THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IMPERATIVE AND/OR IMPROVEMENT IN VALENCIAN
                         AGRICULTURE (SPAIN)

                         FARINOS DASI, JOAQUIN; PHD
 
                         UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA (SPAIN), 1992
 
                         GEOGRAPHY (0366)
 

                         The aim of this doctoral thesis was to examine the mechanisms through which innovations within
                         Valencian agriculture are generated, transferred and diffused, trying also to recognize the main problems
                         in adoption, where they are, and possible solutions. An analysis was planned that includes both typical
                         elements of innovation diffusion interpretation from adoption perspective, and other more recent
                         elements from the market and infrastructure view. The first are considered by rural sociologists and
                         geographers such as Rogers or Hagerstrand; the latter are presented by economists (Griliches) or more
                         recently by geographers (Brown). The methodology chosen to reach these objectives was qualitative,
                         through personal interviews between subjects of analysis who were representative of each group
                         studied (all who take part in the innovation diffusion process). The main conclusions are: The most
                         important faults in innovation diffusion processes are in the technological transfer stage. The reason is
                         the poor participation of farms in R+D activities, related to other problems such as their economic
                         dimension or the deficient level of formation and training of farmers. Diffusion processes are, however,
                         very fast because of imitation. Personal decision has little importance, but information about innovation or
                         innovations themselves are readily available. For this reason, the disposal of some infrastructure, overall
                         private or for profit, is very important to the model: a diffusion model similar to the one that Hagerstrand
                         established for consumer innovations within a system of cities, because of the importance of commercial
                         agriculture in development of Valencian city system.

 


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