*Note: Please note that there are some complementarities between DEVP0026 and DEVP0013 

The fundamental premise for this module is that our perception of knowledge and reality is in part culturally, socially and ecologically determined and that applies to both urban and rural agricultural knowledge as well other knowledge systems. Knowledge systems, whether Oriental or Occidental, are generally based on observation, assumption, and interpretation of complex realities which include agricultural knowledge systems and practices.

The module will provide a critical examination of the historical evolution and the negative impact of industrial agriculture and its consequences for small holder urban and peri-urban food production and knowledge systems, particularly in the Global South.

The module will examine the close relationship between bio-cultural knowledge systems and Green Revolution-inspired interventions; community knowledge, ecological adaptation and societal resilience; women’s multiple roles in food and knowledge production; urban-peri-urban food production and urban land use policy and the role of social movements as well as the critical importance of participatory budgeting by the state/non-state actors in food production within the urban-peri-urban-context.

The module will have a “Global South’’ bias, but will at the same time draw comparative lessons from the “Global North’’ (i.e. the case of Southern Europe) where industrial agriculture is becoming less sustainable and alternative forms of food production systems and social organizations may be emerging within the urban-peri-urban-rural contexts.

The module aims to explore and understand new epistemic and practical connections between culturally-politically distinct knowledge systems within the urban-peri-urban and rural context, but with a particular focus on sustainable agricultural knowledge systems and communities. Programme topics will include:

Examining the multiplicity of agriculture related knowledge systems (both indigenous and exogenous) from the perspective of food and knowledge sovereignty, ecology, power, gender, race and class within the urban-peri-urban and rural context;
 Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) through a “Commons’’ and bio-cultural lens;
 Possible hybridization of knowledge systems;
 Analysis of the politics and ethics of international (state, non-state) intervention in the context of conflicting knowledge systems/world views;
 The symbiotic relationship between urban and rural agricultural knowledge and food systems throughout the food chain;
 The role of research and development financing (including participatory budgeting) in promoting and developing agro-ecological systems, which enhance biodiversity and food security for small holders (Please see report by Yves Cabannes: Contributions of Participatory Budgeting to climate change adaptation and mitigationhttps://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc792.pdf).
Delivery Methods:  Blended (combining online and face-to-face formats)

Module Leader: Zeremariam Fre.

Dr Zeremariam Fre is an Associate Professor (Teaching) and until recently the Programme Leader for Development Administration and Planning (DAP). Over the past 30 years, Dr.Fre has undertaken consultation for UNICEF, FAO, IFAD, EU, and a variety of other international think tanks and aid organisations. In 1989 he founded the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA)and has headed it for the last 27 years.In 2018 he was awarded the Desmond Tutu Fellow for Global Reconciliation (FGR)in recognition of his longstanding work supporting pastoral peoples, advocating for their rights to land and care of the natural resources that support them. His research and teaching stems from his work experience in development planning, dry land agriculture, land use policy, food security, urban and peri-urban agriculture, indigenous knowledge systems, and the role of women in food production and management. Dr.Fre’s recent publications (Roaming Africa: Migration, Resilience and Social Protection, 2019and Knowledge Sovereignty Among African Cattle Herders, 2018) demonstrate his continued interest in and commitment to pastoral peoples and the interconnectedness of climate, food, land, people, and policy.

Guest Lecturers: Professor Yves Cabannes and Professor John Wibberley