Making Trans-disciplinary Science Work for Resource-poor Farmers

The paper draws on three strands of experience: the authors ‟ involvement in a trans-disciplinary research project in Africa, their role as writers in the IAASTD, and their tenure as social scientists in agricultural universities. The paper reports major propositions and the conclusions that follow. Making trans-disciplinary science work for resource-poor farmers requires addressing issues at the global, regional, national and local levels. The impediments are largely institutional. A supply-driven approach to technology development has limited scope because of the small windows of opportunity that farmers face. A more demand-driven approach requires rethinking the global economic system and its premises. The authors draw conclusions for research institutes and universities, which seem to be neglecting their key mandate: dealing with the disruptive anthropogenic future and designing agricultural and food systems that take into account the multifunctional nature of farming. Farmer First remains a true entry point if farming is viewed not just as commodity production but ensuring (global) ecological services, including the sustainable and equitable generation of livelihoods. 167 1