Conclusions

Abstract

Even with a quite rapid rate of growth of the modern sector, many developing countries will face the problem of increasing numbers living outside this sector for the next thirty to forty years. And by the time these numbers cease to grow in absolute terms, the non-modern sector will have become a multiple of its present size. These projections are alarming, among other reasons, because they suggest that unprecedented numbers will become reliant upon traditional (usually unproductive) rural technologies. The previous chapters have dealt with different aspects of alleviating this growing problem by improving the productivity of traditional rural technologies. Chapter 1 was concerned with the alternative frames of reference in the improvement of these technologies. Chapter 2 examined the relationship between the diffusion of improved technologies and the rate of their adoption within the scope of a particular project. In Chapter 3 there was a discussion of the economic relationships that link the adoption of improved technology to the supposed beneficiaries among the poor. Chapter 4 took up the problem of seeking the replication on a large scale of projects that prove successful at the micro level.