Collaborations between farmer organizatons, smallholder farmers, researchers and others

Summary

Farmer organizations can play a central role in conducting research on topics relevant to smallholder farmers, provided they find researchers who respect farmers and build on local knowledge, and partner farmers who are curious and open to innovations, who honestly share their true opinions and ideas with the partner scientists, and who support research activities. The FUMA Gaskiya project on productivity in women’s fields has much to teach us about Farmer Research Networks and their potential to generate relevant, applicable research, to engage farmers in creating new knowledge (even the more marginalized farmers), and ultimately to empower farmers and researchers to improve agro-ecological practices and rural livelihoods.