The ultimate objective of both research and extension systems is to increase agricultural production. Their roles of generating and transferring technology are complementary. Research institutions need to have information on the problems, technology requirements and socio-economic and ecological environment of producers to formulate research agendas and to set priorities. Formulating a research agenda based on producers' requirements results in technology that will be more acceptable to users; this also leads to research institutions allocating their resources more efficiently. Researchers may also have to interact with
Module 8 - Session 1 Reading note producers on a continuing basis during the process of technology generation. Extension services can provide research institutions with information on research requirements and play a mediatory role between farmers and researchers. Extension services require a continuous flow of information from research institutions on new and improved practices. Therefore an efficient two-way communication process is necessary for generating and transferring technology effectively. The success of the two-way communication is determined mainly by the effectiveness of linkage between research and extension institutions.
