Futures workshop challenges conventional thinking on agricultural research
Agricultural research institutions may need to rethink not only how they develop technologies, but also the assumptions, relationships, and systems that determine whose knowledge counts, how solutions are shaped
- CGIAR
- research
- Foresight
- Futures workshop
- food systems
- Agriculture
Cover Image: Former Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, CGIAR Executive Managing Director Dr Ismahane Elouafi and some Board Members deliberating during a break session.
Agricultural research institutions may need to rethink not only how they develop technologies, but also the assumptions, relationships, and systems that determine whose knowledge counts, how solutions are shaped, and what ultimately defines impact.
That was a central message that emerged from the CGIAR futures workshop, which brought together Board Members and the 12 Director Generals of CGIAR institutes to examine how agricultural research could evolve in the face of climate change, food-system vulnerabilities, and increasingly complex challenges confronting farmers and communities.
Facilitated by the UNESCO Chair on Future Studies Sohail Inayatullah, the workshop introduced participants to futures-thinking approaches designed to question assumptions about the future, explore alternative possibilities, and identify pathways towards a preferred future.
One of the key concepts explored was the idea of a “used future,” a future shaped by assumptions, practices, and institutional models inherited from the past and repeatedly carried forward, even when the conditions around them have changed.
Within agricultural research, the traditional Green Revolution model was discussed as an example of this kind of thinking: scientists generate technologies, research institutions transfer them through extension systems, and farmers are positioned largely as recipients expected to adopt the resulting innovations.