Emphasis on need for establishing practice of adoption of existing knowledge and use of problem-oriented research in developing countries.Marketing,

Long, Donald L.

English

Research Papers in Economics

Food Distribution Research for Developing Countries
Discussant
G5Z27Q
Emphasis on need for establishing
practice of adoption of existing
knowledge and use of problem-
oriented research in developing’
countries.
Dr. Donald L. Long
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Blacksburg, Virginia
l As I first read Dr. Kriesburg ’s paper
“Food Distribution Research In
Developing Countries”, I was delighted.
He had really fully explored the
subject in hand and presented a
comprehensive overview of it. With
subsequent readings, however, I became
less happy and decided that it was
simply an overview, that some important
questions were either not mentioned
at all or, if mentioned, treated in a
cursory manner. Some of these were--
How do we start? How do we establish
priorities? How much of the research
available elsewhere can we adapt and
how much will we have to conduct from
“scratch”?
Without pretending that my comments
are the final answer, I would like
to spend these few minutes looking
at two of these questions. Admittedly
the comments are based largely on
limited personal experiences and
observations but I believe they are
worth,y of consideration.
A. Priorities
Limited resources, both human and
other, would make me recommend a
micro-approach to research. At least
in the initial stages, much of the
efforts could be directed toward
adaptive rather than original research
As experience is gained, more complex
research could be undertaken. I
sincerely feel the returns to
investment would be far greater.
B. Orientation Organization
Again I would prefer a micro or
recognized problem approach. Too
often huge macro, industry or
nationwide studies are made without
proper consideration as to how the
results are to be used. The net
result is libraries, offices, and you
name it, filled with thick research
reports covered with a layer of dust
just as thick.
Micro or recognized problem research
invariably finds new and more complex
problems that need research. Again
they can be defined and approached so
that results are usable. It wouldn’t
be long before you get to the macro
projects. However, now you would be
generating data to solve oroblems,
rather than generating data.
In a rough way, I’ve tried to say that
research skills and resources,
especially in this area of food
distribution, are extremely limited in
developing countries. I’m convinced
that the greatest return from this
research would come by spending much of
the resources on analyzing and adapting
research done elsewhere and that
problem oriented, micro-level research
is the place to start. l
19

FOOD DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: DISCUSSANT

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