysis of five such programs. The first three - the National Rice Improvement Program, the Cropping Systems Program, and the Farming Systems Research Division - are all part of the Ministry of Agriculture"s research efforts. The remaining two - the Lumle and Pakhribas Agricultural Centres - are small regional research centers in the Hills, funded by the British Government but closely linked to the national research effort. Against a background description of the context of agricultural research in Nepal, the report outlines the organization and management of the five programs and critically compares their strengths and weaknesses in conducting on-farm research. It then analyzes the performance of each in terms of seven key functions of on-farm, client-centered research: adoption of a problemsolving approach; adoption of an interdisciplinary perspective; use of agro-ecological and socioeconomic criteria to characterize major farming systems and client groups; technology adaptation and development; promotion of farmer participation in research; communication of research results to major experiment stations; and collaboration with extension and development agencies. In addition, the institutional factors that either facilitated or constrained program success are identified. A final section distills a variety of lessons which the programs inculcate for organizing and managing on-farm research, and provides recommendations relating them to the Nepalese setting.