October 3, 2012 / Land
The global financial crisis has given way to a rush for land. If people ever took the land they lived and worked on for granted, they can no longer afford to do so. Tracts of territory are being leased or
October 2, 2012 / Policy Processes
In a seminar at the Institute of Development Studies on 1 October, Dr Luka Biong Deng discussed South Sudan's uneasy relationship with oil and some ways to understand the country's future (audio and slides are below). The excitement of recent
September 28, 2012 / FAC blog
Speakers: Karen Brooks, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (CRP 2), IFPRI. Xinshen Diao, Deputy Director, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI. Jeff Hill, Bureau for Food Security, US Agency for International Development. Chaired by Ousmane Badiane,
September 28, 2012 / News
Our new lists of journal special issues and books by Future Agricultures researchers bring these resources together for the first time. In the collection, you will find downloads of free-access material, as well as links to paid-for publications. Some highlights
September 26, 2012 / Science, Technology and Innovation
The notion of the 'Livestock Revolution' is one of the most powerful ideas to emerge in the area of food, nutrition and agriculture in the last 10 years. It has been called a 'supply driven' revolution, in contrast to the
September 26, 2012 / FAC blog
This distinction between a supply (Green) and a demand (Livestock) driven agricultural revolution has often been repeated. It’s now inextricably linked to debates and discourse around the Livestock Revolution. However, to say that the Green Revolution was ‘supply driven’ is
September 21, 2012 / Documents de travail / Working Papers in French
FAC document de travail no. 41par Augustin Loada Le présent article porte sur l’économie politique de la filière coton au Burkina Faso. Si l’histoire du succès économique de cette filière est bien connue, il n’en va pas de même pour
September 21, 2012 / Policy Processes
The cotton industry in Burkina Faso is widely regarded as a success story. But little research has been done on the political economy of the industry.A working paper by Augustin Loada (in French) examines the key players, reform processes, and
August 31, 2012 / Policy Processes
This working paper examines how agricultural policy for the poor in eight African countries has been affected by the process of democratisation. For a number of reasons, the agriculture sector has been neglected by national governments and development agencies in
August 29, 2012 / Democratisation and the Political Economy
FAC Working Paper 43by Colin Poulton In theory, democratisation, which has proceeded unevenly across Africa during the past two decades, should encourage pro-poor agricultural policy, as the majority of voters in many countries remain rural and poor. This paper draws
August 29, 2012 / Working Papers
FAC Working Paper 43 by Colin Poulton Theories of policy neglect of, or discrimination against, agriculture in Africa include urban bias (Lipton 1977; Bates 1981) and the narrow self-interest of autonomous elites (van de Walle 2001). Whilst structural adjustment removed
August 24, 2012 / Young People & Agrifood
In these mini-interviews filmed at the Young People, Farming and Food conference in March 2012, researchers, advocates, young people and representatives from business talk about the problems with policies related to young people and the agri-food sector; and the differences
August 20, 2012 / Young People & Agrifood
The winners of the small grants competition for research into young people and agri-food have been announced. The grants programme was launched in May 2012 by Future Agricultures, to fund research and other work to pursue a research agenda following
August 17, 2012 / Land
The second international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ was held on 17-19 October 2012 at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA. This event is presented by the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) and the Cornell Department of Development Sociology.
August 10, 2012 / FAC blog
“The challenge is to avoid the fight against malnutrition being a compelling but periodic curiosity (think the Olympic cycling keirin event). The fight will be unglamorous, constant, and difficult – more like the training for the Olympics than the Games
August 8, 2012 / Gender & Social Difference
Christine Okali, FAC Gender and Social Difference theme convenor, will attend two forthcoming meetings on gender and agricultural research in October 2012. The first is an international seminar on 'Gender Relations and Women’s Agency in Rural Environment: What Has Changed,
August 8, 2012 / FAC blog
The sustainable development challenges we are facing, such as food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, and social inequalities, are all interlinked. They are problems of complexity and of equity – between countries, generations, social groups, between those with power and
August 8, 2012 / Young People & Agrifood
Our research on Young People and Agriculture was recently highlighted in a series of presentations by Future Agricultures researchers at the 10th International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy, organized by the Ethiopian Economics Association. The presentations below can be downloaded
August 8, 2012 / Pathways to Commercialisation
Over 30 agricultural development practitioners from four eastern African countries participated in a ‘Smallholder Café’ in Nairobi on 11 July 2012.The event was the second of three regional workshops, organised by Future Agricultures Consortium, and co-hosted by the Food, Agriculture
August 8, 2012 / FAC blog
There is a prevailing view that aid to agriculture has suffered a steep decline since the 1980s and is only now beginning to recover its share of total aid, following concerns over food price rises and volatility. While this is
July 9, 2012 / Pastoralism
This book gives a view of ‘development at the margins’ in the pastoral areas of the Horn of Africa. Edited by Andy Catley, Jeremy Lind and Ian Scoones, Pastoralism and Development In Africa highlights innovation and entrepreneurialism, cooperation, networking and
June 28, 2012 / Books
Once again, the Horn of Africa has been in the headlines. And once again the news has been bad: drought, famine, conflict, hunger, suffering and death. The finger of blame has been pointed in numerous directions: to the changing climate,
June 27, 2012 / Pathways to Commercialisation
In this series of five videos, Future Agricultures Consortium researchers talk about our work on Commercialisation. We are looking at how small farmers participate in markets, how policies and institutions can support them, through a series of case studies. These
June 27, 2012 / China and Brazil in African Agriculture
The findings of the seminar on South-South Co-operation in May 2012 are presented in an edition of Poverty in Focus, a regular publication of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. The edition, entitled The Role of South-South Cooperation in
June 27, 2012 / Co-operation in the Global South
The findings of the seminar on South-South Co-operation in May 2012 are presented in an edition of Poverty in Focus, a regular publication of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. The edition, entitled The Role of South-South Cooperation in
June 25, 2012 / Land
Future Agricultures researchers have contributed to an issue of the Journal of Peasant Studies on large land deals. 'The new enclosures' examines the implications of large-scale 'land grabs' for property, labour and rights. Estimates of the total area of large
June 20, 2012 / Young People & Agrifood
The REVA plan in Senegal aims to encourage young people to return to agriculture. Mohamadou Sall, Future Agricultures Consortium researcher, has led a study into the plan's impacts, which found that it has helped to change attitudes, introduce more modern
June 20, 2012 / Land
Large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural investment, popularly known as 'land grabbing', have recently attracted headline attention. But the implications of these land grabs for water resources have stayed out of the spotlight until now. A special issue of the journal
June 20, 2012 / News
As the Rio+20 conference begins, two blogs by Future Agricultures researchers reflect on ‘green agriculture’ for sustainable development - an agenda which seeks to address food insecurity in Africa and beyond. Joanes Atela unpacks the politics behind ‘green agriculture’ for
June 20, 2012 / FAC blog
Historically, changes in agricultural practices to meet rising demand include a shift to industrial production and the ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s. However, the reliance on large-scale monoculture dependent on mechanisation, irrigation and inputs like fertilisers and pesticides has had
June 20, 2012 / FAC blog
The FAO’s 2011 State of the World food security report shows that since 2006, the world has witnessed an increase in food insecurity. According to the report, one billion people worldwide – mainly Africans – are food-insecure. This worrying state
June 13, 2012 / Democratisation and the Political Economy
FAC Working Paper 42by Kassahun Berhanu The central argument in this paper is that, for the past two decades, state-led agricultural extension in Ethiopia, implemented by excluding other players in general and non-state actors in particular, has facilitated uncontested control
June 13, 2012 / Working Papers
FAC Working Paper 42 by Kassahun Berhanu The central argument in this paper is that, for the past two decades, state-led agricultural extension in Ethiopia, implemented by excluding other players in general and non-state actors in particular, has facilitated uncontested
June 13, 2012 / Working Papers
FAC Working Paper 40 by Brian Cooksey The Political Economy of Agricultural Policy in Africa (PEAPA) Programme examines the impact of political competition, patronage, and foreign aid on agricultural policy outcomes across a sample of eight African countries. This report
June 13, 2012 / Working Papers
Full title: The Political Economy of Agricultural Policy Processes in Malawi: A Case Study of the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme FAC Working Paper 39 by Blessings Chinsinga This paper examines the political economy of the agricultural policy processes in Malawi through
June 13, 2012 / Democratisation and the Political Economy
Full title: The Political Economy of Agricultural Policy Processes in Malawi: A Case Study of the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme FAC Working Paper 39by Blessings Chinsinga This paper examines the political economy of the agricultural policy processes in Malawi through the
June 1, 2012 / Pathways to Commercialisation
From our village studies in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania, five key overall results are emerging. These have led us to identify some emerging lessons for policy makers who have a role in promoting commercialisation in these countries.
June 1, 2012 / Pathways to Commercialisation
While small farmer development has been critical in African development in the past — for example, in the cases of cocoa farmers in southern Ghana in the late 19th Century, coffee smallholders in Kenya in the 1950s and 1960s, or
June 1, 2012 / China and Brazil in African Agriculture
Two new blog posts reflect on our recent seminar on cooperation between Brazil, China and Africa. Blessings Chinsinga writes about concerns about transplanting solutions from Brazil to Africa, and Qi Gubo considers the alternatives offered by an "adaptive cooperation" approach.
June 1, 2012 / Land
The 4th Critical Agrarian Studies Colloquium has taken place in The Hague, Netherlands. After a few years dominated by important reports on land grabbing from NGOs and the media, as well as initial scoping studies from some academics, the year
June 1, 2012 / Journal special issues
Water AlternativesVolume 5, Issue 2 Water Alternatives is a free-access journal. Recent large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural production (including biofuels), popularly known as ‘land grabbing’, have attracted headline attention. Water as both a target and driver of this phenomenon has
May 31, 2012 / FAC blog
Experiences from China and Brazil are also to be shared more with African countries as an alternative to standard bilateral cooperation. For example, following the success of its own food purchasing programme, Brazil will provide 2.37 million dollars for a
May 31, 2012 / FAC blog
There is no doubt that Africa’s agriculture requires immediate transformation, and on the basis of tested and proven technologies, expertise and experiences; but I doubt very much whether, in the light of some of the concerns raised at the conference,
May 28, 2012 / Working Papers
Full title: From Subsistence to Smallholder Commercial Farming in Malawi: A Case of NASFAM Commercialisation Initiatives FAC Working Paper 37 Ephraim W. Chirwa and Mirriam Matita This paper investigates the relationship between food security and commercialisation using data from a
May 28, 2012 / Journal special issues
Journal of Peasant StudiesIssue 39, Vol 3-4 This collection explores the complex dynamics of corporate land deals in a broad agrarian political economy perspective, with a special focus on the implications for property and labour regimes, labour processes and structures
May 25, 2012 / Supporting documents: South-South Co-operation
Short texts in English and Portuguese about the organising partners for the South-South Co-operation seminar in Brasilia, May 2012.
May 25, 2012 / Supporting documents: South-South Co-operation
Background and aims, guiding questions and panel details for Panel 3 at the South-South Co-operation seminar in Brasilia, May 2012. Panel 3: Brazil and China in Africa: similarities and differences in South-South exchanges
May 25, 2012 / Co-operation in the Global South
Below is a selection of slide presentations from the international seminar on South-South cooperation held in Brasilia on 17 May 2012. The full programme and descriptions of each panel session are also available. The presentations are embedded below. To view
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