This masterclass forms part of the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa lecture series, hosted by PLAAS.
Date: 16 October 2024
Time: 10:00 to 13:00 SAST
Venue: Zoom. Please register on this link: https://shorturl.at/YHKgs
Globally, food systems are changing with profound impacts on Africa, and how land is used and governed. Beyond the orthodox ideas about increasing productivity, this masterclass delves into the political economy of food systems and why they are changing, how this affects land rights and tenure, as well as the people who live on and work the land.
The relationship between food systems and land governance in Africa is intricate and has significant impact on agricultural production (including cattle, fishing, vegetable growing, and forestry products), food security and sovereignty, and socio-economic development. Effective management of food systems and land governance in Africa holds the key to resolving many of the continent’s challenges related to agriculture and food security and sovereignty. Addressing issues such as land tenure security, and promoting sustainable practices based on agroecological approaches can transform the agricultural landscape rapidly and sustainably.
Join us this World Food Day for a masterclass on the state of food systems in Africa and why land governance matters.
Professor Mamadou Goïta
Professor Goïta is a development socio-economist from Mali, a university teacher and researcher, and is a member of the eminent International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Research and Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD/Afrique), a ‘Think and Do Tank’ with scientific and academic status, and is a land specialist and a member of the regional coordinating committee of Coalition to Protect African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN).
He works on various issues and contributed to many economic, social and socio-economic studies, researches and evaluation processes in Africa and other continents. He drafted various public policies in Mali and contributed to other policy processes in other African countries. He teaches at different universities in Dakar (Senegal), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in addition to Mali. He’s been Course Director for “Natural resources management and Africa Development” at the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), as well as Governance Institute Director of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in 2014. He was a team member of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security project, “Investing in smallholder Agriculture” (2013) team member and contributes to the NELGA short course, “The Political Economy on Land Governance in Africa”.
Required reading
- FAO and INRAE. 2020. Enabling sustainable food systems: Innovators’ handbook.
- IPES-Food, 2023. Who’s Tipping the Scales? The growing influence of corporations on the governance of food systems, and how to counter it?
- IPES-Food & ETC Group, 2021. A Long Food Movement: Transforming Food Systems by 2045.
- IPES-Food, 2024. Land Squeeze: What is driving unprecedented pressures on global farmland and what can be done to achieve equitable access to land?
- IPES-Food, 2022. Another Perfect Storm?
