AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SYSTEMS IN CAMBODIA:THE MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE

摘要

The agricultural research and extension systems in Cambodia, to the extent that theyrnexisted at all, were decimated during the Republic of Cambodia (1970-1975) andrnDemocratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) periods. During the late 1980s and 1990s, a periodrnof agricultural reconstruction was supported by international aid programs. Therndevelopment of a renewed capacity for agricultural research and extension withinrngovernment institutions has been closely associated with the work of two projects fundedrnby AusAID, the Australian Agency for International Development: the Cambodia-IRRIAustraliarnProject (CIAP) and the Cambodia-Australia-Agricultural-Extension Projectrn(CAAEP). These projects have had very different histories, but both have made use ofrn“systems” ideas in formulating their programs. Both emphasize the use of science andrntechnology for human betterment in Cambodia, which is still one of the poorest countriesrnin Asia. A farming systems research approach has informed the research work of CIAP,rneven though this approach has become widely defunct both in the internationalrnagricultural research centers and in development circles. The severe resource constraintsrnhave also imposed a systems approach on the development of extension activities.rnCAAEP makes extensive use of agro-ecosystems analysis as a basis for formulatingrnExtension Program Packages (EPPs). In this paper, the nature of these differences, andrntheir implications for agricultural development, are explored. We envisage greater use ofrnsystems approaches, in both research and extension, as the capacity of Cambodianrnagencies continues to develop.