Promoting food security in rural Sub-Saharan Africa: The role of agricultural intensification, social security and results-oriented approaches
This research project aims to analyze how development cooperation can contribute to increase food security in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A major focus is on the role of sustainable agricultural intensification and social security considering the heterogeneity of the rural population in SSA and the special circumstances of fragile states. Furthermore, the project also explores how the results orientation of food security interventions can be improved. This research project is conducted by staff members of DIE's departments I, II, III, IV and V.
Project Lead:
Michael Brüntrup
Project Team:
Francesco Burchi
Sarah Holzapfel
Heiner Janus
Mockshell, Jonathan
Daniel Nowack
Benjamin Schraven
Christoph Strupat
Financing:
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Time frame:
2015 - 2017
/
completed
Project description
The DIE research project aims to analyze how development cooperation can contribute to increase food security in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Special emphasis is put on the role of sustainable agricultural intensification and social security to promote food security while recognizing that different approaches may be needed in fragile state contexts. It is explicitly acknowledged that the rural population is not homogeneous and has differentiated development potentials and support needs (rural worlds). In line with the aid effectiveness agenda, the project also explores how the results orientation of food security interventions can be improved. This research project is conducted by staff members of DIE's departments I, II, III, IV and V.
In carrying out its research the project’s researchers engage at the policy level (e.g. workshops, policy briefs), with development cooperation (accompanying research) as well as in academic debates (conferences, journals) while seeking to explore synergies by being active in all these spheres. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is closely linked to the ministry’s special initiative “One World, No Hunger”.
The project is divided in eight work packages:
- Conceptual framework: sustainable food security in rural Sub-Saharan Africa
This work package aims to develop an overarching conceptual model of sustainable food security in rural SSA. The model will describe relevant economic, social and environmental dimensions, typical rural sub-groups as well as interdependencies, synergies and tradeoffs between dimensions and interdependencies of actors with regards to food security (e.g. markets for food and employment, social networks). - Agricultural growth corridors within the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition
This work package deals with the controversies surrounding the impact of agricultural growth corridors. Amongst others, such corridors are discussed to be hijacked by and to attract large agro-industries and land acquisitions. This may have an adverse impact on land tenure, land and water quality, women, micro and small retailers and ultimately on food security. While this research focuses on the Nacala corridor in Mozambique, it also gathers lessons learned from the GMS East West Economic Corridor in South East Asia with the aim of providing recommendations on what an inclusive corridor development approach needs to consider. - Agro-ecological support of subsistence-oriented farms
This work package focuses on the agricultural support of subsistence oriented and smallholder farmers. Agro-ecological technologies often dominate these approaches, which many NGOs claim to be a counter model to agro-industrial value chain approaches. Main research questions are: Which technologies and measures are actually supported by NGOs and what are main challenges? Which population groups are addressed and to what degree? What are impacts on food security? How sustainable and ‘resilient’ is this agro-ecological support model? - Agricultural investments and finance in small-scale agriculture
This work package focuses on how investments in small-scale farms can be supported through agricultural finance. It specifically aims to find ways to fund smallholder farmers not (yet) well covered by formal and value chain finance. It will also analyze how other support measures, such as extension services, financial literacy training and social security products, can help such farmers become more credit-worthy and to take more risks. - Promoting irrigated agriculture
This work package deals with the role of public-private partnerships in irrigation and institutional challenges related to agricultural water management. Existing public-private partnerships for irrigation in SSA will be reviewed and the conditions for their implementation assessed. It will also analyze how SSA countries with predominantly customary land tenure systems and modern water laws deal with challenges related to protecting user-rights and natural resources. - Social security systems, food security and long-term development
This work package focuses on the role of social protection schemes (cash/food transfers, insurance schemes) to enhance food security and promote rural development in SSA. It investigates the technical and political challenges in designing and implementing these policies in rural areas, the capacity of these policies to reach both short-term objectives (food and nutrition security) and long-run objectives (investment in agriculture, accumulation of assets), and their linkages with productive policies. - Fragility and its interaction with sector approaches to combating hunger
The main objective of this work package is to understand the macro-level drivers of success in improving food access and nutrition in fragile countries as well as the micro-level challenges that fragility poses to the design, implementation, and effectiveness of food security interventions (e.g., cash or food transfers). The package will also address the questions of how to best respond to short-term emergency situations threatening food security and whether food security interventions can be used as a tool to (re)build state legitimacy. - Results-based approaches and results-based management
This work package aims to elaborate recommendations on how to improve aid effectiveness by increasing the results orientation in agricultural and food security interventions. The opportunities and risks of results-based approaches, a relatively new cooperation instrument that links payments to pre-defined results, are analyzed. The package will also explore how traditional interventions can be improved by strengthening the focus on results in planning, monitoring and evaluation.
Publications
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Drought adaptation and resilience in developing countries
Brüntrup, Michael / Daniel Tsegai (2017)
Briefing Paper 23/2017 -
Results-based approaches in agriculture: what is the potential?
Janus, Heiner / Sarah Holzapfel (2016)
Discussion Paper 25/2016 -
Food security in the face of climate change: impossible without water
Herrfahrdt-Pähle, Elke / Waltina Scheumann (2016)
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 21 November 2016) -
Erweiterung des OECD-Modells der fünf ländlichen Welten für die sektorübergreifende armutsorientierte Analyse, Kommunikation und Planung
Brüntrup, Michael (2016)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 12/2016 -
Large-scale agricultural investments and smallholder welfare: a comparison of wage labor and outgrower channels in Tanzania
Herrmann, Raoul (2017)
in: World Development 90 (February), 294-310 -
Diversity and implications of food safety and quality standards in Thailand and India
Hampel-Milagrosa, Aimée / Sarah Holzapfel (2016)
Briefing Paper 17/2016 -
Revamping the OECD’s Five Rural Worlds model for poverty-oriented inter-sectoral analysis, communication and planning
Brüntrup, Michael (2016)
Briefing Paper 16/2016 -
Food security in sub-Saharan Africa: a fresh look on agricultural mechanisation; how adapted financial solutions can make a difference
Ströh de Martínez, Christiane / Marietta Feddersen / Anna Speicher (2016)
Studies 91 -
The impact of cash transfers on food security in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence, design and implementation
Burchi, Francesco / Christoph Strupat (2016)
Briefing Paper 15/2016 -
Addressing food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of cash transfers
Burchi, Francesco / Margherita Scarlato / Giorgio d’Agostino (2016)
Discussion Paper 17/2016 -
From protection to reduction? The impact of the public health insurance scheme on child labour in Ghana
Strupat, Christoph (2016)
Discussion Paper 16/2016 -
Come on, donors, be courageous!
Kreibaum, Merle (2016)
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 23 May 2016) -
Migration dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa – myths, facts and challenges
Schraven, Benjamin (2016)
in: Rural 21 50 (2), 27-29 -
Risks and opportunities of non-bank based financing for agriculture: the case of agricultural value chain financing
Zander, Rauno (2016)
Discussion Paper 7/2016 -
Policies and institutions for assuring pro-poor rural development and food security through bioenergy production: case studies on bush-to-energy and Jatropha in Namibia
Brüntrup, Michael / Katharina Becker / Martina Gaebler / Raoul Herrmann / Silja Ostermann / Jan Prothmann (2016)
Studies 90 -
Cherry picking the reasons for hunger?
Hampel-Milagrosa, Aimée / Michael Brüntrup (2016)
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 29 March 2016) -
Making retail modernisation in developing countries inclusive: a development policy perspective
Altenburg, Tilman / Elmar Kulke / Aimée Hampel-Milagrosa / Lisa Peterskovsky / Caroline Reeg (2016)
Discussion Paper 2/2016 -
Sustainable Development Goals: Pick and choose - or integration at last?
Heiner, Janus / Sarah Holzapfel (2016)
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 1 February 2016) -
“Climate refugees” in Europe? Climate-related migration affects developing countries in particular
Mathis, Okka Lou / Benjamin Schraven (2015)
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 10 December 2015) -
Beyond adaptation? The changing nature of seasonal migration in Northern Ghana in the context of climate change, agricultural decline and food insecurity
Schraven, Benjamin / Christina Rademacher-Schulz (2015)
in: Felicitas Hillmann / Marie Pahl / Birte Rafflenbeul / Harald Sterly (eds.), Environmental change, adaptation and migration: bringing in the region, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 267-282 -
Landwirtschaft als Motor des Wachstums in Subsahara-Afrika
Brüntrup, Michael / Christoph Kessler (2015)
in: Salua Nour / Ekkehard Münzing (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftsmacht Afrika: Wachstumspole, Potenziale und Perspektiven, Frankfurt a.M.: Lang, 81-120 -
Willkommen in der Welt der Korridore
Brüntrup, Michael (2015)
in: aw-Afrika Wirtschaft 4/2015, 24-26 -
Land ahoy! Appreciating the value of our common ground
Bauer, Steffen / Lindsay C. Stringer (2015)
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) (The Current Column of 14 September 2015) -
Large-scale agro-industrial investments and rural poverty: evidence from sugarcane in Malawi
Herrmann, Raoul / Ulrike Grote (2015)
in: Journal of African Economies 24 (5), 645-676 -
From food availability to nutritional capabilities: advancing food security analysis
Burchi, Francesco / Pasquale De Muro (2016)
in: Food Policy 60/2016, 10-19 -
Irrigation water management in Uzbekistan: analyzing the capacity of households to improve water use profitability
Saravanan, V.S. / Mehmood Ul-Hassan / Benjamin Schraven (2015)
in: John P. A. Lamers / Asia Khamzina / Inna Rudenko / Paul L. G. Vlek (eds.), Restructuring land allocation, water use and agricultural value chains, Bonn: Univ. Pr., 255-278 -
Erfahrungen und Perspektiven nachhaltiger Intensivierung der Landwirtschaft in subsaharischen Ländern
Brandt, Hartmut / Michael Brüntrup (2014)
Discussion Paper 30/2014 -
What can be expected from international frameworks to regulate large-scale land and water acquisitions in sub-Sahara Africa?
Brüntrup, Michael / Waltina Scheumann / Axel Berger / Lidija Christmann / Clara Brandi (2014)
in: Law and Development Review 7 (2), 433-471 -
Conservation, REDD+ and the struggle for land in Jambi, Indonesia
Hein, Jonas / Heiko Faust (2014)
in: Pacific Geograhies 41/2014, 20-25 -
Framework for participatory food security research in rural food value chains
Graef, Frieder / Stefan Sieber / Khamaldin Mutabazi / Folkard Asch / Hans Konrad Biesalski / Janet Bitegeko / Wolfgang Bokelmann / Michael Brüntrup / Ottfried Dietrich / Nickson Elly / Aanja Fasse / Jörn Germer / Ulrike Grote / Ludgar Herrmann / Raoul Her (2014)
in: Global Food Security 3 (1), 8–15 -
Is GlobalGAP certification sustainable? Evidence from Thailand
Holzapfel, Sarah / Meike Wollni (2014)
published on The Journal of Development Studies DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2013.874558 -
Innovative business models in the Thai horticultural sector: a panel data analysis of the impacts of global GAP certification
Holzapfel, Sarah / Meike Wollni (2014)
in: Ralph D. Christy / Carlos A. Da Silva (eds.), Innovative institutions, public policies and private strategies for agro-enterprise development, Singapore: World Scientific Publ., 25-60 -
Time matters: shifting seasonal migration in Northern Ghana in response to rainfall variability and food insecurity
Rademacher-Schulz, Christina / Benjamin Schraven / Edward Salifu Mahama (2014)
in: Climate and Development 6 (1), 46-52 -
Sustainability certification in the Indonesian palm oil sector: benefits and challenges for smallholders
Brandi, Clara / Tobias Cabani / Christoph Hosang / Sonja Schirmbeck / Lotte Westermann / Hannah Wiese (2013)
Studies 74 -
Regionalentwicklung durch die Produktion von Biokraftstoff?
Herrmann, Raoul / Michael Brüntrup (2013)
in: Ökologisches Wirtschaften 4/2013, 25-26 -
Peasant adaptation to environmental change and economic globalization in Northern Ghana
Laube, Wolfram / Benjamin Schraven / Martha Awo (2013)
in: Joseph Yaro (ed.), Rural development in Northern Ghana, New York: Nova Publ., 63-82 -
Whose education affects a child’s nutritional status? From parents’ to household’s education
Burchi, Francesco (2012)
in: Demographic Research 27 (23), 681-704 -
Post-colonial agricultural experiences in sub-Saharan Africa
Brandt, Hartmut / Michael Brüntrup (2012)
in: Christoph Eder, Diana Kyd-Rebenburg, Jakob Prammer (eds.), Global growing casebook: insights into African agriculture, 12-33 -
Wettbewerb um Agrarland und Wasserressourcen: was können globale Leitlinien ausrichten?
Brüntrup, Michael / Waltina Scheumann (2012)
in: Welttrends 85 (7/8), 106-115 -
Sustainability standards and certification: towards sustainable palm oil in Indonesia?
Brandi, Clara / Tobias Cabani / Christoph Hosang / Sonja Schirmbeck / Lotte Westermann / Hannah Wiese (2012)
Briefing Paper 9/2012 -
A human development and capability approach to food security: conceptual framework and informational basis
Burchi, Francesco / Pasquale De Muro (2012)
African Human Development Report on “Towards a Food Secure Future”, UNDP, Regional Bureau for Africa (Background Paper 2012/08) -
New institutional arrangements and standard adoption: evidence from small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers in Thailand
Kersting, Sarah / Meike Wollni (2012)
in: Food Policy 37 (4), 452-462 -
Smallholder adaptation to climate change: dynamics and limits in Northern Ghana
Laube, Wolfram / Benjamin Schraven / Martha Awo (2012)
in: Climatic Change 111 (3-4), 753-777 -
Agriculture is special: conclusions drawn from the death throes of the Doha round for a development-friendly agricultural trade policy
Brüntrup, Michael / Clara Brandi / Nikolai Fuchs (2011)
Briefing Paper 14/2011 -
Sonderrolle der Landwirtschaft : Einsichten aus der Agonie der Doha-Runde für eine entwicklungsfreundliche Agrarhandelspolitik
Brüntrup, Michael / Clara Brandi / Nikolai Fuchs (2011)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 13/2011 -
The role of food and nutrition system approaches in tackling hidden hunger
Burchi, Francesco / Emile Frison / Jessica Fanzo (2011)
in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 8 (2), 358-373 -
Democracy, institutions and famines in developing and emerging countries
Burchi, Francesco (2011)
in Canadian Journal of Development Studies 32 (1), 17-31 -
Agricultural policy processes, a challenge for Africa’s development
Brüntrup, Michael / Franz Heidhues (eds.) (2010)
Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 50 (1), Special Issue -
The comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Porgramme (CAADP): an assessment of a Pan-African attempt to revitalise agriculture
Brüntrup, Michael (2010)
in: Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 50 (1), Special Issue, 79-106 -
Child nutrition in Mozambique in 2003: the role of mother’s schooling and nutrition knowledge
Burchi, Francesco (2010)
in: Economics and Human Biology 8 (3), 331-345