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Paper short abstract:

Drawing on the ethnographic fieldwork of young people in Nepal and the insights gained from the relevant literature on Kerala (India) and Laos, this paper develops a better understanding of the interrelationships between young people, transnational mobility and rural development in the Global South.

Paper long abstract:

Transnational mobility from rural areas is rising, creating unprecedented socio-economic transformations in the Global South. In the new geography of mobility emerging within the global South, young people share the bulk of those reportedly leaving rural areas to build new futures outside farming and villages. However, scholars and policy makers are yet to adequately analyse the aspirations of young people, complex migration realities and outcomes, and their role in rural transformations. Drawing on the ethnographic fieldwork of young people in Nepal and the insights gained from the relevant literature on Kerala (India) and Laos, this paper develops a better understanding of the interrelationships between young people, transnational mobility and rural development. While a dominant narrative suggests that youth are no longer interested in land and farming, we find that some young people see their futures in rural areas and agriculture, given that young people are heterogeneous in terms of gender, economic status, caste/ethnicity, and thus possess different 'capacity to aspire'. In the most part, the emerging inclination of some young people towards rural areas and agriculture is linked to the failure of capitalist development and globalization in creating political conditions for decent employment, instead producing new forms of precarity and poverty.

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Paper short abstract:

Marginal crops are largely under-studied in socio-economic research. Yet, they could represent a pathway towards a more sustainable mode of farming, respecting the environment while also contributing to diets and income of local populations. Hence, their potential needs to be assessed.

Paper long abstract:

Economic research tends to focus on a reduced set of crops, leaving a vast array of crops under-researched. However, these 'marginal crops' have typically been farmed for centuries and are better suited for the local environment in which they are grown than crops prioritized within existing research. As such, they can contribute towards a less intensive and productivist mode of farming while at the same time help achieving important sustainable development goals. Our mixed-methods study conducted in Tanzania contributes to advancing knowledge of one such marginal crop, the Bambara nut. On the quantitative side, we surveyed 270 farmers across 16 villages in the Mtwara rural district to gather socio-economic and agricultural data. On the qualitative side, we ran focus groups in four villages to enquire about village norms and constraints surrounding the farming of Bambara. We show that Bambara is often seen as a vital crop for food consumption and food security, as it is easy to grow and has a strong nutritional content. However, despite selling at a high price, its market is not well developed due to lack of availability of improved seeds and unreliable marketing channels. We argue that developing the economic potential of indigenous crops constitutes a path towards greater agricultural sustainability as these crops are suited to local environments, need little chemical inputs, are drought resilient and extremely nutritious. Doing so would constitute a first step towards changing the existing and highly problematic agricultural paradigm and reducing farmers' dependency on input and output markets.

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Paper short abstract:

Despite the intended benefits of providing hedging against price volatility, application of financial derivatives of futures, forward and options in food price speculation are equally capable of driving up food prices beyond the reach of consumers, thereby threatening food security in the long run.

Paper long abstract:

Financial derivatives are being erroneously promoted as viable tools for ensuring food-price stability by mitigating against food price volatility especially in developing countries. Empirical evidence suggests quite the opposite. Our findings show that farmers in developing countries, majority of whom are small scale practitioners, are not able to fully harness the benefits of derivatives to mitigate against price volatility and ensure food security. This, in part, is due to the exorbitant cost of using derivatives, especially if the value of underlying assets is insignificant. This leaves the doors open for large scale commodity traders, to use futures and forward contracts to create large scale artificial demand for speculative purpose and in anticipation of arbitrageurs opportunity. This very act distorts basic economic fundamentals and drives up food prices well beyond the reach of average consumers, wrecking havoc and bank-made calamities across several countries.

This paper seeks to highlight the relationship that exists between food-price speculation and prices of food items. The paper also seeks to proffer solutions, which are capable of curbing application of derivatives to drive up food prices and guarantee food security for all. The prospect of applying this initiative to minimise food-related poverty by ensuring food security is not insignificant.