Publication Date

1997

Description

The paper covers technology transfer in the United Nations Development Programme funded Agro-grassland Systems Development Project in Guizhou Province, China, which ran from 1989 to 1994 and involved the development of pasture based smallholder livestock systems at three environmentally contrasting sites. The project involved the participation of management, technical staff and smallholder farmers at the local level with outside support from the Gansu Grassland Ecological Research Institute, Gansu Province, China and Massey University, New Zealand. A feature of the project design was the retention of project management at the local level. Interactive training programmes were conducted in New Zealand and research in China to enable local management and technical staff to identify and evaluate appropriate technology. The project achieved or exceeded nearly all project outputs by the midpoint review. Development beyond this stage was hindered by the lack of flexibility in funding arrangements. Small holder monitoring and demonstration provided more effective technology transfer than the research programme. It was concluded that the design of the project and the interactive technology transfer between the contributing groups offers a model for long term sustainable development.

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An Interactive Approach to Technology Transfer in a Development Project - A Case Study

The paper covers technology transfer in the United Nations Development Programme funded Agro-grassland Systems Development Project in Guizhou Province, China, which ran from 1989 to 1994 and involved the development of pasture based smallholder livestock systems at three environmentally contrasting sites. The project involved the participation of management, technical staff and smallholder farmers at the local level with outside support from the Gansu Grassland Ecological Research Institute, Gansu Province, China and Massey University, New Zealand. A feature of the project design was the retention of project management at the local level. Interactive training programmes were conducted in New Zealand and research in China to enable local management and technical staff to identify and evaluate appropriate technology. The project achieved or exceeded nearly all project outputs by the midpoint review. Development beyond this stage was hindered by the lack of flexibility in funding arrangements. Small holder monitoring and demonstration provided more effective technology transfer than the research programme. It was concluded that the design of the project and the interactive technology transfer between the contributing groups offers a model for long term sustainable development.