Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 15.4
Stages of adoption: factors that impede and/or facilitate adoption decisions.
(Illustration by Corey Cockerill and Jamie Henry of ZigNine Design Studio.)
extensively adopted. The complexity associated with implementation of specific
innovations is an important consideration in the adoption decision-making process.
Complexity refers to the level of difficulty associated with implementing a specific
innovation. Some innovations are quite difficult to implement because they require
use of complex technologies to achieve expected benefits. If potential adopters do
not have the human and/or economic resources to implement such innovations, it
is highly unlikely they will be adopted. Conversely, many innovations employ low-
level technologies and/or techniques that are much easier to effectively implement
even with low levels of human and economic resources.
Another consideration in the adoption decision-making process is whether
potential adopters can adopt innovations on a piecemeal basis, or whether they
must adopt all components of the innovation simultaneously. Some innovations
require adoption of multiple components to effectively achieve anticipated out-
comes. Other innovations may be implemented on a sequential component basis.
Technology-intensive production systems frequently require adoption of multiple
components simultaneously, while more labor-intensive production systems can
often be implemented sequentially. Adoption of innovations that require imple-
mentation of multiple components simultaneously tends to be more slowly and less
extensively adopted.
The traditional diffusion model as a decision-making process is conceptualized
in Figure 15.4. The double arrow in the “Adoption decision” diamond indicates con-
tinued assessment of the decision made.
15.3.2 d
iFFusion
M
odel
a
pplied
to
a
gricultural
p
ollution
a
BateMent
It is argued that the diffusion model is appropriate for understanding the adoption
of conservation production systems in lesser-scale societies because many conserva-
tion technologies and techniques are totally new to farmers in lower-scale societies
