The Response to Planned Change: a Study of the Rice Scheme in Chief Mwambo's Area (Lake Chilwa, Zomba, Malawi).

Abstract

stereotype that peasant farmers, be it in Malawi or else? where, are resistant to changes and that this is a result of their being conservative. Such statements, which in the Third world have become cliches, are often used by unsuccessful planners and initiators of various rural development schemes to transfer blame for failure from themselves to, in this case, farmers. Much of the failure of such schemes can be explained in terms of the planners' ignorance of conditions conducive to acceptance of the planned change. Our premise is that when these conditions for success are met partially or wholly the doubt on the 'universal'