“Negotiating `Expertise´”: biotechnology and agricultural development in Zimbabwe

Analyses of historical contestations over the meanings of “expertise” and its impact on agricultural development are presented. The paper illustrates the power struggle between competing groups to define expertise and to then use these experts to maintain their economic dominance. The paper also examines current and potential challenges to the political and material sustainability of biotechnology driven development programs given the increasingly contested nature of knowledge. The roles of research scientists, women´s organizations and extension agents in this struggle are emphasized