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The Agrarian Politics podcast launches today.

Agrarian Politics is a podcast by and for researchers and activists committed to land and agrarian reforms, just and equitable food systems and progressive politics in Africa and the Global South. It is a platform to be shared. To generate a critical mass of knowledge and experience, the podcast will feature hosts and guests who will interpret research, demystify theory, foreground activism, and aim to inspire learning across diverse contexts in Africa and beyond. Building on existing networks, it will draw in kindred spirits, including the Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS), the Collective of Agrarian Scholar Activists of the South (CASAC) and the Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS), among others. For now, the podcast is based at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Episode 1: 25 years of land and agrarian studies in South Africa

A year after South Africa’s first democratic elections, a progressive research institute was created – the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) – with the express purpose of doing cutting-edge research to inform policy to dismantle apartheid in the rural areas, redistribute land and democratise governance. In this episode, we speak to Prof Ben Cousins, a leading thinker in agrarian studies and founding director of PLAAS, about the role of university-based research that connects with both government policy and with social movements.

Click below to listen.

This episode is presented by Prof Ruth Hall and PLAAS post-doctoral candidate Boaventura Monjane.

ruth hall boaventura monjane

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