Norman Uphoff

Norman Uphoff (born 1940) is an American social scientist now involved with agroecology serving as a Professor of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University.

After such results were attained for three consecutive years and were seen in other parts of Madagascar as well, Uphoff began trying to get agricultural specialists in other countries to use and evaluate the alternative SRI methods for themselves.

Governments in China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia, where two-thirds of the world's rice is produced, are now promoting SRI methods to raise paddy yields.

Cornell was given $15 million to work toward sustainable agricultural and rural development with colleagues in developing countries It was in connection with his duties as CIIFAD director that Dr. Uphoff learned about SRI in Madagascar in 1993 and was able to travel to many other countries to encourage other to learn about and evaluate SRI's agroecological methods, which have now been extended or extrapolated to other crops: wheat, finger millet, sugarcane, teff, green, red and black grams, and several vegetables.

Uphoff's approach has been to work from the ground up, seeking the input and participation of farmers in developing countries, while also communicating with the scientific community and with policymakers, civil society and the private sector.

As he states, “In part, because most agricultural scientists have been so skeptical, even dismissive of SRI, our work has usually begun with NGO's and the farmers they assist.