How to ensure successful knowledge exchange be-tween scientists and agricultural practitioners

Problem: Failure to generate meaningful and positive knowledge exchange between scientists and agricultural practitioners can be a setback to progress for both the agricultural and scientific industries. The lack of knowledge exchange can limit the uptake and upscaling of new innovations in farming, as designed, produced and supported through scientific research. Conversely, failure to exchange knowledge can inhibit the capacity of scientists to capture practical knowledge and valuable information from farmers.

Solution: To facilitate knowledge exchange between scientists and agricultural practitioners, cross-sector communication, both individually and in groups, is essential. It can be facilitated in a number of ways, including online webinars and workshops, open forums, consultations and in-person events (Figure 1). This contributes to effective and high-quality knowledge exchange between people that tend not to interact very often, while trying to fulfil the same goal.