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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
By In Blog

PLAAS mourns the passing of activist icon and MPhil candidate, Constance Mogale (1971-2023)

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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
By In Featured

Working Paper: Global land deals: What has been done, what has changed, and what’s next?

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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
By In Blog

PLAAS welcomes African visiting professor back from the diaspora

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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
By In Agrarian Politics

PODCAST Ep 13: Climate politics, carbon offsets and green minerals

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Rural Women and Climate Justice: A call to action in EMS Faculty

Professor Ruth Hall and Professor Moenieba Isaacs, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) In a world gripped by the urgency of climate change, the voices of rural women often remain unheard. On August 23, 2023, we convened a public webinar hosted by our Economic and Management Sciences Faculty, bringing together a panel of experts to shed light on…
PLAAS
August 31, 2023
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The Land and its People

Recently I have had the opportunity to present my PLAAS Working Paper, entitled ‘The Land and Its People:  The South African Land Question’ at a series of seminars: once at PLAAS (the session was recorded — you can see a video of it here) and once at the Wits Independent Seminar in the Humanities at the Wits Institute for Social…
PLAAS
August 31, 2023
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ACADEMIC SEMINAR – Transforming Mexican Coffee Policies: A Closer Look at President López Obrador’s Impact

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s tenure as president of Mexico has marked a significant departure from past administrations, including in the context of the coffee industry. This was the topic of an academic seminar delivered on 22 August 2023 by Claudia Oviedo Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Hosted by the Institute of Poverty, Land and…
PLAAS
August 25, 2023
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PLAAS ACADEMIC SEMINAR – The Promised transformation: Mexican coffee policies during the administration of President Lopez Obrador

Abstract This thesis analyses Mexican coffee policies during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). It builds on approaches of state theories, agrarian political economy, and global value chain studies, and contributes to debates regarding the role of the state in small farmers’ livelihoods. The thesis is based on a case study analysing the implementation of rural policies…
PLAAS
August 11, 2023
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PLAAS ACADEMIC SEMINAR – The Land and its People: The South African ‘Land Question’ and the Post-Apartheid Political Order

Abstract Professor Andries du Toit will examine the disjuncture between the discourses of policy deliberation and contentious politics in debates about ‘the land question’ in South Africa. He will argue that the South African land debate as it unfolds in the public realm is best understood as a displaced discourse indirectly addressing the terms of political belonging and the nature…
PLAAS
July 26, 2023
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IASC Keynote: Taking Back the Commons: Decommodification, Deconcentration and Democratisation

Taking Back the Commons: Decommodification, Deconcentration, and Democratisation Ruth Hall and Moenieba Isaacs Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape South AfricaAbstract The battle is on for Africa’s commons, but not all is lost. Beyond the onslaught of corporate, elite and state-backed land and resource grabbing that is rampant across the continent, this talk…
PLAAS
June 29, 2023
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Digital tech in African agriculture

The digital revolution in global agriculture has begun and this includes digital tech in African agriculture. We now see the use of a variety of digital tools on the continent, such as drones, precision farming machinery, digital decision-making support tools, digital labor management tools or online food and agricultural input marketplaces. Even though the digital revolution is still at an…
PLAAS
June 7, 2023
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PLAAS PUBLIC LECTURE – Obstacles to women’s land rights and ways forward: Insights from India and beyond

Tuesday, 13 June 2023, 13h00 - 14h30 CAT Please join us for a public lecture by Professor Bina Agarwal from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester in the United Kingdom who will be talking about ‘Obstacles to women’s land rights and ways forward: Insights from India and beyond’. Abstract Globally, for many decades (sometimes even a century) rural women…
PLAAS
June 1, 2023
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PLAAS Concludes Pan-African Online Course on the Political Economy of Land Governance

CAPE TOWN, 05 May 2023. The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) last week concluded another pan-African programme on the political economy of land governance, with 71 participants from 21 countries.   This short course is hosted by PLAAS at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in collaboration with the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC), and is an…
PLAAS
May 8, 2023
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PLAAS ACADEMIC SEMINAR – Algorithmic Plant Justice: Vegetal Beings, Gendered Relations, and the Governing of Precision Agriculture

Tuesday, 9 May 2023, 13h00 - 14h00 Please join us for an academic seminar by Associate Professor Laura Foster from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA who will be talking about ‘Algorithmic Plant Justice: Vegetal Beings, Gendered Relations, and the Governing of Precision Agriculture’. Abstract Precision agriculture or smart farming refers to the use of automated decision-making systems devoted to improving the…
PLAAS
May 4, 2023