Institutional options and multiple sources of agricultural innovation: Evidence from an Ecuadorean case study

Taking farmer-oriented agricultural research and extension as the starting point, this paper outlines the roles played by different actors in a local system of technology development and dissemination in south-central Ecuador. A brief review of efforts to institute a participatory research program within the national agricultural research system suggests that the success of this, and of linking research to extension, have depended on national political and economic context and institutional dynamics. The local case study then shows clearly that the public sector is not the only actor in technology development and dissemination. Farmer organizations and non-governmental grassroots support organizations are also very active and combine their agricultural work to broader goals of strengthening farmer organization, cultural recovery and ecological agriculture. Their work methods are highly participatory, greatly reduce the research/extension linkage problem and are built upon much local knowledge. They have significant capacity to distribute technology and train indigenous agricultural promoters. Nonetheless, they too have certain limitations, which are reviewed. While they conduct some controlled investigation, much of their research is iterative. Thus, while the public sector could learn much from these organizations for its own work, there is also a potential complementarity between them and the national agricultural research system.