Rural and Agrarian Change, Property and Resources

The Rural and Agrarian Change, Property and Resources research cluster engages directly with the situations in rural Africa, today and over time. It addresses the major issues facing a majority of people in Africa: land, diversification of rural production and livelihood conditions. Topics of particular importance are land ownership and entitlements, land grabbing, natural resource management, livestock rearing, community forestry and environmental sustainability. The cluster’s research also pays attention to socio-religious aspects and rituals in the rural context. Other fields of study are gender relations and the consequences of globalisation. The aim is to advance the understanding of rural and agrarian change over time and its connections with the national and international spheres to lay the basis for realistic policies and strategies that enhance rural production and livelihoods.

Cluster leader: Kjell Havnevik

This research cluster involves the following programmes and projects:

• Large scale agro investments in Tanzania – impacts on smallholder land access and food security
  Researcher: Kjell Havnevik and Linda Engström
• Rainmaking and Climate Change in Tanzania: Traditions, Rituals and Globalisation
  Researcher: Terje Oestigaard
  
• To follow cattle or the sheikh? Socio-religious change among the pastoralists in Cameroon
  Researcher: Tea Virtanen