A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus
This paper investigates how research documented and framed the agroecology-food and nutrition security (FNS)-nexus in Africa. Our first objective is to reveal the links research in Africa has established between agroecology and FNS. Our literature review of empirical studies located in African count...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000447 |
| _version_ | 1811178502089605120 |
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| author | Chukwuma Ume Ernst-August Nuppenau Stephanie Eileen Domptail |
| author_facet | Chukwuma Ume Ernst-August Nuppenau Stephanie Eileen Domptail |
| author_sort | Chukwuma Ume |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper investigates how research documented and framed the agroecology-food and nutrition security (FNS)-nexus in Africa. Our first objective is to reveal the links research in Africa has established between agroecology and FNS. Our literature review of empirical studies located in African countries, published between 1996 and 2020, consolidates evidence that agroecology has contributed to food and nutrition security. Second, we question which pathways of influence of agroecology on FNS the selected papers chose to investigate. While neo-classical economics concentrates on production and on the level of embeddedness of the agricultural activity in the capitalist markets to solve the problem of FNS, feminist economics offers new perspectives by addressing both production and the reproduction processes necessary to support production. Our analysis of literature is structured around the feminist economics concepts of physical, household, and social reproduction, as well as agency. We show that activities of reproduction linked to agroecology at the level of households and territories are scarcely documented in the investigated papers, while the documentation of the contribution of agroecology to FNS via physical reproduction activities (e.g. soil fertility) dominates. We then propose a conceptual framework linking agroecology, reproduction activities, and FNS based and also illustrate the postulate that sustainable production practices such as agroecological practices are intrinsically linked to the social activities of farmers and cultural contexts in which farmers are embedded. Viewing agroecology both as a social and ecological process concomitantly will reveal numerous pathways between agroecology and food security and nutrition and agroecology's full value. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:20:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c4e395f9147456d844fa5f15f769a57 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2665-9727 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:20:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c4e395f9147456d844fa5f15f769a572022-12-22T04:40:36ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272022-12-0116100212A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexusChukwuma Ume0Ernst-August Nuppenau1Stephanie Eileen Domptail2Institute of Agricultural Policy and Market Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria; Corresponding author.Institute of Agricultural Policy and Market Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Policy and Market Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, GermanyThis paper investigates how research documented and framed the agroecology-food and nutrition security (FNS)-nexus in Africa. Our first objective is to reveal the links research in Africa has established between agroecology and FNS. Our literature review of empirical studies located in African countries, published between 1996 and 2020, consolidates evidence that agroecology has contributed to food and nutrition security. Second, we question which pathways of influence of agroecology on FNS the selected papers chose to investigate. While neo-classical economics concentrates on production and on the level of embeddedness of the agricultural activity in the capitalist markets to solve the problem of FNS, feminist economics offers new perspectives by addressing both production and the reproduction processes necessary to support production. Our analysis of literature is structured around the feminist economics concepts of physical, household, and social reproduction, as well as agency. We show that activities of reproduction linked to agroecology at the level of households and territories are scarcely documented in the investigated papers, while the documentation of the contribution of agroecology to FNS via physical reproduction activities (e.g. soil fertility) dominates. We then propose a conceptual framework linking agroecology, reproduction activities, and FNS based and also illustrate the postulate that sustainable production practices such as agroecological practices are intrinsically linked to the social activities of farmers and cultural contexts in which farmers are embedded. Viewing agroecology both as a social and ecological process concomitantly will reveal numerous pathways between agroecology and food security and nutrition and agroecology's full value.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000447AgroecologyPhysical reproductionSocial reproductionAgencySub-saharan africaSmallholder agriculture |
| spellingShingle | Chukwuma Ume Ernst-August Nuppenau Stephanie Eileen Domptail A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus Environmental and Sustainability Indicators Agroecology Physical reproduction Social reproduction Agency Sub-saharan africa Smallholder agriculture |
| title | A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus |
| title_full | A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus |
| title_fullStr | A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus |
| title_full_unstemmed | A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus |
| title_short | A feminist economics perspective on the agroecology-food and nutrition security nexus |
| title_sort | feminist economics perspective on the agroecology food and nutrition security nexus |
| topic | Agroecology Physical reproduction Social reproduction Agency Sub-saharan africa Smallholder agriculture |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000447 |
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