However a modified version of the Hagerstrand model was used when Johansen (1971) published an article on the diffusion of strip cropping in Southwestern Wisconsin. This article is mainly concerned with the diffusion of strip cropping is an idea rather than a physical piece of technology. This said though the idea would have originated from somewhere. In his study Johansen noted that the Hagerstrand model overlooked such factors as kinship ties, rural school districts, churches, trade centres and formal and informal social organizations. (671). In modernising the model Johansen incorporated the hierarchical effect by including the effects of the community where hierarchies are going to exist. The article is based around the diffusion idea, but it still talks about the adopters. Somewhere along the line these adopters will have had to taken the idea from somewhere, these being the diffusion agents. As this article is predominately concerned with the diffusion it can be seen to be possible to understand how an idea diffuses without looking at the supply, but you have to look a long way down the chain. It is not a proper understanding of the whole network because to understand it fully you need to know where the idea originated from.
Another approach is the hierarchical approach to diffusion. This was proposed by Hudson (1969-1972), Pederson (1970) and Berry (1972) (in Irish geography pp34). It proposes that different adopters are organised into different hierarchical levels with diffusion taking place on one level then proceeding to the next. This is relevant in a farming context because hierarchy could be formed on the basis of farm size, enterprise specialisation, demographic attributes of the farm household, management skills and motivation and access to credit. (irish geographer p 34). The initial stages of diffusion will take place amongst the largest farms with a few smaller ones taking on the technology due to the farmers being part of a geographically extensive network. Once the evidence has been created and the adoption of the technology has been accepted it will start to filter down to the next level of the hierarchy. At this stage the neighbourhood effect can also be included, especially if there is strong regional differences, as more farmers start to talk to each other about the new ideas. The idea will continue to diffuse until all levels of the hierarchy have adopted the idea. By the time it reaches the bottom level the top level of the hierarchy are probably already taking on newer technologies.
In 1975 Jones came up with eight ideas about how ideas were taken up. ( See fig 1). From the eight ideas it is possible too see that the key to the whole process is the information. Without is nothing is able to move and new ideas will not be spread. Therefore it can be seen that without the supply of the information the technology will not spread but without the demand for that information the supply will not be made.
Both of these approaches have not really mentioned much about the supply side of the system, the diffusion agents that start off the ideas. Without them there would be no technology for the farmers to accept. Hagerstrands neighbourhood effect or the hierarchical effect would not apply if there was no information to diffuse. They diffusion agents are the first stages of any technology, they are the ones who make the technology and create the market. The supply approach looks at the wider perspective looking at the political and economic constraints that farmer’s face, which in turn will influence who they are going to market the technology at. The agencies will be selective and aim their technology at people who they know are going to accept it. This can be linked into the hierarchical perspective because the agents are going to be going for farms/farmers at the top of the hierarchy. Theses are the people that they believe to have the money and the need to modernise.
So far it can be seen that there is a need to combine both the supply perspective and the demand perspective. An example of this is in a study carried out by Susanne Patel into the diffusion and innovation of Organic Farming. She found out that the innovators are the ones that rush in and are prepared to take a risk, they are then followed by the early adopters who have received the information due to there hierarchy in the community. The supply agents have specifically targeted them as potential innovators. Also linked into this is farm size, it was found that larger farms are the ones that take on the innovation. This was interesting because normally organic farming takes place on smaller farms, but is was concluded that due to innovation diffusion farm size must be increasing. This could be due to the fact that farmers who are unable to compete with the new innovations, or who cant afford to accept the innovations are simply getting out and selling to the larger farms. Organic farming is different however to other innovations a people primary concern for converting is of Environmental concern and not financial. This can be proved due to the
Another perspective that needs to be looked at is the dissadoption perspective. It has been described as the paracme of innovations (Barker 1996) The idea behind this is that once the new technology has diffused the diffusion agents will start marketing a new and more advanced technology. This will again be aimed at the early adopters of the last technology. This does not mean to say that the old technology is not spreading its just that at the top of the hierarchy the new technology is being adopted. Further down the hierarchy the farmers are buying the older technology perhaps from new or second hand. There could be a number of factors that mean the farmers did not take up the technology when it was new raging from economic factors o social factors. However the information for them would have been there but at the time it did not make economic sense for them to take the technology.
So far the only things that have been taken into consideration are the diffusion agents and the innovators. What also needs to be considered is the number of additional factors that may influence people decisions on adopting technology. These being in the past, world wars and more recently foot and mouth epidemic which will have a big impact on the diffusion of agriculture. During such epidemics farming will come to a standstill as demand for the products drops or there are no products to produce. During this time diffusion agents could be at a loss or at a gain. Farmers will not want to accept technology at this time but
By looking at the two perspectives separately it can be seen that one cannot operate without the other, both of them go hand in hand. When trying to look at the demand approach by itself you are always trying to find out where that demand came from. The same goes for the supply approach, in that you are always looking where the demand is. Therefore by combining the two approaches a realistic understanding can be achieved. Each approach looks at different factors and it is only by combining these factors that we get the whole picture.
Fig 1
1. Creation of Knowledge and practices in farming occurs largely outside farms. Very few farms are inventors of new technology.
2. There are a large number of communication channels that exist to inform farmers on these new ideas. E.g ADAS: Government advisory agent on new farming methods.
3. Individual farmers tend not to compete with one another. Farmers talking to one another is an important way of spreading information.
4. Any new ideas take time to spread through the farming community.
5. The Spread of information and ideas depends very much on the farmers. Not all farmers are the same. Some will search for new ideas whilst others resist. All farms are different.
6. The possibility of rejection should be part of any model. Farmers will reject as well as accept new ideas.
7. Courses of action open to farmers will depend on how much information they have and the quality of that information.
8. Any new innovation is surrounded by uncertainty. Those who are conservative will wait and see how the technology works whilst others will jump straight in.
