Why is it that droughts always seem to surprise, despite the warnings? The current El Niño drought is no exception…
Drought Politics in Southern Africa
Ian Scoones
Seeds for Africa’s Green Revolution: Can India Help?
Over the last year or so we have been doing some work exploring how the Indian seed sector might contribute to African agriculture, boosting productivity and assisting in particular smaller, poorer farmers.
Climate Negotiations Open in Paris: a Perspective from Southern Africa
Today COP 21 opens in Paris. Over two weeks a new climate deal will hopefully be agreed. It is a critical juncture for humanity.
Cotton in Crisis: the Limits to Liberalisation
The cotton industry in Zimbabwe is in crisis. World market prices have collapsed, and the liberalised contract system, where numerous companies compete with each other, is failing.
Land and Commercial Agriculture in Zimbabwe: New Findings
Over the last few years we have been studying the relationships between land, markets and employment in commercial agriculture Zimbabwe.
Africa’s Land Rush: Rural Livelihoods and Agrarian Change
There is a rush on for African farmland – a phenomenon unmatched since colonial times. Africa’s land rush, and the implications for rural livelihoods and agrarian change…
Sustainable Livelihoods: Taking Agrarian Political Economy Seriously
It appears in the ‘short books for big ideas’ agrarian and peasant studies series, and tries to offer a readable overview of the key debates, as well as suggesting important new directions.
The Political Economy of Small-Scale Mining in Zimbabwe
There was much discussion about small-scale and artisanal mining at the STEPS Centre’s Resource Politics conference last month.
Democracy in Africa: Why It’s Complicated
Nic Cheeseman has just produced a book called ‘Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures and the Struggle for Political Reform” with Cambridge University Press.
SDGs: Will they make a difference?
This week heads of state assemble in New York to launch the Sustainable Development Goals. The agreed text lays out 17 goals and 169 targets. It is an ambitious agenda for all of humanity.
