Using Evidence-Based Agricultural Advice

Session: Agriculture Extension agents often need to respond to a wide range of questions from farmers and other stake holders. This session will discuss the importance of respecting locally-developed technologies, but verifying them with scientific research before promoting them widely. Methods will be described for accessing scientific literature, “grey” (unpublished) literature, and for generating an evidence base at the local program level.

Biographical information: Neil Rowe-Miller serves with ECHO E.Africa as a technical advisor to conservation agriculture projects funded by the Canadian Food Grains Bank in eastern Africa. His career spans 33 years working with small-scale farmers in the developing world as well as consulting for large-scale commercial grain farmers in the U.S. He spent 10 years as Executive Director of World Hunger Relief, Inc., a non-profit agriculture training farm in central Texas. Prof. Sieg Snapp is Assoc. Director, Center for Global Change, Michigan State University.