Nepal: Organization and Management of On-Farm Research in the National Agricultural Research System

摘要

Against a background description of the context of agricultural research in Nepal, the report outlines the organization and management of 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 problem solving 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.