Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

5.1.4 Access to technology, research and development
Small farmers are often unable to access technology owing to their lack of knowledge 
about how and where technology is developed and who the key players are. Support 
organizations and FOs can play an important role in improving linkages and 
coordination between farmers, agricultural research agencies and extension services, 
which can be facilitated through regular consultations among key stakeholders. The 
development of BMPs, for example, key to improving the productivity of aquaculture 
farmers, decreasing risks and vulnerability, and central to the cluster management 
concept, will be difficult to do without linking and coordinating with research agencies 
to support FOs in developing appropriate BMPs. In the case of NaCSA’s farmer 
societies, the Government (through MPEDA) enabled farmers to link with NACA 
through a joint project that facilitated the development of BMPs by NACA and their 
subsequent successful implementation by farmer societies.
FOs should participate in planning meetings and, where possible, serve on the boards 
of research agencies to have a greater say in the research agenda and to ensure that trials 
are designed to address the needs of small-scale farmers. Knowledge, information and 
technologies can reach farmers at the grassroots level more effectively if agricultural 
research and extension institutions proactively involve FOs; however, FOs made up 
of low-resource farmers are unlikely to have the capacity to engage meaningfully with 
these institutions. Also, access to technology can be expensive or require higher asset 
levels, and it is usually FOs with donor support or a higher level of resources that 

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Supporting farmers’ organizations
have been successful in accessing new technologies (Carney, 1997). In any case, it is 
important to ensure that technology transfer and dissemination to farmers and FOs 
is undertaken in a participatory way to maximize farmer learning and innovation and 
increase the chances of adoption.