U.S. land grant institutions currently follow? “top-down” model of research and extension in which farmers are the passive recipients of research results based on perceived needs which have been identified, prioritized, and investigated by scientists with little input from the end users. This exclusionary approach was designed to meet the needs of large scale, mono-cultural farming systems. However small scale, diversified, integrated systems are better served by a more participatory approach to research and extension in which farmers are actively involved as peers of researchers and extensionists in identifying research needs, designing and implementing experimental protocols, and delivering research results. This paper provides a brief outline of an alternative to the top-down approach termed “Farmers-First-and-Last”, developed and tested by Robert Chambers of the Institute of Developmental Studies, which has been effective in working with diversified farmers in developing countries.
