Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

Discussion in this paper is limited to an area within 100 miles of Zaria in northern Nigeria. Although this area is considered generally representative of many other parts of northern Nigeria, it is considered necessary to focus on one specific area due to the basic premise underlying the paper, namely that administrative institutions should be attuned to the physical, technical, social and economic environment and therefore must be location-specific. The paper attempts to show that it is initially essential to understand the physical and human environment of an area. With this kind knowledge it is then possible to develop the technology relevant to the farmers' needs and to create administrative arrangements' which are effective in bringing about change. It has been suggested that the relationship between the type of technology and institutions required is close and that financial and manpower constraints may prevent complex institutional arrangements. In such cases a plea has been made for the development of intermediate-level recommendations which do not require high levels of institutional support.