Technology-focused literature on socio-technical transitions shares some of the complex systems sensibilities of social-ecological systems research. We contend that the sharing of lessons between these areas of study must attend…
The Politics of Social-ecological Resilience and Sustainable Socio-technical Transitions
Problemas de la regulación en semillas. El caso del algodón transgénico en el Chaco
Este artículo discute las regulaciones sobre algodón transgénico desde el punto de vista de las prácticas y las necesidades de los agricultores de menor tamaño de la provincia de Chaco,…
Regulatory harmonization and agricultural biotechnology in Argentina and China: Critical assessment of state-centered and decentered approaches
The international harmonization of technology-related regulations seeks certain norms across diverse contexts. Harmonization efforts are based primarily on the promulgation of state-centered command and control forms of regulation, though they…
Is international agricultural research a global public good? The case of rice biofortification
The status of international agricultural research as a global public good (GPG) has been widely accepted since the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. While the term was not…
Orphans or Siblings? Opportunities and Constraints in Alternative Dryland Staple Crops (maize briefing 5)
Sorghum, millet, cowpea, pigeon pea and green grams: these resilient plants once dominated smallholder farms in the drought-prone regions of Eastern Kenya. But in the last 50 years these ‘orphan…
Maize Security does not equal Food Security? Breaking the ‘Lock in’ to the Dominant Maize Pathway (maize briefing 4)
Maize is central to household food security for most Kenyans. As a result, policies that affect maize directly influence most Kenyan families’ access to food. Moreover, ‘maize politics’ is played…
The STEPS Pathways Approach (maize briefing 2)
The term ‘pathways’, in the STEPS project, is used to refer to the particular directions in which interacting social, technological and environmental systems co-evolve over time. A ‘pathways’ approach recognises…
New models of Technology Assessment for development
Technology assessment (TA) is a term for processes that collect, interpret and evaluate information and perspectives about different technological options, in order to inform investments, strategies or policies (see Figure…
Reforming water rights: dynamics, discourses and risks
The increasing recognition of water as a vital substance for which demand is spiralling has resulted in scarcity scenarios and tales of a ‘looming water crisis’ becoming staple fare for…
Test, test and test again: accumulating knowledge for vaccine development
Some vaccines are developed at lightning speed. Other, potentially useful, vaccines do not see the light of day. Understanding why this happens may help identify new policies aimed at a…