Abstract/Summary

Research bodies in development form part of the global knowledge system and comprise public, private, and civil society organizations operating at multiple levels. Research is considered to be a necessary condition for development and must deal with a wide range of economic, sociocultural, and environmental issues that confront all societies. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is an example of an international research system that paved the way for the intensive tillage‐based Green Revolution agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s. The current research trend is to seek participatory agro‐ecological solutions to meet agricultural development needs. “Conservation agriculture” and the “system of rice intensification” are two such solutions that are spreading internationally.