Evaluation On The Effects Of Agriculture Technology Extension

As the primary source of agriculture technology innovation, agriculture universities founded solid extension experiences and formed a comparably classical extension model in the long terms of practice, which are of special importance in the agriculture technology extension when combined with the research superiorities of universities and the local ecological supplies, as well as the eternal, comprehensive field research bases set up in those regions.Through the evaluation analysis on the technology extension methods and their effected economic, social and ecological benefits in the bases in different stages, together with the extension gains and losses, and the respective duties form the state, local governments and the farmers, the study highlights the active motivation of agriculture technology extension to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural area.With Changwu field research bases to be the subject, the study analyzed the technology extension in the field research bases from 1985 to 2005. Three five years intervals in those fifteen yeas are divided into earlier, medium and current stages in which the economic, social and ecological benefits resulted by the different extension methods are compared respectively. Furthermore, the evaluation on the methods, procedures, processes and effects of those chronological extension are conducted in key analysis on the economic constituents of drainage crop unit output, total output, individual provisionment, fruits forestry input and output, basin net income and industrial mechanism; social constituents like the changes of farmers'housing, fix asset, personal savings, farmers'agriculture expense; ecological constituents like changes of land fertility, water and soil loss, land utilization structure, precipitation utilizing, and so on. The results suggest that the filed research bases utter apparent significance in the agriculture technology extension, which also realizes the organical unity of economic, social and ecological benefits.The conclusions are as the following:The first five year extension from 1985 to 1990 is the research, exploitation and publicity of the related technology centered crops and land production, with specific measure of agriculture technology counseling, fruits trees techniques training and service, and demonstration units setting up.The second stage from 1990 to 1995 is focused on the optimizing of rural industry development mechanism oriented by crop and fruits industry development. The specific measures are the exploitation of slopes and pitches, planting of ecological fruits garden striving to the adjustment of industrial structure. Besides, scientific knowledge is publicized to the farmers by instruction, counseling, visiting and training.The third stage are improving the adjustment of agriculture industry structure, nurturing pillar industries and extending the corresponding agriculture technology. Extension companies set up to publicize the technology broadcasts the self-photographed agriculture technology program and shows scientific movies to all the villagers throughout the whole county.Economic benefits: after the 20 years'cultivation, the crop unit output increased by 159%, total output increased by 87%, individual provisionment remained to be over 320kg despite the decrease of personal land area (from 0.16 to 0.07ha.). The total income of agriculture, forestry and fruits rises with the increase of input. The industrial mechanism in this drainage area is optimized from a crop planting area in history to a dimensional structure of crops, fruits and industries.Social benefits: in the fourteen years'"technology revolution"from 1985 to 2005, the figure of new houses constructed (1656 sets) is 2.5 times of the number if the past 36 years with the individual housing space increased from 5.1 m2 to 18 m2. the life necessities are mainly electric appliances, moreover, they have household trucks. The farmers'saving in the bank improves annually, to the end of 2005, the total numbers reached RMB$2,000 thousand, with the average number to be RMB$1000. The consumption of meat, egg, and milk gradually increased, and investment on education increased year by year. A new primary school were built under the condition of government and local farmer investment, the ratio of school entrance reach 100%, new college students are from the village every year. Upto 2005, farmers working on labour output, apple storage,transportation,and processing at home reached 570.Ecological benefits: compared with 1985, the land fertility, with constituents of soil organic substance, nitrification, and effective phosphor increased by 18%, 37%, and 69% respectively. Land erosion modulus decreased by 52% from 1860 tons per km2 per year to 895 tons per km2 per year. Land is better utilized. Forestry and grass land area increased dramatically. The application rate of precipitation rose by 80% to 112%.The comparison resulted that the data of the individual income to be less than RMB$500, and unit crop output to be no more than 400kg are the reference point for the government to conduct management; when farmers are with the income of more than RMB$1,000 and proper provisionment, they can independently input in the development and ensure the coherent and cohesive achievement of both ecological and economic benefits.The evaluation study also concludes some correspondent countermeasures and suggestions to the exertion of the significance of field research bases to agriculture technology extension, as well as the comprehensive fathering of the drainage area in the loess plateau.