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- Convenors:
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Lucy Khofi
(University of Witwatersrand and University of Amsterdam)
Sandra Zaroufis (University of Amsterdam)
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- Chairs:
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Lucy Khofi
(University of Witwatersrand and University of Amsterdam)
Memory Reid (University of the Witwatersrand)
Sandra Zaroufis (University of Amsterdam)
Short Abstract:
We will delve deeper into the intricate cultural & social dynamics surrounding food precarities within the context of the water-energy-food nexus in urban areas. The panel will shed light on the critical need for sustainable interventions & strategies at the intersection of water, energy, and food.
Long Abstract:
This panel delves into the intricacies of food precarity within the water, energy, and food (WEF nexus) resource framework in urban and peri-urban areas. With interdependent relationships between these sectors, various trade-offs and linkages, such as the utilization of water for food production and energy generation, as well as the reciprocal use of energy for water and food, are recognized. Additionally, the accessibility, availability, and affordability of these resources are significantly influenced by multiple factors, including gender dynamics, racial disparities, socio-economic inequalities, land distribution patterns, historical legacies, and the impacts of apartheid.
Focusing on vulnerable communities in urban and peri-urban areas grappling with poverty, high unemployment rates, dual governance structures, rapid urbanization, and the far-reaching consequences of climate change, the panel aims to uncover the resilient spirit prevalent in these communities. It endeavors to explore the diverse localized interventions employed to address the challenges of food precarity at the grassroots level, aiming to pave the way for sustainable trajectories and resilient futures. By delving into the contextual realities of the WEF nexus at the local level, the panel seeks to shed light on the multifaceted strategies implemented to navigate and confront the intricacies of WEF resource precarity within the local context in urban and per-urban contexts.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 18 July, 2024, -Diana Denham (University of Oklahoma)
Paper short abstract:
We forge a convergent research paradigm that incorporates the values, knowledge, and priorities of Indigenous communities to address society’s most urgent problems in food and energy system sustainability.
Paper long abstract:
The deployment of renewable energy systems across vast landscapes across the world - expected to advance the transition from national reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy - brings with it questions of competing land uses, effects on soil and water systems, and implications for equity, justice, and Indigenous self-determination. Indigenous lands house considerable potential for renewable energy generation and are increasingly targeted in initiatives to transition countries away from fossil fuels. Yet top-down planning practices risk both violating the sovereignty of Indigenous nations and reproducing energy systems that mirror the monocropping, single land use mindset of large agribusiness. Our research contributes to the nascent body of research on the integration of solar energy into agricultural and other environmental systems by focusing on the co-design of integrated agroecological renewable systems to emphasize the multifaceted goals that may be achieved beyond or in synergy with crop and energy production that reflect additional goals of Indigenous communities. This project forges a convergent research paradigm that not only deeply integrates disciplinary modes of thinking from otherwise siloed fields, but also incorporates the values, knowledge, and priorities of Indigenous communities, thus confronting legacies of dispossession and demonstrating the potential of communities underrepresented in scientific research to contribute to research that can address society’s most urgent problems in both food system and energy system sustainability.
Sandra Obiri-Yeboah (University of Ghana)
Paper short abstract:
Both sudden and slow-onset climate events affect agricultural output. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most people live in rural communities and engage in rain-fed agriculture. Climate-related livelihood losses result in migration as a means to improve livelihood among the people in Wungu in Northern Ghana.
Paper long abstract:
Population movement during rapid and slow onset climate processes such as flooding and droughts is largely acknowledged. Both categories of climate events (slow onset and sudden onset) result in out-migration as one of the various adaptation strategies. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most people live in rural communities and are peasant farmers who depend directly on the natural environment for livelihoods. As such minor variations in the climatic conditions affect their livelihoods and income. To improve livelihood, migration becomes a viable option. This paper examines the effect of flooding and droughts on livelihoods in the Wungu community in Northern Ghana and migration as a way to ensure livelihood stability. The study employed qualitative data using in-depth interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). A total of 22 participants were purposively selected for the interviews and four FGDs (both male and female) were conducted. High temperatures and erratic rainfall were found to be changes in climatic conditions. The study found that yields and livelihoods were affected by flooding and or droughts. The study also found that some participants engaged in migration to other rural communities to engage in agricultural activities and also migrated to urban communities in search of other forms of livelihood. The study recommends the need for context-specific adaptation strategies to improve livelihoods in the home community. The study further recommends better opportunities and proper integration systems at the destination communities.
Linda Musariri (University of Witwatersrand)
Paper short abstract:
This paper presents the methods used to investigate the effectiveness of permaculture approach/’indigenous’ farming model to address food insecurity, promote women empowerment and enhance sustainable livelihoods in peri-urban Zimbabwe, through an intervention known as "mapfihwa".
Paper long abstract:
This paper presents the methods used to investigate the effectiveness of permaculture approach/’indigenous’ farming model to address food insecurity, promote women empowerment and enhance sustainable livelihoods in peri-urban Zimbabwe, through an intervention known as "mapfihwa". The study is being carried out in Kutama community from 2024-2026. The intervention targets vulnerable women in agriculture. A quasi-experiment is utilized to determine the effectiveness of permaculture by comparing the experiment group (using organic farming methods) and the control group (using conventional farming methods) over a period of 36 months. The paper hypothesizes that undertaking permaculture in urban setting where individuals already have other streams of income, may contribute to improved livelihoods in addition to food security and the overall well-being of both the individual and the environment. The following 4 parameters are being used to measure household livelihood enhancement through permaculture: yield per given area over a given period of time, income received from the produce per given area within a given period, asset base change and household social mobility. A comparison is done from the two groups. While qualitative data collection methods are used to capture micro-level dynamics of permaculture, concurrently, limited descriptive methods are being used to capture data involving measurable parameters such as time, average income earned and quantities such as yields per area. The expected result of these activities is a scalable and replicable community-based permaculture model appropriate for meeting the needs of vulnerable women and children in Zimbabwe.
Zikhona Ngqula (University of Cape Town)
Paper short abstract:
This article, using water infrastructures, explores how two local terms umama wekhaya and abuntu babelungu, in a rural village in South Africa, express local subjectivities created on the premise of an individual’s experience of water access and their associated roles.
Paper long abstract:
This article provides a window into the lives of the residents of Agnes Rest, a rural village in
the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Using water infrastructures, I explore how two
local terms umama wekhaya and abuntu babelungu, express local subjectivities created on the
premise of an individual’s experience of water access and their associated roles. I argue that
local subjectivities are important to consider when conceptualising “what is development?”
The grounded perceptions of Agnes Rest residents are shaped by the unique social categories
that are present in their community. Inevitably, they portray a story of inequality and uneven
distribution of municipal infrastructure in contemporary rural Eastern Cape. Drawing on Brian
Larkin’s definition of infrastructure, I analyse how points of water infrastructure are generative
sites of engagement that connect and differentiate people, construct social spaces and influence
local meanings of change and development.