Transcript South Africa and the Agricultural Development master

Interdisciplinary studies in relation
to Food Systems – methodological
issues and concerns
J. Magid , and Andreas de Neergaard
Plant and Soil Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Sciences; KVL
Key points
• The SLUSE Consortium
• Urban areas as ’Super Organisms’
• Agricultural production in a Rural – Urban
Gradient (Kwa Zulu Natal)
• Delienating Urban Agriculture as a Food
System?
Achievements (1998-2004):
The foundation for teaching inter-disciplinary environmental courses has been set up in the
three partner universities in Denmark and in the partner consortia in Malaysia, Thailand
and southern Africa (MUCED, TUCED and SACUDE SLUSE).
SLUSE joint research programs have been set up in Malaysia, Thailand and southern
Africa.
12 PhD students within SLUSE
In Denmark extensive course catalogues have been set up, and over 300 Danish students
have taken or currently attend SLUSE courses at the three universities.
In Malaysia 100 students have gone or are going through the M.Sc. training, and of these
about 70% were mid-career professionals.
The past 2 years have seen an intake of 50-60 students annually in SLUSE curricula in
Thailand.
In southern Africa HRD programmes and educational and research activities are now being
established in Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland.
www.sluse.dk
Capacity building and HRD
Scientists’ Fantasies?
Why this focus on interdisciplinarity
and on problem orientation ?
Framework for Research-Based Teaching
SLUSE adaptive model
Interdisciplinary
Research
- Staff
- Students
Thesis
Dissertation
-Graduate
students
Academic Knowledge
Academic
Curriculum
Teaching
Training
RESEARCH
KNOWLEDGE
Academic
Qualification/
Accreditation
Sustained Results of
Land Use Utilization
Reports/
Publications
Action Research
- Agencies
- Academics
- Communities
Applied Knowledge
Management
Policy/Frame
work
developed
SLUSE consortia
(Diagram (Diagram
developed
jointly byjointly
SLUSEbyconsortia
partners) partners)
Practical
Intervention/
Action Plans
The SLUSE model in action
Student field-course
Research
GA & NGO activities
Continued research &
development of activities
Study area, in this case a watershed,
where a number of related activities takes place
The importance of homegardens for household livelyhoods
Succes and failure of community projects
Land use and land distribution
The use and misuse of medicinal plants
From Liebig's book Agricultural Chemistry:
The introduction of water-closets into most parts of England results
in the loss annually of the materials capable of producing food for
three and a half million people; the greater part of the enormous
quantity of manure imported into England being regularly
conveyed to the sea by the rivers ...like a vampire it hangs upon the
breast of Europe, and even the world; sucking its life-blood.
Long-term trajectories for soil fertility
Century modelling of data from chronosequences in Zimbabwe
Harare 5E red clay
60
Commercial
Communal
-1
C (tC ha
Soil Total
(t ha-1))
50
40
30
20
10
0
20
40
60
80
100
years
Time Time,
(years)
Zingore, Manyame, Nyamugafata and Giller (2002)
Agricultural production along a
rural-urban gradient
Hammersdale
Madlangala
Umbululu
Madlangala
Umbululu
Hammersdale
Development housing?
Typologies of urban farming
Private gardens
“Squatter farming”
Community gardens
Key points
• Extractive urban areas are rapidly changing
the face of the earth (GEC)
• Food production (squatter / private /
communal / commercial) in urban and periurban areas is a livelyhood issue (700 mio.
people)
• Linkages to health (public and private)
issues are crucial
What are the drivers
• Why do the urbanites use the soil so intensively
(economics, health, livelyhoods) ?
• Does it make sense to study urban/peri-urban food
systems (squatter  commercial) ?
• Can urban areas be managed into becoming more
benign (less extractive) superorganisms?