Analysing farming systems and rural livelihoods in a changing world: Vulnerability and Adaptation

This postgraduate course provides skills and methods for the analysis of (the dynamics of) farming systems as embedded in the complex livelihoods of rural people in Africa. Typically, these skills and methods integrate agro-ecological analyses with understandings of the social organization of agricultural production, and the differential ways in which the wider socio-economic environment impacts on farming systems (for instance, the importance of rural-urban linkages, socio-cultural orientations in rural livelihoods, farm investment patterns, labour allocations, etc.). Special attention will be given to the vulnerability of agricultural production, and aspects of food security in the face of global environmental, social and economic change. Tools for exploration of the adaptive capacity of rural livelihoods and their rural-urban connections will also be reviewed critically. This two-week interdisciplinary course is given on site in Zimbabwe. Case-study villages in rural areas of Zimbabwe will be visited to conduct participatory and system analytical research around livelihood pursuits of rural families, as well as their capacity to adapt to changes in markets, climatic and demographic dynamics.