4.2 Monodisciplinary versus interdisciplinary research
Experience has shown that particularly in agriculture the
greatest gains do not come from an improvement in a single
process, but from the interaction of suitable combination
of improved practices and that fragmented research efforts
often prove ineffective and costly. The enormous interaction
of factors within farming-systems makes applied agricultural
research especially suitable for a comprehensive approach
of several disciplines, in problem diagnosis as well as in
problem solving. Monodisciplinary solutions of practical problems
can easily prove to be impractical at the farm level. For
sure, not each and every problem requires an interdisciplinary
approach and often, after a joint diagnosis, individual sciences
have first to do homework, but afterwards an integration of
subject matter contribution is necessary, if laboratory research
is to be made applicable at farm level. In spite of this situation,
growing scientific knowledge leads to fragmentation and specialization
and over a long time has created almost insurmountable boundaries
between disciplines and departments. If a college of agriculture
wants to contribute to solving the problems of the farming
population, it has to find ways and means which make co-operation
between departments and subjects normal and not in need of
special arrangements.
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