As an agronomist by training and with a PhD in plant science, Etienne Hainzelin has worked in a wide array of contexts and countries including long-term positions in the Ivory Coast, Réunion Island, Canada, Brazil and France. His first scientific works were centered mainly on corn and sugarcane but over time, he became interested in the links between the social sciences and agronomy, with a special focus on the interactions between social dynamics, governance models and global transformations in rural settings. At the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), Etienne Hainzelin has played an active role in recasting and redirecting the research issues and scientific strategies of some of the major French, European and international centres and institutes in this field; he has also helped design new methods of impact assessment for research on development.