How can we work together? Understanding the transdisciplinary approach in agricultural research in Colombia

Transdisciplinarity as a research approach goes beyond disciplines, also integrates knowledge, and aims to solve complex problems in and with society. In the pursuit to promote agricultural research for development, we discuss how a scientific community in the Colombian agricultural sector perceives the concept, importance, and use of transdisciplinary research. It is based on surveys organized in three lines: (1) culture toward practice transformation, (2) diverse and complex problems, and (3) integrating forms of knowledge, disciplines, and agents. These surveys were conducted with 200 researchers from 21 research centers from The Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA) in Colombia. We identified a relative lack of knowledge of the concept; however, it is considered strategic for research processes in the territories. There is a need to change the process management and organization to ease and promote the integration of territorial agents and the collective construction of knowledge, delivering comprehensive solutions to the country’s complex problems.