Agricultural research has been very scattered and isolated; highly specialized but seldom collaborative. There is a need to look at the bigger picture instead of working in isolation in different disciplines.

Investments in agriculture have been focused very much on research in the past decades, as evidenced by the Green Revolution. New varieties, new technologies led to increased crop production, crop diversification, and so on. However, in the pursuit of greater efficiencies, invisible walls in agriculture have been set up – with or without us being conscious of it.

In Tuesday’s Parallel Session that tackled Capacity Development for Sustainable Agriculture, differing views and perspectives were presented on which is the priority for investments: research or extension.

It is worth noting that one of the most senior scientists in the session – Dr. R.P Singh – sees the need to invest more in extension and information dissemination systems rather than in…