Education Innovations And Agricultural Development

First published in 1979, Education, Innovations, and Agricultural Development investigates the effect of education on agricultural productivity and innovations that took place in the wake of the Green Revolution in North India, using a simultaneous equations model. The Green Revolution of the 1960s, with its twin aims of raising production and improving the quality of input, was expected to induce a majority of farming families to respond to policies and programmes devised for bringing about development in agricultural sectors. Focusing on the wheat-growing areas of Punjab and Haryana, where high yielding varieties of seed have been introduced extensively, it shows that general education up to secondary level has a significant impact on the diffusion of technology and agricultural productivity and that higher production in turn increases the demand for education. This book deserves to be read by all concerned with development in Asian countries; agriculture; developmental economics; and educationists.

First published in 1979, Education, Innovations, and Agricultural Development investigates the effect of education on agricultural productivity and innovations that took place in the wake of the Green Revolution in North India, using a simultaneous equations model. The Green Revolution of the 1960s, with its twin aims of raising production and improving the quality of input, was expected to induce a majority of farming families to respond to policies and programmes devised for bringing about development in agricultural sectors. Focusing on the wheat-growing areas of Punjab and Haryana, where high yielding varieties of seed have been introduced extensively, it shows that general education up to secondary level has a significant impact on the diffusion of technology and agricultural productivity and that higher production in turn increases the demand for education. This book deserves to be read by all concerned with development in Asian countries; agriculture; developmental economics; and educationists.

Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Published in the year 2005, World Yearbook of Education 1974 is a valuable contribution to the field of Major Works

Food production worldwide is primarily carried out by smallholder farmers. Closing the gap between actual smallholder yield and those achievable through scientific research is vital to increasing the food availability and efficient use of inputs and natural resources. Multiple factors and constraints contribute to these production gaps, including uncoordinated linkages between education, research and extension. These linkages are often supply-driven and top-down, and unable to respond to the diversity of location-specific, locally-adaptive and multiple knowledge demands – as smallholders are a diverse group in terms of incomes, knowledge, perceptions and farming practices. In 2005, China Agricultural University (CAU) launched a pilot agricultural development project in partnership with Quzhou County in Hebei Province of China to work together to develop high-yielding technologies. In 2009, CAU professors and postgraduate students moved their research programs from the experimental station to the village, and rented a backyard, where they lived, worked and studied high-yielding technologies and responses from the farmers. Gradually, their backyard work attracted more farmers and encouraged their participation. The backyard thus became a science and technology dissemination platform in the local community. From then on, farmers, scientists and students referred to the project as the Science and Technology Backyard (STB). This publication was prepared as a case study report on the Science and Technology Backyard (STB).

This book looks at agricultural systems and rural economies in Asia through the prism of alternative innovation systems, alternative public policy and institutional changes. The massive shifts within the agricultural economy in Asia, geared towards increasing production, has had a direct effect on the livelihood of a large mass of people in rural societies, causing financial and social distress. This book explores a wide range of solutions, such as the role of education, improving technical skills and human capital, along with interactive learning in R&D, harnessing ICTs and institutional innovations, to see how these problems can be alleviated. The volume looks at how these methods can help formulate alternative ways to build sustainable and inclusive agricultural societies, ensure food security, sustainable growth and agricultural productivity. This book, rich in theoretical and empirical matter, will be useful for academics and researchers interested in agricultural innovation, development studies and agricultural economics. It will also be of interest to policymakers and thinktanks working towards inclusive social development and sustainability in Asia and the Indian subcontinent.