Who defines the research we want, and for whom? SACAU and AgriCord have published Research, differently, a report that takes this question as its starting point. It brings together the insights of a three-part webinar series the two organisations held in 2025 under the FORI programme.
The report's central argument is that farmer-led research is not mainly a different method. It is a different distribution of power over knowledge. Research is farmer-led only when farmers and their organisations shape what is researched, how it is researched and how the results are used. As SACAU CEO Ishmael Sunga put it during the series, farmers are too often treated as "invitees rather than agenda-setters."
Farmers Organisations Leading Research and Innovation on Agroecology for Sustainable Food Systems (FORI) runs from 2022 to 2026 and is financed by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). Managed and methodologically accompanied by AgriCord and its member agri-agencies, it supports thirteen action-research projects led by farmers' organisations at national and sub-national levels. PAFO and the regional farmers' organisations coordinate its advocacy, methodological support and knowledge sharing.
Key messages
- Farmers and their organisations co-define research priorities and actively shape the research process.
- Farmer-led research is scientific in its own right. It does not mean farmers work alone, nor does it sideline researchers.
- Consultation is not enough. Research is not farmer-led if farmers are left out of agenda-setting and decision-making.
- The biggest challenge is relational, not technical. Listening, trust-building, facilitation and conflict management matter most.
- Farmers' organisations are the backbone of co-research, acting as knowledge brokers, conveners, advocates and scaling mechanisms.
- Research systems need new measures of success beyond publications: relevance, adoption, empowerment and social change.
What must change
The report closes with recommendations for policies, institutions and funding. It calls for farmers' organisations to be treated as research and innovation actors in their own right, with direct access to research funding. FORI's experience shows that when farmers' organisations coordinate research and manage the budgets, accountability moves closer to farmers. The report also links farmer-led research to the renewed CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) and to African governments' commitment to allocate at least 10 percent of public expenditure to agriculture.
Three webinars, one question
Webinar 1Putting farmers in the lead
Keynotes by Stuart Oates, farmer and scholar, and Dr Fetien Abera, South Carolina State University. Moderated by Dr Eveline Sawadogo Compaoré, INERA.
Webinar 2Competencies and capacities
Keynote by Katja Vuori, AgriCord, with Damian Sulumo (MVIWAARUSHA), Dr Patrice Ndimanya (University of Burundi) and Dr Sarah Larsen (Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario). Moderated by Dr Hlami Ngwenya, University of the Free State.
Webinar 3Partnerships and power dynamics
Keynote by Dr Cargele Masso, ILRI, with Elizabeth Atangana (CNOP-CAM), Alessandro Meschinelli (IFAD), Dr Birgit Habermann and Leah Gichuki (ILRI). Moderated by Dr Eveline Sawadogo Compaoré, INERA.
The report is available to read and download below.