SLU news

SLU well represented at the Nordic Africa Days 2018

Published: 24 October 2018

During 20-21 September the Nordic Africa Days were held in Uppsala. The theme for the conference was African Mobilities – Reshaping narratives and practices of circulation and exchange, and SLU hosted three panels.

Livestock moving into cities – goods and bads in the rural-urban linkage

The panel was hosted by Sofia Boqvist, Carl-Johan Lagerkvist and Ulf Magnusson, Swedish University of agricultural sciences (SLU).

Background
Ten years ago the number of people in urban areas equaled the numbers in rural areas. Before we reach half-way through this century it is estimated that the urban population will be twice as large as the rural population. By 2050 Africa’s population will be double that of today with the number of individuals living in Africa’s urban areas expected to rise from 400 million in 2010 to 1.26 billion in 2050. Along with the fast urbanization, there is also a rapid growth in demand of more varied diets including animal source food, contributing to increased urban livestock keeping.

The panel focused on the livestock sector in urban environments and importance of food security and nutrition challenges in relation to livestock production was discussed.

– Livestock systems in Africa are dynamic and characterized by rapid change due to the increasing demand for livestock source food in response to human population growth, income growth and urbanization, said Sofia Boqvist when giving an introduction to the panel.

Urbanization, Livestock Systems and Food Security in Developing Countries

Dr. Assem Abu Hatab presented results based on peer-reviewed literature on livestock production and food security in urbanizing environments in developing countries. The aim was to characterize and synthesize the current understanding on these issues and identify priorities for future research.
The review reveal that there is limited knowledge about the interactions of urbanization with other drivers of change in livestock production and their impacts onto food and nutritional security.

– Special attention is clearly needed to issues of distribution, access and quality and utilization in LPSs, thus promoting an integrated course of action to deal with all dimensions of food security, says Dr Abu Hatab.

Urban livestock – contributor to livelihoods or a potential health hazard? The case of Cambodia

The study presented by PhD student Gunilla Ström Hallenberg was based on interviews with 204 households (family farms) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and information on household characteristics, disease awareness, manure management and livestock practices in the households were gathered.

Conclusions drawn from the study were that keeping livestock enables an important extra income and may hence contribute to improved livelihoods and food security for urban households. However, household practices applied among the farmers pose serious risks for zoonotic transmission and interventions are needed to develop sustainable urban livestock systems with special regard to manure and waste management if livestock keeping is to continue in urban areas in Cambodia.

Another presenter in the panel were Dr. Pius Nyambara, Department of Economic History, University of Zimbabwe, who talked about the City of Harare’s cattle project between 1960 and 2000.

Rethinking gendered mobilities and immobilities

This panel, organized by Dr. Johanna Bergman Lodin, was about revisiting the mobility concept by exploring its gendered meanings and power relations, and interrogating the multiple ways gender and mobility in rural and urban Africa intersect, including causes and effects of gendered mobilities and immobilities.

Rethinking gendered mobilities and immobilities: A conceptual framework

- Mobility is often treated as a clear and uncontested concept, but it is elusive! Power, agency, identity and subjectivity should be seen as constituted in mobility/immobility, says the presenter Dr. Johanna Bergman Lodin initially.

This should also be reflected in how we understand mobility. Building on the many important contributions by especially (feminist) geographers, the author frames mobility as being constituted of three interlinked dimensions: movement, access and ability and re-emphasize the need to understand mobility as the construction of possibilities for movement more so than actual traffic. This re-conceptualization allows theorization of mobility in a more gender-sensitive way that transcends simplistic assumptions such as that all forms of (women’s) movement are empowering and reflect agency.

-  To shed empirical light on the theoretical debate, I draw on research from Kenya and Nigeria, says Johanna Bergman Lodin. My is hope that the paper can inform both researchers and the theories of change of development practitioners.

Other presentations during the panel were:

Female immobilities: Care work and fragile social relations in Burkina FasoHelle Samuelsen, Associate Professor & Head of Dept. University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The city as her oyster? Rural-urban migrants in Addis
Elizabeth Dessie, Unit for Human Geography, Department of Economy and Society, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Engaging Africa Diaspora in Knowledge Transfer through Networking

Panel organisers: Linley Chiwona-Karltun, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU. Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD), Europe Division and Fred Asiegbu, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland. Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD), Europe Division.

Background
Collaboration, partnerships and networks can be powerful tools for bringing about change through the sharing of ideas, experience, knowledge and skills. In today’s society, one is inundated with information through various traditional and social media platforms using mobile phones, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and WhatsApp groups, networking is a fundamental component for being successful. According to studies in organizational behavior networking ability is not only important for career success — "networking is also crucial for getting things accomplished and making change inside organizations in both the public and private sector."

Third Culture Feminism: towards a paradigm of ambivalence, particularity and multiplicity
Authors: Linley Chiwona-Karltun, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden & Caroline Wamala Larsson, Stockholm University, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences/DSV, Sweden.

 There are levels and layers of third culture experiences. You interact with multiplicities and can be explained differently at a particular point in time.

• Always a Minority
• Always Particular
• Different multiplicities become Part & Parcel of you
• What does this Mean? You can
• Be Relatable or Totally UNRELATABLE
• To the extent necessary
• Code switch in languages and socially, in conversation to mark your rights and obligations

It is this navigation through these different worlds, and in your own communities that we find a third culture feminism requiring a deeper reflection and understanding of questions such as “who are you; where is home; are you an insider or an outsider”.

Other presentation during this double panel were:

Building Synergies for Sustainable Development Through Networking with African Diaspora: “Realities, Challenges and Prospects for sub-Saharan Countries” 
Authors: Nathan Kanuma Taremwa & Alfred R. Bizoza, University of Rwanda (UR), Rwanda.

Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Development (LEAD) for Youth across Africa.
Author: Ngolia Kimanzu, Salvation Army, Sweden: International Development.

Agroforestry as a tool for climate change mitigation
Author: Mohamed Elfadl, Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Next Leaders' Initiative for Sustainability
Author: Jovin Hurry, ​​NELIS (Next Leaders' Initiative for Sustainability). 

Potential of ICT To Facilitate Digital Learning, Profiling and Distant Education in an Emerging Countries
Author: Anthony-Claret Onwutalobi, Lahti University of Applied Science, Finland.

Transformatory power of biotechnology: The potential, prospects and challenges for competitive improvement of Africa's Bio-economy
Author: Fred Asiegbu, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.