In Ethiopia the absence of effective linkage between research, extension and farmers has been identifiedrnlime and again as one of Ihe major problems Ihal hinder Ihe effecliveness of Ihe development ofrnagriculture in general and agricultural research and extension systems in particular. Considering such arnproblem, there had been various attempts both by extension and research organizations to devisernlinkages. Yel, the linkages remain as lVeak as the number of times solutions were sought to furtherrnstrengthen it. If this is the case, why is a problem of weak linkage between agricult ural research.rnextension and farmers persistent and pervasive in Ethiopia? What ways/mechanisms can be devised torncomplement agricultural research and extension activities with farmers' indigenolls know/edge andrnpraclices? These two queslions were Ihe focus of Ihe sludy in Dejen woreda of Ihe Amhara Region. Thernarea 'was selected due fo the fact that it has impressive and diverse sUiface landforms 'wh ere one expectsrna variely of indigenous knowledge syslems and praclice.rnThe study adopled a descriplive research design. The largel populalions for Ihe sludy were agriculluralrnresearchers, extension workers, and farmers . Out of the total 19 RKAs in the woreda, 6 were drawn asrnsample kebeles by using simple randolll sampling technique. From a tOlal of 7029 households in the sixrnRKAs, 60 households were selecled as a sample for Ihe slridy using proporlionale stralified samplingrntechnique. The data were collected from primary (questionnaire survey, observation, interview and foclisrngroup discussion) and secondmy (published and unpublished lIlaterials) sources. The collecled data werernanalysed llsing both quantitative and qualitative techniques.rnSome of the major bOlllenecks that hinder effective linkage between agricultural research, extension andrnfarmers include: limited input from farmers in selling priorities and formulating the research agenda;rnunder perceiving and disregarding indigenous knowledge systems, experiments and organizations;rntechnical deficiency of the extension service; large area coverage oj the research centre; complexity ofrnthe research environment and pressures from stakeholders; lack of accountable and responsible instituternfor Ihe linkage; idle and ineffective linkage mechanisms; lack of proper moniloring and evalualionrnsystems; resource constraints and weak administrative capacity; communication problems and thernexistence of blaming culture; motivation and commitment problems of the research and extension staff;rnlack of adequate and organized trainings for farmers and extension workers; lack oj genderrnmainstreaming in extension and research activities,' and shrinking and ji'agmented land holdingsrnThe policy implication of the study is thaI promoting indigenous knowledge in Ethiopia requiresrnal/iludinal, behavioral, and melhodological changes 10 give il a scienlific louch. The changing roles ofrnextension workers and researchers are therefore very important for a true partnership in research andrnextension with farmer innovators. Thus, institutionalizing and internalizing indigenous knowledge inlOrn(he existing research and extension systems should be the ultimate objective of all actors involved in thernagricultural development process in Ethiopia.