Perspectives for Improving the Appropriateness of Technologies Generated for Caribbean Agriculture

The issues of appropriate technology are discussed within the broad framework of agricultural development. Three leading Models concerned with the role of agriculture in economic development are reviewed to determine their relevance to the Caribbean. It is concluded that, aspects of all the models had varying degrees of relevance to the Caribbean but were not comprehensive enough for Caribbean realities. Despite dissatisfaction with the generalities of the Models we identified a fundamental role for appropriate technology in rural development. Perspectives relating to the appropriateness of Technology are discussed in the context of the receiving environment, the nature of the technology and the process by which the technology is generated. It was concluded that the circumstances of the large-farm sector were sufficiently different from that of the small-farm sector so that both the nature of the technology and the process of generation for each sector should be different. The farming systems approach is considered to provide the most useful insights for developing appropriate technology for specific target groups of farmers. The systems Framework is used to indicate the role of socio-economic analysis in developing appropriate technology.