There has long been a tendency among policy researchers in food and agriculture to view ministries of finance and agriculture as their main, if not only, constituencies. This paper argues that greater insight that links the outcomes of research to real policy problems and processes makes for better scientific inquiry. The author contends that policy research needs to recognize multiple constituencies from the onset of the research process. The benefits and implications for using this approach are highlighted. Finally, although multiple divergent perspectives rarely lead to convergent opinion, the author suggests that the benefits derived from this approach bring to bear multiple paths of relevant exploration otherwise left unexposed.
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