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SEMINAR: The green transition in Africa and beyond – a tale of extractivism, fossil capitalism, and green (neo)colonialism

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SEMINAR: Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya

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Apply: PhD scholarships: Digital Agrarian Futures project

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Call for applications 2026: New Thinking on Integrating Biodiversity and Social Justice short course

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Digital tech in African agriculture workshop report: livelihoods, climate change and food system transformation FeaturedFeatured PublicationNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Digital tech in African agriculture workshop report: livelihoods, climate change and food system transformation

Workshop report: 25-26 September 2023 The digital revolution in global agriculture has begun and this includes digital technology 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 labour management tools or online food and agricultural input marketplaces. Even though the digital…
PLAAS
May 27, 2024
Digital Tech in African Agriculture: The Case of German Actors FeaturedFeatured PublicationNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Digital Tech in African Agriculture: The Case of German Actors

WORKING PAPER #68 27-05-2024 Author: Luxen, V This study examines German actors involved in the digitalisation of agriculture in Africa. The main actors identified were Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, Agricultural Input Companies, Software and Big Data Companies, and Donors. These actors are characterised by extensive interactions, with commercial activities and development cooperation identified as central motives. The size of the actors…
PLAAS
May 27, 2024
Digital Technology in Zambian Agriculture: A Scoping Report FeaturedFeatured PublicationNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Digital Technology in Zambian Agriculture: A Scoping Report

WORKING PAPER #66 27-05-2024 Author: Nalwimba, N Digital technologies in agriculture have been identified as a game changer in agrifood systems (IFPRI, 2020).Policy makers, researchers and corporate interests make claims about how digital technologies in agriculture are significant in making farming more productive, efficient and sustainable. In Zambia, agriculture remains a critical sector to achieve the country’s development goals. FAO…
PLAAS
May 27, 2024
NELGA, PLAAS, and beyond: a partnership lesson in protecting communities FeaturedNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

NELGA, PLAAS, and beyond: a partnership lesson in protecting communities

Malany Meyer, a community-based activist who assisted PLAAS with research in her area, is from one of Cape Town’s largest and most impoverished townships, Lavender Hill. In 2021, Malany was evicted from her home by police and Red Ants, who broke down her and others’ structures while they were inside their homes. After the combative confrontation with eviction teams, Malany’s…
PLAAS
May 13, 2024
PLAAS Director Professor Andries du Toit moves to UWC’s School of Government FeaturedNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

PLAAS Director Professor Andries du Toit moves to UWC’s School of Government

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) bids farewell to its outgoing director, Professor Andries du Toit. Professor du Toit will continue his work at the University of the Western Cape at the School of Government, where he will contribute to teaching, research, and community engagement, specifically in the areas of poverty, citizenship, and democracy. Professor du Toit…
PLAAS
April 30, 2024
PLAAS mourns the passing of activist icon and MPhil candidate, Constance Mogale (1971-2023) BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

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

Tribute from her supervisor and friend, Professor Ruth Hall I first met Constance Galeo Mogale sometime in 2002, upstairs in the offices of the Landless Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA) in Braamfontein. Peter Jacobs (now at HSRC) and I had asked her for an interview, for a series of reports we were writing evaluating land reform. She was assured and…
jvandieman@plaas.org.za
January 25, 2024
Working Paper: Global land deals: What has been done, what has changed, and what’s next? FeaturedFeatured PublicationNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

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

WORKING PAPER #65 15-01-2024 Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) Working Paper By Wolford, W., White, B., Scoones, I. Hall, R., Edelman, M. and Borras, S.M.2 In 2010, the Land Deals Politics Initiative formed to study the rising number of large-scale land deals taking place around the world. As the so-called ‘global land grab’ took shape, we organised small grant competitions…
jvandieman@plaas.org.za
January 15, 2024
PLAAS welcomes African visiting professor back from the diaspora BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

PLAAS welcomes African visiting professor back from the diaspora

PLAAS welcomes African visiting professor back from the diaspora PLAAS is proud to announce that we are hosting Professor Thembela Kepe of the University of Toronto, who is also our former colleague, for six weeks on a prestigious African Diaspora Fellowship.  The fellowship is an initiative of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the…
jvandieman@plaas.org.za
December 7, 2023
PODCAST Ep 13: Climate politics, carbon offsets and green minerals Agrarian PoliticsFeaturedNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

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

What is the relationship between climate change and agrarian struggles? As world leaders, and fossil fuel lobbyists, convene for climate negotiations at COP28 (the Conference of the Parties) in Dubai, we talk with Kirtana Chandrasekaran from Friends of the Earth International (India/Scotland) and Emilinah Namaganda of Utrecht University (Uganda/Netherlands) about their work on the political economy of global climate responses.…
jvandieman@plaas.org.za
December 7, 2023
PODCAST Ep 12: China’s ‘Going Out’ Policy And Global Agrarian Change Agrarian PoliticsNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

PODCAST Ep 12: China’s ‘Going Out’ Policy And Global Agrarian Change

In this episode we continue our discussion with Yan Hariong, exploring China's 'Going Out policy.' Our guest delves into the intricate linkages between China and other developing countries, highlighting concerns regarding the rebalancing of global geopolitical power. With China's surplus capacity and its reliance on export markets for development, we witness a new geopolitical moment amidst the expansion of the…
PLAAS
December 7, 2023