Farming practices are determined by the environmental conditions at a farm site, the price structures at the markets, the knowledge and skills of the farmer, and by his resources. Farmers obtain the technical information from a wide range of sources such as other farmers, traders, extension workers, farmers' organisations, marketing organisations, etc. Since knowledge determines to a great extent what a farmer does or will adopt, it is important for those who try to promote new ideas, to understand the communication networks of farmers.
Knowledge and information on fish farming exists but before farmers can use it, they need access to it. It is therefore crucial to understand where farmers get information and how this is exchanged with others.
A typical line of information is the Research-Extension-Farmer channel. Farmers, however, receive information from many sources of which contact with the formal extension service is but one. Farmers are part of a network with links to many sources, which are in turn linked to others. Not all these linkages deliver the same kind of information nor have they a similar impact on the farmer's behaviour.
The main advantage of the extension service-farmer linkage is that the extension service has access to information from external sources, to which the majority of the other actors in the farmers network have no direct access. This opens the possibility for the farmer to receive information that they will never receive otherwise.
The main drawback of this linkage is that contacts are irregular and not always available at the time needed. This is even aggravated when fish farming extension is provided by a specialized service. The number of fish farmers is everywhere limited, and their locations are scattered. For a small specialized extension service it is therefore almost impossible to be in regular contact with all fish farmers. Even when the service contacts farmers, extension workers tend to plan their visits according to their own schedules. Most extension workers deliver technical messages without perceiving the knowledge of the farmer as worthy, or addressing the direct needs of the farmers. The extension service clearly controls this linkage, while the farmer has no or very limited control.
Farmers everywhere in the world have always relied on other farmers for new ideas, experiences, and technologies. The strength of this linkage is that other farmers are accessible, have regular contacts, share the same problems and ideas, and most information of other farmers is of direct relevance. As a result this dissemination and transfer between farmers has a far greater impact on the spread of selected technologies than either public or private organisation's dissemination.
Information exchanges especially well between farmers who are alike, friends, relatives, and farmers in a similar situation. The spread of knowledge is mostly horizontal. Information does not easily spread from, for instance, a commercial scale farmer to a small-scale farmer.
Information may spread quickly from farmer to farmer but, in the case of smallholder farmers, this channel has limited access to new information on innovations that are developed elsewhere.
Farmer to farmer extension is stimulated by farmer's participation in technology generation. This emphasises learning through experience and experimentation with solutions for real field problems. Training according to such principles implies facilitation of the learning process rather than instruction. It helps people develop self-respect, confidence and pride in their own knowledge and capacities. Increased confidence through experimentation creates an optimal atmosphere of sharing experiences, innovations and knowledge among farmers. Information that is received by farmers in rigid packages is much less likely to be spread through the channel of farmer to farmer then information that stimulates farmers to develop techniques themselves.
