7 



the small farmers' land, labor, and capital resources. In the Philip- 

 pines, a 30^ adoption rate for high-yielding rice cultivars was observed 

 within a 6-year period (73). Rice "microkits" were tried in other 

 Asian countries to maximize the dispersal of technology to small farmers 

 (^) . These "microkits" contained five cultivars of rice to be planted 

 in the farmer's field alongside the local variety. Two levels of ferti- 

 lizer and two levels of insecticide also were included. Seed yield of 

 the best variety was sufficient to plant one fourth hectare the follow- 

 ing season. Through this approach, farmers multiplied the seeds of the 

 best cultivars, thereby eliminating the necessity of purchasing govern- 

 ment supplied seed (^) . 



A similar project was initiated in Nigeria by the International 

 Institute of Tropical Agriculture with both rice and corn (I58) . The 

 package included four improved cultivars and one local cultivar, two 

 fertilizer levels, and a record book. One farmer in each village was 

 selected by local extension agents and village leaders to test ajid 

 manage the experiment. Results indicated that small farmer adoption 

 rates were enhanced by these on-farm demonstrations of productivity and 

 profitability (I58) . 



In El Salvador, the basic multiple cropping system developed for 

 complex relay and intercropping of corn, pole bean, cabbage ( Brassica 



oleracea L. Gapitata Group) , cucumber, bush bean, and radish ( Raphanus 



2 



sativus L,) produced a net income of $772/900 m (78). 



The resource utilization approach is another method which is 



applicable for the study of cropping system.s (16, 68). In this approach, 

 the farmer seeks to integrate farm resources into farm enterprises by 

 using available technologies and management skills. An ex.ample is 



