of food and through the increase of
household incomes; (2) increase local self-
reliance in food supply, particularly in
remote areas; (3) supplement the yield of
often declining capture fisheries; and (4)
generate employment opportunities. In
some cases the perceptions of change
agents go beyond these basic aspirations,
as in Panama, where the introduction of
community aquaculture is viewed by the
government as an instrument of rural
social development that facilitates the
introduction of new organizational and
managerial structures (Molnar et al. 1985).
Perceptions of a target population
influence the degree of success of efforts to
introduce and diffuse an innovation. In
particular, major determinants of success
are: (1) the attractiveness of perceived
benefits as related to costs of adoption; (2)
compatibility of the objectives, demands,opportunity costs, and lifestyle of an
innovation with existingresource systems
andits potential for integration with them;
and (3) the degree of perceived complexity
of the innovation and its relationship with
existing skills or the ability and means to
acquire additional skills.
Voluminous research on the
acceptance of innovation in rural societies
demonstrates five basic and generic
attributes that characterize any new
technology and affect the way in which a
target population perceives it (Rogers and
Shoemaker 1971). These perceptions will
largely determine the way in which
communities respond to the proposed
changes that the technologyheralds. These
attributes are simplicity, compatibility,
advantageousness, testability and
visibility (Table 1).Table 1. Attribubs of an aquaculture innovation affecting its adoption.
Attribute Characteristics of attribute Examples Reference
a) Simplicity
(2) Compatibility
(31 Advantageous
(4) Testability
(5) Appraisability
Aquaculture system and related in~titutions
is simple, divisible and easily mastered
without special skills-trainingby many people.Aquaculture system is compatible with existing
fuming syutems, in tcrrnn ofland, capital,
labor, rick and opportunity cost, as well as
vrith community behavioral norms and social
roles.
Aquaculture makes better use of on-farm
rewurces and provides grater benefits than
do customary pructicer slonc.Aquaculture must bc capable of being tcsted by
a representative sample of community members,
so as to be potentially avaFbb to all house-
holds.
The essential qualitnlivc and other results of
an aquaculture system are quickly appraised by
potential adopters through casual observation
and conversation with peers.Panama: Small-wale fanners perceive the Molnar et al. (1985)
tmhniques, skills and vocabulaly of aqua-
culture to be the same as those oltradi-
tional farming, and therefore easily martered.
Contra1 Malaivi: aquaculture perceived as not Likongwe (1 989)
complex and can be learned by children.
Southern Mala%: squnculturs skills learned Mills (1 984)
from parento*.
MalaGi: Adoption ~Caquaculture not perceived Likon~e (1 989)
as disrupting pre-mistinglabor allocation, Mills (1489)
and as having only a low labor demand.Southern ~ala&: advantages perceived (in rank Likongwe (1 98%
order) arc: (1) additional cashincome, (2) en- Mills (1984)
hanced so~ial status within community, (3) pro Nji (1986)
vision of addilional itema for reciprocal ex- Molnar ct al. (1985)
change. (4) improved household nutrition.
Centrnl Mala%: (1) improved household nutti-
tion, (2) increoscd income. (However, in Ddra
urea of Ccnlral ~alaEi as wcll as in Cameroon,
aquaculture is adopted 60 ns to accrue prestige.)
In Central and Southern MalaEi, adoptcd by a Banda (1989)
range of houwholds representing various ee* Likongwc (19891
nomic strata and not generally viewed as being Mill6 (1984)
limited to better-off families.
This has characterized the adoption proccfis Banda (1 989)
among small-scale fish Canners in MalaEi. Likongwe (1989)
Mills (1989)-
*Howcvcr, the knowledge and skills required to construct and manage a fishpond arc viewed with 'considerable inicrest and awc", and the wcial skills
roquired to deal with the Fishcries Department and the Fish Farmcrs' Club are secn as compla (Mills 1989).