PROJECT ASSESSMENTS - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 131

3) Have your results been used, and if yes by whom, where and how?
The extended LISEM model is in use by many projects, and is made available
through the LISEM website.
4) What has been the benefit or impact (indicate evidence of impact, e.g., page hit
count)?
The project website got so far 1357 hits (May 2007), with last 10 visits from USA,
Germany, China and Finland.
F) Lessons learned
What lessons have you learned from science, policy-oriented and capacity building
activities that could improve:
1) Future research on Rural Development and Sustainable Agriculture
To develop optimal conservation measures, aiming at reducing soil, water and
nutrient losses, technical as well as socio-economic information is needed. By involv-
ing farmers and policymakers in the process of future land use planning, optimal
solution can be found.
2) The role of research in generating policy-relevant information in support of LNV
and other policy institutions
Research questions should closely be aligned to the priorities and interests of
policymakers. Research results can, if presented correctly, be a good reflection of
the impact of foreseen policy by policymakers. There must be a good interaction
between policy and research in planning studies.
3) Partnerships and development efforts in the South
The major benefit of this specific project is the exchange of knowledge, methodo-
logy and expertise between the different partners. This close cooperation stimulated
the input of each partner, reflecting in the scientific valuable results and the socio-
economic guidelines in how to achieve this result. Such cooperation between institutions
and organizations in target countries and European institutions, and Wageningen UR
in specific, is essential to come to a sound project result.
4) Interactions between research and decision makers, both in The Netherlands and
the South
As stated before, research results can, if presented correctly, be a good reflection of
the impact of foreseen policy by policymakers.