Institutionalization of technology development is now a much more complex process than it was 30 years ago when the farming systems approach began to be popularized in low-income countries. The institutionalization of the approach occurred primarily in government-financed agricultural research systems that were almost wholly focused on technology development. During the last decade or so, structural adjustment programs and globalization of the world economy have had, and are continuing to have, a profound influence on many facets relating to technology development. These include its focus and the evaluation criteria used, the proliferation of funding sources and stakeholders, the need for those responsible for initiating, supporting and implementing technological research to be willing to be inclusive in terms of stakeholders, the need for empowerment/participation of the clients/beneficiaries in the whole research process, the blurring of the boundary between research and development, etc. Although many of these changes/trends are desirable, they tend to complicate issues relating to research management, design and implementation, and assessment, dissemination and adoption of the technologies that result. A brief overview of how these issues are dealt with presently, and, as a result, the challenges that need to be addressed, provide the main focus of this paper.