AN OVERVIEW OF THE HOLISTIC FARM MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS WITH EMPHASIS ON PAST U.S. FARM AND HOME PROGRAMS AND CURRENT FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Static economic theory views the production and consumption sides of the economic environment separately as two unique activities. The distinction between the business and home aspects in the case of farming arose in economic theory and principles of analysis, especially because static theory assumes perfect knowledge, perfect foresight and the absence of change in production techniques and consumption patterns, and overlooks their interrelationships and interdependence when farmers are viewed both as producers and consumers. A great number of personal values, wants, and desires are encountered on the production side of farming and a major part of management consists of appraising the subjective costs and values of performing the various managerial functions. On the other hand, a great deal of production is recognized to be occurring on the household side of farming. Therefore, it was then realized that the distinctions maintained between the business and home sides of farming were artificial and unrealistic. As a result the distinction between the firm and household became increasingly confused and less meaningful. This basic understanding of the basic nature of operation of farm households led to the development of holistic or comprehensive farm management research and extension activities in the middle part of this century. In the subsequent period, these programs and the holistic focus on firm-household interrelationships in farming were delegated a somewhat reduced role in the research and extension activities. Recently, however, there has been a growing interest among general and development economists in this concept of firm-household behavior, and the related research and extension programs. For the most part the development has ignored past and present emphasis on firm-household interrelationships in the traditional field of farm management. It is the intention of this paper to emphasize the importance of making use of the valuable research and extension knowledge gained in the U.S. through the development of the holistic farm and home programs and the need to incorporate these concepts and the learning experiences into the newly developing methodology of Farming Systems Research.