Major Publication Concludes a Multi-Year Project on Agricultural Commercialisation, Gender Equality and the Right to Food

11 October 2022

The publication of the book Agricultural Commercialisation, Gender Equality and the Right to Food. Insights from Cambodia and Ghana is the culmination of a multi-year research project carried out by the Geneva Academy in partnership with the Gender Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, the University of Ghana, the Multiangles Centre and the Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia.

Edited by our Senior Research Fellow Dr Christophe Golay and by our Associate Research Fellow Dr Joanna Bourke Martignoni, the various chapters in the book analyse processes of agricultural commercialization and their impact on gender inequalities and the enjoyment of the human rights to food, land and social security in two countries, Cambodia and Ghana.

’Profoundly different in terms of their history and location, they provide the basis for fruitful comparisons because they both transitioned to democracy in the early 1990s, made agricultural development a priority, and adopted orthodox policies of commercialization to develop the sector‘ underlines Dr Bourke Martignoni.

Proposals to Advance Rights-Based Research on Food Security

Chapters illustrate how commercialization processes are gendered, highlighting distinctive gender, ethnic and class dynamics in rural Ghana and Cambodia and the different outcomes these generate. They also show the ways in which food cultures are changing and the often-problematic impact of these changes on the safety and quality of food.

Specific policies and legal norms are examined, with chapters addressing the development and implementation of frameworks on the right to food and land administration. Overall, the volume brings into relief multiple dimensions shaping the outcomes of processes of commercialization, including gender orders, food cultures, policy translation, national and sub-national policies, corporate investments and programmes, and formal and informal legal norms.

’In doing so, the book offers insight into these two case countries, but also provides proposals to advance rights-based research on food security‘ explains Dr Golay.

Online Launch

An online launch on Friday 14 October 2022 (13:00–14:00) will discuss the major themes covered in this edited volume, in the presence of the authors and Professor Emerita Carolyn Sachs from Penn State College.

Outputs from the Project

As well as this edited collection, the project has produced two short films, organised numerous policy dialogues at different levels of governance, developed four policy briefs, contributed to a Forum in the Journal of Peasant Studies as well as numerous other publications directed at policy makers, civil society, states, and international organisations.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Yemeni women live in the open after being displaced from their homes due to the war in Taiz News

New Publication Unpacks UN Human Rights Council's Potential Role in Preventing Climate-Induced Conflicts

29 January 2024

Our new Research Brief explores the potential role of the UN Human Rights Council as an actor in the prevention of climate-related conflicts, alongside other multilateral efforts within the UN system.

Read more

dry marshland southern Iraq News

New Paper Explores How Climate Change, Violations of Environmental Human Rights and Conflict Coalesce

27 March 2024

Our latest Research Brief discusses the varied ways that climate change, violations of environmental human rights and conflict can coalesce and work in a mutually reinforcing manner.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

2-20 September 2024

Participants in this training course, made of two modules, will examine the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights and the environment, familiarizing themselves with the respective implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Crops view from the sky Project

The Right to Food in Europe

Started in December 2022

This research will provide legal expertise to a variety of stakeholders on the implementation of the right to food, and on the right to food as a legal basis for just transformation toward sustainable food systems in Europe. It will also identify lessons learned from the 2023 recognition of the right to food in the Constitution of the Canton of Geneva.  

Read more

Madagascar, Miarinarivo district. Women transplanting rice. Project

The Rights of Peasants

Started in May 2008

After having provided academic support to the negotiation of the UN Declaration for ten years, this research project focuses on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Unpacking the Climate Migration Extremism Nexus Mapping the Coping Strategies of Kenyan Pastorialists

published on April 2024

Erica Harper, Yosuke Nagai

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Unpacking the Burgeoning Challenge of Environmental Protection and the Right to Food in the Context of Armed Conflict

published on April 2024

Erica Harper, Junli Lim

Read more