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Transcript

Hello friends, in our last class we made an attempt to understand the concept of diffusion and innovation. In today’s class, we’ll be making an effort to understand the process of adoption. So what do we mean by adoption. Adoption is a decision to make the full use of an innovation as the best course of action available. The end-user to whom we call them as a farmer or the receiver of a technology. He takes the decision that I am going to make use of that particular innovation in my field or in the practice or in the enterprise or whatever the thing that he is interested in. So that particular process of decision is known as the process of adoption. So the stages of adoption include. We’ll be discussing them at length. But I am giving you a sequence of steps that are being followed as the adoption processes.

The first stage of adoption include the knowledge or creating the awareness, wherein an individual is becoming aware of the innovation. Then he develops interest in that. Then he goes for evaluation. Then he implements the idea, and ultimately he come to the decision of accepting it or rejecting that. So this is what is the sequence of events that follows in case of adoption process. But before that we’ll be trying to understand the issues associated with the resistance to adoption. So the researchers have identified the five important factors that may result in farmer’s failure to adopt a new particular product, because of the value barriers what we have said about the system norms. It is not compatible with the farming system of the farmers or the value system of the community. Whatever it is, so that is one of the important factors.

Then the usage barriers. May be they are not using the product. They are not using that particular practice. But the innovation is desirous of that one. All these things are the issues associated with that. Then the risk barriers. So the by adopting the innovation. So we already said that there are certain amount of risk that come into the picture. And because of that, so there might be some hindrance in accepting a new technology. And the traditional barriers because it is not suiting to their value system of the society, the culture of that particular community. So that is how the traditional barriers are there. Then coming to the image barriers, because of lack of information, they have developed a particular image regarding that particular technology. For example, in our society there is a prevailing notion, that even though it is not a reality. There is a prevailing notion that eating of the mushroom is equivalent to the eating of a non-vegetarian. That is how the mushroom cultivation is being hampered in the rural areas. And which is having the highest amount of entrepreneurship potential in that. And nutritionally it is one of the rich foods which can solve good number of problems, what our society is facing as far as the nutritional balance is considered, so that we can have the complete food, specially for the communities in the social system.

But it is being influenced by the various factors like this. And there are certain systems that we come across, and while discussing about the concept of adoption of innovations. Now coming to the stages of adoption process. As I have already given you some idea about the stages. Coming to the first stage of adoption process. That is the awareness, wherein an user is becoming exposed to the idea or an innovation. So that’s what is the first stage. So when he feels that the idea has some potential. Then he moves to the second stage, wherein he starts developing some interest. And he starts collecting more and more amount of information regarding that idea. That’s what is the interest stage. During this particular stage he has numerous questions in his mind. And he starts collecting good amount of information. And he tries to find appropriate answers for the questions that are boiling in his mind, because he became aware of and now he has developed interest. And he is in the process of accepting that provided he gets satisfactory answers to the questions that he is having regarding that innovation.

So after collection of sufficient amount of information, he goes for evaluation of that. In case of evaluation, it is a just like a mental trial. Whether it is going to be beneficial for me or not. So that’s what is the evaluation trial, evaluation stage, wherein he keeps on asking the question to himself as well as his inner circles. And he tries to find out the answer. And after crossing this particular stage he moves on to the trial stage, wherein using the innovation on a limited basis. As far as this particular stage is considered, while discussing the concept of attributes of innovation, we had an attribute of innovation as a trialability, wherein the innovation should be used on a trial basis by the end-user before completely accepting that. And that is what is the stage that we are entered into. So on a limited basis he makes an attempt to understand that particular technology, by going it on a limited basis. So then looking into the results he is convinced about the potential of that innovation. So then he finally makes the decision of acceptance or rejection of a technology. So the acceptance or rejection of a technology or the innovation is based on the outcomes of his evaluation and the trial stage. So at that particular stage if they are successful, it means it is being accepted by the farmer, and we say that yes adoption has taken place. And if it is not successful. It is being rejected by the community or an individual. We say that it is not adopted.

So the cycle does not end here. So the moment we reject a particular practice. May be in this particular point of time. May be in the later stages there are possibilities of accepting that. And on the contrary just opposite of this may also happen. After acceptance may be in the subsequent years, he may not continue with the same practice because of various reasons regarding the performance of the practice or the technology. And that is how when he completes one cycle of acceptance or rejection. So again he enters into the stage of awareness, means he starts collecting the information. Then the cycle continues. Then coming to some of the deficiencies in the process of adoption, which says that all the adoption processes need not end with the adoption, may end with the rejection also. Obviously, but the adoption or acceptance of the innovation or a technology is a desired situation, because it is an outcome of various processes. And after completing all these processes we have come out with the innovation and the research and extension system is desirous of acceptance by the farming community or the end users, but they may reject it.

And another important deficiency is, the five steps what we mentioned. They may not go in a sequence, what it was discussed, because there are certain incidences, wherein may be after awareness and the interest stage, without entering into various other stages definitely he can go for acceptance of the technology. Or after awareness and interest stage. Or after trial stage he may reject the technology. So it may not go in a sequence what it is mentioned there. There might be certain changes or overlapping.

Then to conclude we can say that. Basically adoption is a mental process. Acceptance or rejection of a technology, whether it is perceived as very good by the scientific community. But the farmer may not continue with the same perception. So that is why we say that it is a mental process. To what extent that we can influence his mental processes, that depends on the success or failure of an extension professional. But in principle the process of adoption is a mental process. And there are some resistances for adoption. The reasons for that we have already discussed. And how to overcome these are the issues associated with the extension. So that depends on the innovation. That depends on the farming community. That depends on the channel what we are going to use, and the time lag to what extent that we can maintain. And the system norms are important factors in deciding the acceptance of the innovation.

This is in a nutshell about the process of adoption. In the next class we will be discussing about the Adopter Categories.

Thank You.