2. Introduction
• Innovation is an idea, practice or object that is
perceived as new by an individual or other unit
of adoption.
3. Attributes
• They the are qualities, characteristics or traits
possessed by an object
• An innovation has some qualities or
characteristics
• It is not the intrinsic quality
4. The perceived attributes of innovation
that are basic to extension are
1. Relative Advantage
2. Compatibility
3. Complexity
4. Trialability
5. Observability
6. Predictability
5. 3.Complexity
“It is the degree to which an innovation is
perceived as relatively difficult to understand
and use.”
• It is usually negatively viewed to its rate of
adoption.
6. • An innovation should be less complex for the
farmers to understand & use
• However, it may not deter its adoption,
provided it has more relative advantage.
• Example: HYV Crops, composite fish culture
etc
7. • Complex technologies often require
complementary adoption.
• Example: adoption of HYV require adoption
of balanced nutrition practices, appropriate
protection technologies & better management
methods, to get the best results.
8. Trialability
• “it is the degree to which an innovation may be
experimented with in a limited basis”
• It is positively viewed to its rate of adoption.
9. • Example: new seeds & fertilizers
• Minikit demonstrations have helped in
spreading the cultivation of HYV
• Earlier adopters ≥ later adopters
10. Observability
• “it is the degree to which the results of an
innovation are visible to others
• The visible impact of an innovation facilitates
its diffusion in the social system
• Example: balanced fertilizers Vs. Nitrogen
fertilizers
11. Predictability
“ it is the degree of certainty of receiving
expected benefits from the adoption of
innovation”
• Subsistence farmers are often very cautious in
making adoption decision, & they will adopt
only those technologies which reach their
expectation level
12. Preventive innovations
“It is an idea that an individual adopts at one
point of time in order to lower the probability
that some future unwanted event will occur”
13. • These unwanted events might not have
happened even without the adoption of the
preventive innovation, so the benefits are not
clear cut
• Preventive innovations have slow rate of
adoption because difficulties in perceiving its
relative advantage
