This chapter described the inclusive review on appropriate technology (AT) and its significance in the agricultural sector as per the existing literature. It also explained the importance of AT in social-economic and sustainable development. Characteristics and categories of AT are also provided in this chapter. Thereupon, it focussed on use of AT and technological development in different sectors of developed and developing countries. It also pronounced the findings of previous studies that have examined the importance of technological development and AT in the agricultural sector as giving the significant focus on Indian agricultural sector. Lastly, it proposed a viable research direction to finalize the indicators of AT for further estimating the impact of AT in the agriculture sector of India and other developing countries.
TopIntroduction
Technology is an idea or knowledge which can be applied to discover or create new goods and services in manufacturing sector or other production activities (Singh et al., 2020b). Technology helps to increase productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of existing resources (Singh & Kumar, 2022). It is a systematic and practical knowledge that is based on experiments of scientific theory and it has practical implications in production activities. It enhances invention and innovation to produce innovative goods and services to satisfy the human needs and improve livelihood security. Technology includes the applications of science and knowledge to achieve commercial goals for manufacturing firms (Çaliskan, 2015). Technology simplifies a procedure and reduce the requirement of manual labours in production activities (e.g., food production, meat and milk production, protection of ecological and natural services, etc.) (Abdullahi et al., 2015). While, the science is the systematic knowledge to solve existing problems in scientific field and resolve various issues of society. Technology is also associated with industrial science, applied science and systematic knowledge of industrial field (Ananth & Karthikeyan, 2014).
Appropriate technology (AT) is a part of scientific field and innovation that maintain economic, social and environmental condition of resources (Musunuri, 2014; Ashraf & Singh, 2022; Singh et al., 2023a,b). AT is effective to increase technical skills, social and economic development (Bhattacharjya et al., 2019). AT comprises a new technology or idea or knowledge or knowledge-know-how which do not have a negative impact on economic, social and environment. AT is a small-scale technology which are discovered or invented to meet the basic requirement of community (Patnaik & Bhowmick, 2018). The scientific understanding of AT is begun in 1970, while that time it was centralized to discover and design different types of technologies to solve social and economic issues (Beder, 2000). It also reduces the negative impact of economic and production activities on environment (Moon & Hwang, 2018). AT, thus, meets the social and economic conditions of a specific geographical region, and improve environmental conditions.