Paper short abstract:

STS can make important contributions to sustainable and inclusive agricultural development. We explore our scholarly position and potential contributions to different pragmatic research arenas such as crop breeding and socioeconomics, focused on smallholder farming in the Global South

Paper long abstract:

Science and technology studies can make important contributions to (re)imagine and (re)construct sustainable and inclusive agricultural development. In this session we explore what we perceive as our own scholarly position in and potential contributions to different pragmatic research of different disciplines: agronomy, crop breeding, economy and sociology scholars that focus on smallholder farming in the Global South. Inspired by STS studies, a core aspect of our work is the exploration of various research methods, reflecting of the different ‘realities’ they depict. Being in close contact with researchers from different disciplines, we reflect on the complexity of technology development, i.e. the construction of seeds and varieties, aiming at making these ‘realities’ visible and understandable to different audiences, and to strengthen counter-narratives. We will present studies in which we purposively used methods in relation to seed and variety questions. We furthermore draw inspirations from STS studies to better understand the research practices within these disciplines to explore their limitations and challenges while navigating genetic and social challenges. In our discussion we want to explore the opportunities of our positionality and the associated challenges of having impact.