Technical Change And Social Conflict In Agriculture by Martin E Pineiro Eduardo J Trigo

Author:Martin E Pineiro, Eduardo J Trigo [Martin E Pineiro, Eduardo J Trigo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, Sociology
ISBN: 9781000242126
Google: OGQPEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-06-21T04:56:32+00:00

The Creation of the Institutes

The institutional development of research and transference of agricultural technology throughout Latin America, particularly in South America, has been characterized by two well-defined stages which differ mainly in the quantitative effort put into research and in the degree and manner of participation by the public sector. The first dates from the beginning of research endeavors in the region, during the second half of the last century to the middle of the 1950s, a time when low levels of resources were assigned to research, largely due to the unstable, ad hoc institutional mechanisms that prevailed.

The first experimental stations geared to the generation and transfer of new technologies for important products began to be set up during this first stage, during the 1930s and 1940s. However, the general situation continued to be unstable, with the responsibility for station activities and the financing of their research changing hands frequently. Throughout this process of change, the agricultural universities and schools lost much of the importance they had had during the early years of the century. The process culminated in an almost total centralization of research under the auspices of the Ministries of Agriculture.

This institutional arrangement suffered from a number of problems and constraints, mostly products of the bureaucratic nature of the Ministries. The most important of these constraints were: the lack of stable budgetary support; scanty articulation with problems in the rural areas or with farming priorities; a dispersion of efforts; the lack of adequate linkage between research, technical assistance and extension; and the lack of coordination between the agency responsible for the generation of technologies and those responsible for implementing other components of agricultural policies needed to ensure the effective development of the production process, like prices, credit, and services. (Trigo, Piñeiro and Ardila, 1979; Samper, 1979).

In the mid-1950s, several elements substantially modified this situation, thereby initiating the second stage of the process, characterized mainly by a strong tendency toward descentralizing research activities and sometimes even the technology transfer efforts from the administrative structure of the Ministries. Descentralized, more autonomous institutions became responsible for these actions under plans organized along the lines of the experimental station system of the United States.

The new institutional model was rapidly adopted because: (a) it was becoming increasingly evident that technology is a major element of agricultural development; and (b) of the wide range of technologies available internationally for use by the Latin American farmer. The main problem was the transfer of this knowledge, available in developed countries, to the undeveloped nations. Adequate research infrastructures for adapting these technologies became essential, since the Research Offices of the Ministries of Agriculture were incapable of doing so efficiently.1 This second stage had strong backing from external sources, including both technical and financial assistance which made possible the development of the physical infrastructure and human resources needed to run the new institutions.

The following institutions were set up during this stage: The National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA) in Argentina, in 1957; the National Agricultural Research Institute (INIAP) in

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