s:1005:"%T Recognising local knowledge and giving farmers a voice in the policy development debate %A Joshi L %A Suyanto S W %A Catacutan D C %A van Noordwijk, M. %X One of the aspects of poverty as currently defined is the lack of voice or the lack of empowerment and the feeling of not being able to take events into one’s own hands. This aspect of poverty is difficult to quantify as yet, but it is an important element in the debate on the rural poor, deforestation and natural resource management. In this lecture note we will introduce: •methods to collect and appraise farmers’ ecological knowledge in a formal manner and analyse the way this knowledge and value system complements the more formalised science we have discussed in other Lecture Notes; •methods to get the views of local communities on the options they have and the constraints they face more explicitly represented, and •ways to get the farmer’s ‘voice’ heard in dialogues with local and national policymakers. ";