Category: Development

On to the final part of my response–the role of science. Both comments advanced a view of science as the savior of poor African farmers. I beg to differ.

But let me first clarify. I’m not opposed to science. I understand that science has brought about important breakthroughs in agriculture. But I reject the view of science as a value-free zone that exists in a vacuum, separate from the rest of the world. Science is always for someone and for some purpose, to paraphrase Robert Cox.

Continue reading “On Science, Agriculture and Progress, Part 3”

In my last post I challenged the “ceteris paribus” thinking of the two critical comments. Here, I’d like to focus on the larger historical context.

Take the closing sentence of the second comment: “Enough is enough! Give African farmers the tools and knowledge they need to lift themselves out of poverty.” A noble sentiment, to be sure, but one that seems to leave out some important questions.

Continue reading “On Science, Agriculture and Progress, Part 2”

My recent post on the silences of the Sustainability Principles announced by the World Cocoa Foundation elicited two comments from some rather high-powered sources. First came a comment from someone at the Sustainable Tree Crops Program which is actively engaged in training cocoa farmers through its farmer field schools and which receives some of its funding from the WCF. This was followed by a comment from Jim Gockowski, who’s with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, a multinational/multidisciplinary organization promoting science as a means to reduce poverty and malnutrition around the world. I guess I ought to be gratified that my blog has caught the attention of folks at those levels. So here’s a reply.

Continue reading “On Science, Agriculture and Progress, Part 1”