Performance of Low External Input Technology in Agricultural Development 67Such households are unlikely to be able to take full advantage of LEIT pro-
grammes.
Diffusion of LEIT
There are hopes that LEIT may diffuse fairly rapidly to other farmers. If a technol-
ogy is a product of local innovation or adaptation, it may find an understanding
audience among neighbouring farmers, and if it relies on local resources it may be
more straightforward to adopt. However, the case studies do not support these
hopes for spontaneous diffusion. Although most of the participants in the case
study projects were enthusiastic about their experiences and reported describing
ideas and concepts they had learned to other farmers, there was only modest evi-
dence that non-participants learned about particular techniques from project
farmers. In Honduras, there was little adoption of in-row tillage and cover crops
by non-participants, although about one-quarter tried out the technologies. The
majority who tried the techniques learned about them from other projects,
although some also reported learning from other farmers. In Kenya, farmers in
some neighbouring communities established soil conservation techniques a few
years after the project; the proximity of the project community certainly was
important, although there are various other projects promoting these techniques
in Kenya. In Sri Lanka, there was no evidence that FFS farmers played any sig-
nificant role in convincing their neighbours to reduce insecticide use. It was more
common that neighbour farmers had remembered (and acted upon) information
from the project participants about soil fertility management than about pest
management.
The lack of diffusion of LEIT technologies and principles from these well-
managed and relatively successful projects must be taken into account when con-
sidering future strategies for the promotion of LEIT. Farmers require a certain
amount of hands-on experience before they are motivated to utilize many of these
techniques, although there is considerable variation. In some cases (e.g. grass strips
or straw incorporation) the techniques are quite visible to neighbouring farmers,
who are capable of copying the ideas with a minimum of experience. In other cases
(e.g. in-row tillage) farmers need a period to learn and experiment with the tech-
nique and the experience is more difficult to communicate. And in cases where
complex principles are the basis for a change in practice (e.g. agroecological analy-
sis and the rationale for IPM) farmers may find it particularly challenging to artic-
ulate what they have learned to their neighbours. The lack of diffusion of the IPM
message for irrigated rice, despite the success of FFS in Asia, is a particular concern
(Tripp et al, forthcoming).
LEIT is often seen as an important shift in attitude towards farming rather
than merely a set of innovations. If the uptake of LEIT involves a change in the
perception of farm management, we would expect that those farmers who utilized