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What non-land-grant researchers can contribute to agricultural sustainability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

William Lockeretz
William Lockeretz
Affiliation:
Professor, School of Nutrition, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155.
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Abstract

Research on agricultural production has been largely the domain of an institutional system established especially for the purpose. However, the complexities and diverse character of agriculture require diversified modes of research. Such a strategy might be better pursued by a more diversified set of research institutions. Non-land-grant institutions, although lacking the land-grant system's strong experience in agriculture and its close ties with farmers, potentially represent a large pool of scientific expertise in a broad range of fields relevant to agriculture. Also, they are under different institutional constraints, and may be in a better position to do more speculative, long-range research that does not promise immediate practical benefits. Although such research has been criticized by people in the sustainable agriculture movement who believe that research should be more directed at farmers' current problems, a truly sustainable agriculture will require a deeper grasp of how agricultural systems work. Achieving this will demand a breadth of understanding that extends beyond the production-oriented studies that dominate current sustainable agriculture research programs.

Keywords

land-grant systemsustainable agricultureagricultural researchapplied researchon-farm research
Type
Selected Papers from the Conference on Science and Sustainability, Seattle, Washington, October 24–26, 1993
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 9 , Issue 1-2 , June 1994 , pp. 28 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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