AGROECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EVALUATING AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT

In this paper we describe how biophysical data can be used, in conjunc tion with agroecological concepts and multimarket economic models, to systematically evaluate the effects of agricultural R&D in ways that i nform research priority setting and resource-allocation decisions. Agr oecological zones can be devised to help estimate the varying, site-sp ecific responses to new agricultural technologies and to evaluate the potential for research to spill over from one agroecological zone to a nother. The application of agroecological zonation procedures in an in ternational, agricultural-research context is given special attention, and we propose tailoring the zones to the R&D being evaluated. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.