Scientists are researching how farming households’ aspirations affect their behaviour and the success of rural development strategies.
Mostly, researchers trying to understand how to improve the lot of farmers in developing countries have focused on the actual agricultural technology that is to be the latest saviour. Few have thought to ask farmers about their future hopes and desires, their aspirations. Would knowing what farmers envision for themselves, their families and their communities change how agricultural scientists design new ways of helping farmers? Kai Mausch of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and colleagues from Future Rural Africa, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and Bangor University have brought together researchers who think the answer is yes into a special issue of the