This thesis is the result of nine weeks fieldwork in Babati and Bukoba districts in Northern Tanzania during spring 2012. The purpose of this thesis is to study why development projects on fuel-efficient stoves have had a limited adoption in these two regions and what obstacles and opportunities there are for further spread of fuel-efficient cooking stoves. Semi-structured interviews were the main method used for collecting the empirical data, which was then analysed from a socio-economic perspective with help from the framework of Sustainable Rural Livelihoods. The Results showed that people’s perceptions of fuel-efficient stoves are positive but that projects face many obstacles connected to socio-economic conditions. Knowledge on how to get stoves and access to financial capital is main obstacles for further spreading. Social networks and organisations are channels for information, but to spread outside these networks will need complementing strategies from organisations promoting fuel-efficient stoves. Important are also finding ways of making the financial aspect of adopting stoves less, like using materials with lower costs, using stove-models with low costs and training people in building stoves so re-investments are unnecessary and dependency of funding from organisations less. Gender is a factor affecting the adoption of fuel-efficient stoves, regarding access to assets and generated benefits. There is therefore an importance of involving gender throughout the different stages of the projects.

The rush for land has escalated the last decade, with Sub-Saharan Africa as the most targeted region. Governments, local elites and foreign corporations are increasingly taking control over large areas of agricultural lands with the aim of creating higher financial returns and achieve food security. This phenomenon, known as land grabbing, has received a lot of attention worldwide, not least from non-governmental organizations and scholars stressing the negative impacts on rural farmers and families. Yet, several international organizations as well as many African governments keep advocating the positive effects that land grabbing can have on poverty reduction and economic growth. The dominating capitalist and neoliberal view on development, focusing largely on the economic part, undermines the social and environmental impacts that these investments bring. The purpose of this comparative study is therefore to examine, analyze and compare these impacts in Ghana and Ethiopia, two countries heavily affected by land grabbing. This is done through the lens of political ecology, where concepts such as environmental justice, accumulation by dispossession and sustainable rural livelihoods will be of particular significance. Based on a systematic literature review, the results show that land grabbing projects, said to aim at stimulating economic and social development, have resulted in dispossessions, injustices and environmental conflicts wherein indigenous communities have been deeply affected. Their traditional livelihoods, based mainly on cultivation, fishing, gathering and hunting, have been threatened by several impacts from the land grabs. These include loss of land, declined access to resources, damaged ecosystems, deforestation and lack of alternative ways to maintain food security.

As environmental changes, including climate change, become more and more severe and affect every corner of the world, many people are forced to move from their homestead as the nearby environment that once was a safe place slowly becomes inhabitable. The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is one of the places in the world where environmental changes jeopardize rural livelihoods creating a trend of out-migration and urbanization. Through a Minor Field Study facilitated by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, this research was conducted in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, specifically the An Biên District in Kiên Giang province. The empirical base did, from an ethnographically inspired qualitative method, collect primary data by using observation, semi-structured interviews, a group discussion, as well as expert interviews with key informants. The research aimed at generating insights and knowledge about local perceptions by investigating environmental changes’ connection to migration and integrating the frameworks Drivers of Migration and the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods approach. It found both that the perceptions of environmental changes impact on livelihoods and its relation to migration as adaptation was different depending on the type of agricultural activities. It also found that environmental changes partly had or did not at all have a relationship with migration as adaptation, but rather the financial and social conditions together with natural capital as the size of land.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Agricultural Economics )) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Regardless of the strategies adopted globally and nationwide to fight food insecurity within communities, particularly in the rural context, poverty becomes a major constituent which translates to most rural households experiencing food insecurity shocks. Given the high unemployment rate in South Africa which triggers several household’s vulnerability to food insecurity, the country has diverse natural resources which include indigenous plants such as Indigenous Leafy Vegetables (ILVs), which can be used as food and for business purposes by its residents. Irrespective of the diversity of ILVs in South Africa, there is a significant decline in the production and consumption of ILVs particularly in rural areas where these vegetables are mostly available. In addition, production and consumption of ILVs may not only address food insecurity but these vegetables may benefit households through the income obtained from their sales. The income generated from sales of ILVs may therefore assist towards improving and sustaining rural livelihood needs. Given this background information, the study aimed at assessing ILV production for income generation and food security among rural households in the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) of South Africa. The study was conducted within the three district municipalities of the ECP which were selected because statistics report these districts to be the most affected areas by poverty within the province. These districts are OR Tambo District Municipality (ORTDM), Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM) and Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM). Multistage and proportional random sampling procedures were employed to select households which could participate in the study. Thus, 407 households within these three (3) districts municipalities were used for the purposes of the study. The study also included interviewing role players within the ILV production value chain, thus a snowball sampling procedure was used to select role players. Sixteen hawkers and three input suppliers were interviewed from the three district municipalities. In addition, from the 407 households that were interviewed, 260 households from the three district municipalities reported to be producers of ILVs. A structured questionnaire was therefore used to collect pertaining data allied in achieving the aim of the study. The collected data was captured using Excel 2016, after data cleaning, it was then exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Numerous analytical models were used from SPSS 25. For instance, to identify and describe socio-economic characteristics of households, to assess the most produced ILVs from the study areas and to identify role players within the ILV production value chain, descriptive statistics in a form of means, percentages, frequencies, and standard deviation was used. To determine factors which influence production of ILVs, a Binary Logistic Regression Model was used. A Multinomial Logistic Regression model was used to determine factors which influence different uses of ILVs by households and to determine factors influencing food security status among households. A gross margin analysis was used to estimate viability from each ILV produced, harvested and sold, while Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to measure food security status among households. Lastly, a correlation matrix was also used to determine the relationship between the role players and their functions among the ILV production value chain. Based on the results, the study therefore concluded that, from the three district municipalities used in the study, there are various ILVs growing naturally and produced. The production of ILVs from these municipalities is habituated by socio economic characteristics of households, wherein households use ILVs for various purposes which include these vegetables as source of food, medicine and livestock feed. The use of ILVs among households is influenced by socio-economic characteristics and seasonal availability of ILVs in ORTDM, while in ANDM and JGDM, the use of ILVs by households is conditioned by socio-economic characteristics of households, knowledge/ awareness related to nutrition and health benefits of ILVs and seasonal production of ILVs. Furthermore, this research concludes that, ILVs have a potential of diversifying diets and addressing food insecurity problems within rural parts of the three districts. Given the positive gross margins from the three districts, production and selling of ILVs has a potential to contribute to rural household income. Lastly, the study concludes that, the ILV production value chain system lacks governmental support in the form of institutional engagement since there is no evidence of extension officer support from these three district municipalities concerning ILVs production. To this end, the study recommends that, policy makers should further establish inclusion of ILVs in both farming and food systems. Also, government and related institutions which focus on sustainable rural development must intervene in promoting production of ILVs particularly within rural contexts since production of these vegetables may alleviate poverty through job creation, addressing food insecurity and income generation. Thus, a successful intervention of government and policy makers in ILV production would have a potential of translating to sustainable rural livelihoods / National Research Foundation (NRF)

PhDGEO / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences / See the attached abstract below