New papers explore heated debates in agronomy for development

Clouds over a field

A special issue of Experimental Agriculture, ‘Doing Development-Oriented Agronomy: Rethinking Methods, Concepts and Direction’ brings together a selection of papers that not only present agronomic research findings, but critically review orientations, methodologies and research practices in agronomy.

The special issue is edited by Jens Andersson and Ken Giller, who (along with STEPS members Jim Sumberg and John Thompson) organised the conference Contested Agronomy: Whose Agronomy Counts? at the Institute of Development Studies in 2016, which also resulted in the edited book Agronomy for Development: the Politics of Knowledge in Agricultural Research.

The new special issue forefronts the juggling with productivity enhancing, environmental and social developmental goals that characterize development-oriented agronomy – which takes place within a complex environment of (inter)national research and development policy organisations, development donor-funded projects, governmental, NGO and private sector agencies and global professional networks and (public–private) partnerships.

As a result, it is especially in development-oriented agronomy where the debate and contestations over goals and direction, research methodologies and findings of agronomic research are first likely to emerge and become apparent.

Browse the issue


List of papers


Related resources

Contested Agronomy: whose agronomy counts? (conference website)

Contested Agronomy: Agricultural Research in a Changing World (book)

Agronomy for Development: The Politics of Knowledge in Agricultural Research (book)

 

 

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