Every time the subject of agricultural research comes up, a lot of talking mouths insist on heaping scorn and opprobrium on researchers or even just the concept of research. Certainly there remains a broad gap between research stations and poor farmers, but that does NOT imply that the researchers are clueless or negligent of those farmers. In fact, a certain amount of research is done in situ, on real farm plots in villages. If you're fair, you'll have to acknowledge that a lot of what farmers grow today started out on research farms, things like mosaic virus-resistant or low-toxin cassava, high-yield maize, and the common varieties of most food crops. It's unhelpful to simply denigrate science and scientists; the energy would be better used in bridging gaps between farmers and research - from both sides.
Every time the subject of agricultural research comes up, a lot of talking mouths insist on heaping scorn and opprobrium on researchers or even just the concept of research. Certainly there remains a broad gap between research stations and poor farmers, but that does NOT imply that the researchers are clueless or negligent of those farmers. In fact, a certain amount of research is done in situ, on real farm plots in villages. If you're fair, you'll have to acknowledge that a lot of what farmers grow today started out on research farms, things like mosaic virus-resistant or low-toxin cassava, high-yield maize, and the common varieties of most food crops. It's unhelpful to simply denigrate science and scientists; the energy would be better used in bridging gaps between farmers and research - from both sides.