Pastoralists are experts in uncertainty. In a series of 3 blog posts, STEPS director Ian Scoones reports back from visits to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Isiolo (Northern Kenya) and the Tibetan plateau. The visits were carried out under the PASTRES (Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Resilience) project, which explores what can be learned from the ways…
How do pastoralists handle uncertainty? Insights from Asia, Europe and Africa
Japan book launches: Ian Scoones on sustainable rural livelihoods and the SDGs
This week, as part of book launches of the Japanese edition of “Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development”, STEPS Centre director Ian Scoones will be giving two talks in Japan. The talks explore the linkages between livelihoods and agrarian political economy and the links between a politically-informed sustainable livelihoods approach and the SDGs. Buy the book…
Ubuntu, collective seed: Bioleft project on the press
Two articles about Bioleft project and the first Bioleft seed, Ubuntu, were published last month on specialized n
n the press Bioleft project and
From common good to corporate ownership: The new strategy to modify the Seed Law
De bien común a propiedad corporativa: La nueva estrategia para modificar la Ley de Semillas By Maxi Goldschmidt Abstract This article reflects on the debate around the reform of Argentina’s Seed Law, and exposes the critical points of the project introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and entities of the field. The current seed law, which…
Open Source Seeds
Semillas con código abierto By Juan Manuel Repetto Abstract Currently, the seed industry has a high level of concentration and only three business groups control more than half of the global seed trade. Therefore, a team of lawyers, sociologists, economists and geneticists, seek to democratize the production of food and develop alternatives in Argentina that…
Multimedia story: #ERPI2018 – Authoritarian Populism & the Rural World
The event Authoritarian Populism and the Rural World, held in March in The Hague, generated a lively online discussion. We’ve compiled a multimedia story with selected tweets and images from the conference, as well as relevant links. You can also read a growing list of articles on the issues around the conference, including fresh pieces…
CfP: POLLEN18 – Political Ecologies, Authoritarian Populism and Emancipatory Politics
A call for panellists has been issued for a panel on ‘Political Ecologies, Authoritarian Populism and Emancipatory Politics’ at the POLLEN conference in Oslo, 20-22 June 2018. The panel is organised by Amber Huff, a STEPS member and resesarch fellow at the Institute of Development Studies. It is related to the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative launched…
Call for papers: International conference on authoritarian populism in the rural world
A call for abstracts has been issued for an international conference in March 2018, to explore the rise of ‘authoritarian populism’ in rural settings, as well as resistance and alternatives. The deadline for paper abstracts is 15 November. Collaborations between researchers and activists are especially encouraged, and the conference welcomes presentations in diverse media and…
STEPS presents research at Resilience and Transformations conferences
The STEPS Centre and our partners in the Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium will present new and emerging research at two major international conferences in August and September 2017. We will be taking part in the Resilience 2017 conference in Stockholm, Sweden on 20-23 August, and the Transformations conference in Dundee, UK on 30 August…
A Food Brexit: Time to get real
The UK is unprepared for the most complex ever change to its food system, which will be required before Brexit, according to a new briefing paper published by SPRU, titled ‘A Food Brexit: time to get real’ (PDF). The report is written by three leading food policy specialists. They are Professor Tim Lang (City, University…