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Framing and analyzing novel interventions for sustainable communities in Africa

Framing and analyzing novel interventions for sustainable communities in Africa

 

Improvements in the agricultural sector, including land intensification, are essential for poverty reduction in many places in Africa. An important question is whether to focus on increasing yields among subsistence farmers, or instead re-direct efforts to other labor and land use opportunities. Many areas that are marginal for staple crop production could be better-suited for other land uses and job- or wealth-creation activities, which would in turn have a stronger welfare- and health-enhancing effect among the rural poor. Such an argument has been put forward by proponents of so-called large-scale foreign land acquisition (LSFA)—also referred to as land grabs—in which large tracts of land are sold or leased to capital-rich farmers for intensive agriculture. Our project addresses this question through the lens of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, which captures the complex interactions between the major socio-ecological systems underpinning human welfare and health. We link this analysis to Foreign Aid Basic Income (FABI) as economic and socially sustainable options, which could prevent communities and states from accepting land grabs and encourage the development of sustainable communities. The focus on the intersection of WEF systems, LSFA and FABI will inform interventions that promote sustainability, poverty reduction, and food, health, and nutritional security of the rural poor. The project will further long-term collaboration between project investigators and African colleagues and stakeholders.

 


Organisers

 

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Neumärker

University of Freiburg
Department of Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory

Email: 

 

Prof. Dr. Michael Jacobson

Penn State University
Ecosystem Science and Management, Forest Resources

Email: mgj2@psu.edu