Indigenous Soil Characterisation and Farmer Participation in Northern Zambia: Implications for Research and Extension Delivery.

The theme is that the theoretical thinking in research and extension delivery needs to shift from traditional empiricism to 'agrarian popularism', respecting farmers' traditional knowledge. Specific examples from Zambia are used to explore the reasons why conventional research and extension systems have not been very successful. The main conclusion of the paper is that the mismatch between scientific models and farmers' dynamic realities can largely explain the current failure of research and extension mechanisms.