Anticipatory long-term research for sustainable productivity

Drawing on ideas advanced during the course of an international workshop, t his paper reviews agricultural research priorities in the dry areas of the developing world, where economic and demographic pressures are driving a ra pid intensification of production, even on very fragile lands. Current prio rities for research and research funding reflect a strongly felt need, amon g governments and donor agencies, for rapid problem-solving to relieve pove rty. In this context, traditional long-term agronomic research trials, with essentially strategic and basic objectives, are often seen as irrelevant. Yet the need to anticipate problems impending in environments where intensi fication is consuming the natural resource base and degrading the productio n potential is an urgent one. To accommodate this need to the perceptions o f the different stakeholders, a new research paradigm, 'Anticipatory Long-T erm Research for Sustainable Productivity', is proposed. It invokes a holis tic approach, building a longer view and greater dynamism into traditional agronomy, enhancing ties to socio-economic and resource management discipli nes, and reconciling the immediate demand for high-yielding technology with the strategic issues of sustainable production.