A selection of our projects is listed below. For more projects, browse our research themes. 

Commercialisation of Land and ‘Land Grabbing’

This project investigates the multiple pressures towards the commercialisation of land in Southern Africa – part of a phenomenon that has accelerated since the ‘food price crisis’ of 2007-2008. It provides grounded evidence on how deals are structured, how people respond to them, and the adequacy of existing land rights to protect local people. Read more >>

Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa

ISSD Africa works on the establishment of an African-embedded structure and network of experts, seed programs, and associated organizations in the public and private sectors. It is a pilot project running from 2014-2016. Read more >>

Land and Commercialisation in Africa (LACA)

This 3-year project looks at what the commercialisation of land and agriculture might mean for growth and poverty reduction in Africa, through case studies in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Read more >>

Malawi’s farm input subsidy programme

This project looks at the impacts and lessons from the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in Malawi, which aims to support farmers and boost the economy by subsidising seeds and fertilizers. It aims to draw wider lessons from Malawi to inform decisions about input subsidies programmes in other countries. Read more >>

Political Economy of Agricultural Processes in Africa

Debates on the state’s role in stimulating agricultural development should be linked to an assessment of its capacity and willingness to implement policies. The PEAPA project aims to develop, refine and illustrate a political economy framework for understanding the sorts of policies and investments for agricultural development that are “politically feasible” in different country contexts. Read more >>

Space, Markets & Employment in Agricultural Development

Agricultural development is key to food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, agriculture is only likely to contribute to sustainable and intensive growth if productivity gains on the ground are matched by growth in non-farm employment.

The Space, Markets and Employment in Agricultural Development project examines the connections between farm and non-farm activities in rural economies. We are focusing on markets, settlements and employment in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Read more >>

Zimbabwe’s Land Reform

Zimbabwe’s land reform since 2000 has been intensely controversial. Yet the debate about what happened, where and to who has too often been shallow and ill-informed, and not based on solid empirical evidence from the field. Based on on-going fieldwork, this website offers a range of material on what happened to people’s livelihoods after land reform. Read more >>