Agricultural Technology: Why Does the Level of Agricultural Production Remain Low Despite Increased Investments in Research and Extension?

Adoption of new practices and technologies influences farm productivity and agricultural growth. Countries invest in research and extension to ensure continuous growth both at the farm and industry level. This paper investigates agricultural technology production, its knowledge transfer, and farm and industry level performance. The study used the agricultural innovation systems (AIS) as lens in investigating the agricultural performance of the country, focusing on rice and swine industry. The governance of research, development, and extension continues to be negatively affected by the overlaps among research and development institutions and fragmentation of extension. The government continues to underinvest in research, the bulk of which goes to the rice program. Extension programs focus primarily on the distribution of private goods. The promotion of hybrid rice and farm machinery represented sizable investments, but adoption of these had not been widespread. The swine industry, on the other hand, continues to rely on imported inputs for nutrition and biologics. Recommendations focus on further minimizing inefficiencies in the research and extension functions of the government institutions. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph.