6 

 develop, adopt, and transfer improved technologies to small farms in 

 developing countries (37i 51% 79. 83. 178). For example, the Gaqueza 

 project near Bogota, Colombia, provided farmers with incentive for adapt- 

 ing a "complete package" of agricultural practices under a risk-reducing 

 credit scheme (I78). Eramatic increases in both yield [200?S for corn 

 and 50?^ fo^ potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)] resulted from incorporation 

 of improved production technologies consisting of new cultivairs, opti- 

 mum population density, additional fertilizer and insect control (I78). 



A methodology for the design and transfer of agronomic techno- 

 logy to increase bean production was studied on small farms in a coffee 

 ( Coffea sp . L.)-growing area of Colombia (82). The objective was to 

 develop a low-cost, low-risk technology. Unlike most agronomic studies 

 that emphasize yield maximization, the goal of this study was to increase 

 economic retiorns with minimum risk. The three components of the study 

 were to observe traditional bean production systems, design a techjio- 

 logical package, and evaluate the economics of this package at the 

 farm level. Farmer participation was an integral part of the methodo- 

 logy. The low-cost technology consisting of combined use of improved 

 cultivars at optimum population densities and low levels of agrochemi- 

 cals resulted in a 30?S increase in bean production and a 'y^o net 

 income (82). 



In Asia, projects designed to introduce and validate techjiolo- 

 gical innovations for small farms were developed (83, 162). For example, 

 researchers in India tested rice technological packages in I966 to 

 screen cultivars in farmers' field (57). At the same time, economic 

 data were obtained on the farmers' traditional production system which 

 allowed researchers to design complementary inputs within the scope of 



