News Archive

February 28, 2023

Joint Booklaunch: Future Rural Africa & University of Namibia

Windhoek, Namibia I TUE 28 February 2023    We are thrilled to announce the launch of two books based on research carried out in the Collaborative […]
February 27, 2023

Launch Event: Environmental and Climate Mobilities Network

Vienna, Austria I 10 – 12 July 2023   Registration: Click here   Launch Event Environmental and Climate Mobilities Network Climate mobilities and migration have for a […]
February 15, 2023

FEMALE RESEARCHER’S GRANT 2023: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Application Deadline: March, 30 2023   Applications are now open for the 2023 Future Rural Africa Female Researcher’s Grant. The aim of the grant is to […]
February 1, 2023

[Video] Prof. Javier Revilla Diez: The Growth Corridor Vision and its Realities – Insights for Development in Africa

In January 2023 Prof. Javier Revilla Díez (CRC Project C01) travelled to The London School of Economics and Political Science to present some of the results of the research […]
January 25, 2023

CRC-TRR Public Lecture: Katrin Böhning-Gaese

Mon | Feb 6, 2023 | 16:15 – 17:45  CET CRC-TRR 228 Future Rural Africa Public Lectures Series:   Katrin Böhning-Gaese (Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research […]
January 24, 2023

Pastoralism in Development: Free Online Course International Institute for Environment and Development

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Deadline for Registration: 2 February 2023 Start: 30 January 2023 (online)   Online Course – Pastoralism in Development:   […]
January 24, 2023

Publication: Supplying lead firms, intangible assets and power in global value chains: Explaining governance in the fertilizer chain

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December 22, 2022

[Video] Future Rural Africa at Berlin Science Week: the Future lies in Africa

To watch the full video click here.   Berlin Science Week is an annual science festival that brings together thousands of people from the worlds of […]
December 19, 2022

Call for Applications: Graduate School Geosciences

Application Deadline: 31 January 2023.   Do you want to join the CRC Future Rural Africa and contribute to research on infrastructure and ecosystem services?   […]
December 15, 2022

Future Rural Africa Researcher Dr. Hauke Vehrs Awarded Offermann-Hergarten-Prize

The book “Pokot Pastoralism: Environmental Change and Socio-Economic Transformation” by Dr. Hauke Vehrs (CRC Project A04), published in May 2022 in the CRC-TRR 228 series by James […]
December 13, 2022

Publication: What makes Tanzanian smallholder farmers satisfied with their life? It’s not farming!

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December 13, 2022

Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Position Future Carbon Storage (Project A01)

Postdoctoral Researcher Future Carbon Storage (A01) University of Potsdam   The position involves a University employment contract (TVL-E 13, 100%). The contract will be for a […]
December 6, 2022

CRC-TRR Public Lecture: Robert Marchant

Mon | Dec 12, 2022 | 16:15 – 17:45  CET Public Lectures Series:   Robert Marchant (University of York) Tracing the past, present and future evolution […]
December 2, 2022

Publication: Electrification and Devolution in Kenya – Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract While there is a broad literature on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG7), the positive impact of electrification on […]
October 27, 2022

Recipients Announced: “Future Rural Africa” Female Researchers Grant 2022

FEMALE RESEARCHER’S GRANT 2022 The CRC board for gender equality and diversity is pleased to announce the recipients of the two “Future Rural Africa Female Researcher’s […]
October 25, 2022

[DE] “Future Rural Africa” im Kölner Unimagazin: Wie Geothermie-Projekte ländliche Gegenden verändern

In der Ausgabe von Oktober 2022 berichtet das Kölner Universitätsmagazin über die Arbeit des Sonderforschungsbereiches (SFB-TRR 228) “Future Rural Africa” und insbesondere über das Projekt C02 “Energy […]
October 19, 2022

Why am I conducting field research in Iceland when I’m employed by the CRC-TRR 228 Future Rural Africa?

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October 18, 2022

Book Presentation: “Pokot Pastoralism: Environmental Change and Socio-Economic Transformation in North-West Kenya” by Dr. Hauke-Peter Vehrs

On Wednesday, October 12, the presentation of the book “Pokot Pastoralism: Environmental Change and Socio-Economic Transformation in North-West Kenya” took place at the Department of History, […]
October 12, 2022

Call for Papers: Africa under Construction – Critical Perspectives on Infrastructure and Labour. Special Issue in Territory, Politics, Governance (under review)

Abstract submission deadline: FR | NOV 04, 2022 |  Paper submission deadline: TUE | AUG 01, 2023 (preliminary)| Guest editors: Johannes Theodor Aalders, University of Bonn […]
October 11, 2022

Call for Applications: 3 Doctoral Researchers in Agricultural/ Development Economics

3 Doctoral Researchers in Agricultural/ Development Economics Two of the positions involve a University employment contract (TVL-E13, 65%), the third involves a University stipend contract. All […]
October 10, 2022

CRC-TRR Public Lecture: Endangered Futures? – Dr. Boniface Kiteme (CETRAD, Kenya)

Mon | Oct 17, 2022 | 16:15 – 17:45  CEST Public Lectures Series: Dr. Boniface Kiteme (CETRAD, Kenya) Endangered futures? – Land-use transformation and sustainability in […]
October 10, 2022

Invitation: BICC International Conference 2022

Tue | NOV 29, 2022 | 14:00 – 18:45  CET On 29 November 2022 the “Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies” (BICC) will hold its Annual […]
October 4, 2022

“Future Rural Africa” at Berlin Science Week 2022: The Future Lies in Africa

The Future Lies in Africa FR | NOV 04, 2022 | 11.30 – 13.00 BERLIN TIME   The future is a battlefield of hopes and fears, […]
September 29, 2022

European Society for Rural Sociology Congress: Crises and the Futures of Rural Areas (July 3-7, 2023. Rennes, France)

Crises and the futures of rural areas The past months and years have led us to questioning the nature of what we consider normal and what […]
September 27, 2022

Call for Papers: Infrastructure and Conflict in the Greater Horn of Africa

9:00am – 4:00pm, Thursday 27 October 2022, School of Humanities, United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya (virtual and in-person attendance)   Infrastructure development has experienced a […]
September 21, 2022

Rural livelihoods, community-based conservation, and human–wildlife conflict: Scope for synergies?

Abstract Halting biodiversity loss is a major contemporary challenge. Nature protection can help conserve biodiversity, but increasing wildlife numbers inside protected areas and shrinking habitats intensify […]
September 20, 2022

Riverboat Turned Science Centre: CRC Exhibit Voyages Through Germany

The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) “Future Rural Africa” is one of several exhibitors on the “MS Wissenschaft”, a floating science centre on a former transportation ship […]
September 15, 2022

Public Lecture Series UNAM, Windhoek (20-22 September 2022)

In light of the CRC Kick-Off event for the second funding phase, University of Namibia, University of Cologne and University of Bonn present this three day […]
September 13, 2022

Kick-Off 2nd Funding Phase & CRC Summer School 2022 Windhoek (19-23 September)

The kick-off event for the CRC’s second funding phase in Windhoek is around the corner. On Monday, 19 September 2022 participants from high ranking government institutions, […]
September 12, 2022

(Un)limited Possibilities: A Workshop on Gendered Safety and Positionality During Fieldwork

Workshop on safer fieldwork On August 22 and 23, the gender board organised the first workshop in the second phase: “(Un)Limited Possibilities? A workshop on gendered […]
September 5, 2022

Call for Applications:

Student/Scientific Research Assistant (8-10 hours per week) With a focus on the East and Southern African regions, Lanusyncon aims to integrate different disciplines, perspectives and actors […]
August 11, 2022

Spatially heterogeneous effects of collective action on environmental dependence in Namibia’s Zambezi region

Abstract Many poor rural households depend on products from non-cultivated environments for subsistence and commercialization. Collective action schemes, such as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), aim […]
August 11, 2022

Conservation with elephants and agriculture: effects on lignin and n-alkanes in sub-Sahara African soils

Abstract Nature conservation is currently shaping many terrestrial ecosystems in Africa. This is particularly evident in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where conservation is intended to recover wildlife […]
August 10, 2022

Upcoming workshop: Gendered safety and positionality during fieldwork

(UN)LIMITED POSSIBILITIES? A workshop on gendered safety and positionality during fieldwork with Tamara Gupper, Kira Kreft and Laura Thurmann (Safer Fieldwork Project). Details at a glance (also […]
June 23, 2022

29 June 2022: Lecture Working Group Development Geography

Vision of Future Development: Airports – Conservancies – Development Corridors.   How Does ‘Development’ Contribute to Future-Making in the Global South? Members of the development geography […]
June 8, 2022

Plantation Knowledge: An International Workshop

Plantation Knowledge: An International Workshop 15-17 June 2022. The fraught and complex legacies of the plantation—historically, environmentally, socially, politically, economically—currently occupy a center stage of interdisciplinary […]
June 7, 2022

Public Lecture: Contemporary Politics of Knowledge and African Initiatives in Decolonization of African Studies

As Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South at the University of Bayreuth and with over 100 publications in the fields of African history, African politics […]
June 1, 2022

Future-making and scalar politics in a resource frontier: Energy projects in northern Kenya

Abstract This contribution explores conflicts in the context of energy-related investments and infrastructure projects in Kenya’s arid and semiarid north. Over the past decade or so […]
May 24, 2022

CRC 228 Lecture Series Summer 2022

On 30th of May 2022, the next CRC228 lecture series presentation will take place. Prof. Dr. Matin Qaim (Director at the Center for Development Research) will present […]
May 16, 2022

Female Researcher’s Grants 2022: Call for Applications

This year, we are pleased to announce two Female Researcher’s Grants. The aim of the grants is to promote female researchers at all stages of their […]
April 13, 2022

COVID-19: Food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania

Abstract This study assesses the extent of COVID-19-related food insecurity in Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia. Using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, we measure food insecurity […]
April 11, 2022

Public Lecture Social & Cultural Anthropology

On 7th of April 2022, CRC228 researcher Michael Bollig gave a public lecture on the topic “Social and Cultural Anthropology – challenges and options for interdisciplinary […]
April 6, 2022

Virtual Booklaunch “African Futures” 22.04.2022

Join us for a virtual book launch event for an essay collection on “African Futures”, edited by Clemens Greiner, Steven van Wolputte and Michael Bollig published […]
April 1, 2022

Coercion and Dissent: Sleeping Sickness ‘Concentrations’ and Colonial Authority in Tanganyika

Abstract This article examines the means by which perceived threats of sleeping sickness epidemics were used to justify extensive population resettlement through the formation of ‘concentrations’ […]
April 1, 2022

Conservancies as local institutions for regional resilience in Zambezi, Namibia

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global production networks and challenged the re¬silience of regional economies to external shocks. The tourism sector was severely affected by […]
March 17, 2022
An abstract image of idea design.

We are hiring: Scientific Communication Officer (f/m/d)

The Collaborative Research Center 228 “Future Rural Africa” in collaboration with the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) of the University of Cologne, is recruiting a scientific […]
March 4, 2022

Postdoc-Programme For Female Researchers With Family Responsibilities (“Kopf frei”)

The new call for the female Postdoc-Programm “Kopf Frei” in the framework of the Female Professors Programme for the year 2022 is now published. Applications for […]
February 10, 2022

Power of Dissonance: Travelling Ideas & Local Realities – Community Conservation in Namibia’s Zambezi Region

Abstract Environmental conservation is presented as a success story in Namibia’s Zambezi Region where conservation measures have led to an enormous increase in many wildlife populations. […]
February 8, 2022

Agricultural Commercialisation & Asset Accumulation on Smallholder Farms in Ethiopia

Abstract The transition of farmers from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture is meant to reduce hunger, increase wellbeing and accelerate rural economic progress. While an impressive extant […]
January 12, 2022

Ecological shocks and non-cognitive skills: Evidence from Kenya

Abstract Non-cognitive skills such as locus of control (LOC) and self-efficacy have been theoretically shown to influence behavioural and economic decision-making. While this effect has been […]
January 10, 2022

An argument for place-based agricultural policies exemplified in Zambezi region, Namibia

This article outlines the importance of place-based policies derived from knowledge on local realities. Through an analysis of maize policies and their impact on the Zambezi […]
January 4, 2022

Estimating woody biomass aboveground in disturbance-prone ecosystems

Almost one-third of global drylands are open forests and savannas, which are typically shaped by frequent natural disturbances such as wildfire and herbivory. Studies on ecosystem […]
January 3, 2022

Pokot pastoralism

Environmental Change and Soci-Economic Transformation in North-West Kenya. In East Africa and beyond, pastoral groups find themselves and their livelihoods under increasing threat when dealing with […]
January 3, 2022

Control strategies of Parthenium hysterophorus L. on smallholder farms in Kenya

Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae) is an invasive alien weed with detrimental effects on agricultural production, biodiversity, human and animal health, threatening rural livelihoods in Asia and […]
January 3, 2022

Frontier NGOs: Conservancies, control, and violence in northern Kenya

During the last decades, the boundaries between humanitarian aid and development on the one side and security and physical force on the other side became increasingly […]
December 21, 2021

DAAD Doctoral scholarship for international students

The Graduate School of Geosciences (GSGS) at the University of Cologne in conjunction with the Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), is […]
December 20, 2021

We are hiring: Doctoral, post-doctoral & other vacancies

The Collaborative Research Center 228, Future Rural Africa Project, in conjunction with the Universities of Bonn and Cologne are recruiting for the following Doctoral, Post-Doctoral research […]
December 13, 2021

Kenyan-based senior researchers join CRC as Principle Investigators

‘Incorporating African scholars in the PI capacity at the CRC is reflective of the much-needed inclusivity and forward-thinking mindset required in academia today…,’ says Hellen Kamiri, […]
December 13, 2021

Broadened perspectives: The case of gender, diversity and inclusivity

The killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the aftermath it caused, were a global turning point concerning issues of systemic racial discrimination. This injustice not […]
December 13, 2021

Predicting the next pandemic: Land-use changes and infectious diseases

How does land-use change including road development point us towards the origins of a future pandemic? What insights would mapping land-use changes provide in tracking hotspots […]
November 30, 2021

University of Namibia’s Junior researchers contribute to CRC’s research agenda

In a pioneering model, the CRC-TRR 228, together with the German Development Bank (KfW) is funding research of junior researchers at the University of Namibia (UNAM), […]
November 25, 2021

CRC-TRR 228 Receives research funding for additional 4 years

Bonn, Germany, 25 November, 2021 The Collaborative Research Center (CRC-TRR 228), Future Rural Africa project has received the funding approval for an additional four years (2022 […]
November 10, 2021

Why the idea of ‘African time’ keeps on ticking

“African time” delivers more hits on internet searches than “African nature” or “African people”. This shows that people seem to need to feed a stereotype. As […]
November 3, 2021

Territorialising conservation: Community-based approaches in Kenya and Namibia

Community-based Conservation seeks to strike a balance between nature conservation and economic growth by establishing spatial and institutional settings that maintain and even regain biodiversity while […]
October 26, 2021

Upcoming workshop 18/11/21: Socioecological changes and conflicting visions

The wake of large infrastructural projects across Africa has opened up a vibrant debate on the consequent social, economic and political changes. Notably, market and resource […]
October 18, 2021

Online Lecture: Conceptual barriers in the current global sustainability discourse. Perspectives from African philosophy

You are cordially invited to join the online talk on “Conceptual barriers in the current global sustainability discourse. Perspectives from African philosophy”, given by Prof. Dr. Martin […]
October 18, 2021

The ethnicized politics of anticipation surrounding an infrastructure corridor

This work analyses the politics of anticipation and ensuing fears, tensions, and conflicts in relation to Kenya’s Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor which is to […]
September 28, 2021

Upcoming workshop: Unconscious bias in science

Science is a place of bright minds. What counts is qualification, performance, and the best argument. Of course, these aspects should be considered regardless of gender, […]
September 21, 2021

Land-use and Land-cover Changes in Pastoral Drylands

The ongoing fragmentation of pastoral drylands is a matter of concern throughout Africa. Using the example of rangelands in northern Baringo County, Kenya, that were under […]
September 10, 2021

Recipient award: Female researcher’s grant 2021

The gender board is pleased to announce that Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa has been chosen for the Female Researcher’s Grant 2021 with her research project “From subsistence […]
September 8, 2021

Research Roundtable Video: Rural Aspirations in Africa

Mismatched and Conflicting. How are Rural Aspirations Contested? Rural aspirations differ, conflict, and are in a constant state of change. While these features characterizing aspirations may […]
September 8, 2021

Conservation with elevated elephant densities

Nature conservation and restoration in terrestrial ecosystems is often focused on increasing the numbers of megafauna, expecting them to have positive impacts on ecological self-regulation processes […]
August 13, 2021

Religiosity and parental educational aspirations

Poor households make little investments in human capital, despite the potential benefits and are hence trapped in poverty. To overcome this poverty trap, households can invest […]
July 28, 2021

‘But We Cannot Do It All’: Investors’ Sustainability Tensions

Several studies have questioned investors’ adequate consideration of the three pillars of sustainable development in the construction of development projects in the Global South. Other studies […]
July 8, 2021

European Journal of Development Research Special Issue

Press Release | Aspirations matter: European Journal of Development Research Special Issue: ‘Rural aspirations in Africa – livelihood decisions and rural development trajectories’. Volume 33, issue […]
June 18, 2021

Off to sugar valley

Despite colonial echoes, settlement schemes represent a major element in ‘nation-building’ endeavours in Tanzania’s history. Their evolution through the 1960s was circuitous and haphazard. This article […]
June 18, 2021

Connected by water?

The dam allows me to have a good life, thank God”, says the Ethiopian smallholder. “I don’t have a house in town like rich people, but […]
June 12, 2021

You make the difference: Digital diversity week

The annual Diversity week from the Gender and Diversity Management at the University of Cologne will be taking place on the 14-18 June 2021. The central […]
June 9, 2021

Translating narratives in the Kilombero catchment, Tanzania

The Kilombero wetland in Tanzania is affected by advancing land use and land cover changes (LULCC), where we observe a conflict between development interests and the […]
June 7, 2021

Variegated consequences of path creation for regional development

The emergence of new regional paths is a key topic in economic geography. While new paths are largely associated with positive regional economic outcomes, little is […]
June 7, 2021

Aspiration formation and ecological shocks in rural Kenya

Aspirations have been shown to affect households’ decisions around productive investments, but little work explores how aspirations are formed or eroded, especially in the face of […]
June 2, 2021

Aspirations and livelihood strategies in the Zambezi region

This paper investigates rural development from a micro-level standpoint, focusing on individual and collective aspirations. We aim to deepen understanding of how a person’s socio-economic environment shapes their aspirations and simultaneously how aspirations contribute to future-oriented actions.
May 20, 2021

Book Review: The East African groundnut scheme and it’s legacy

The history of the Groundnut Scheme is so overwhelming farcical that the entire episode could easily be fabricated satire. If only it were so. Sadly, this […]
May 17, 2021

Integrating subsistence chickpea producers in the market economy

Enhancing agricultural productivity through the adoption of improved technologies presents a credible pathway to economic development and poverty reduction especially through increased commercialisation of production. We […]
May 11, 2021

SAGCOT as a spatial imaginary for strategic coupling processes

This article contributes an economic geography perspective on the envisioning and implementing of mega-infrastructure projects in Africa. Focusing on development corridors and their implicit spatio-temporality of […]
April 16, 2021

Megaprojects—mega failures? The politics of aspiration

Megaprojects are returning to play a key role in the transformation of rural Africa, despite controversies over their outcome. While some view them as promising tools […]
April 13, 2021

Livelihoods, land disputes, and anticipation in rural Kenya

This article examines how rural roads relate to differences in livelihood patterns, attitudes toward social change, and land disputes in Baringo, Kenya. Although their direct use […]
April 7, 2021

Temporalizing modern planning

In the introduction to their edited volume Elusive Promises: Planning in the Contemporary World, Simone Abram and Gisa Weszkalnys (2013) introduce their understanding of modern planning […]
April 7, 2021

Export horticulture and labour migration in Kenya

Based on a study of globalized export horticulture at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, this paper explores urban development at the intersections of foreign capital investments and translocal […]
April 6, 2021

Female researcher’s grant 2021: Call for applications

The aim of the grant is to promote female researchers at all stages of their careers. Support is given to creative scientific ideas that fit the […]
April 1, 2021

Alexander von Humboldt fellow joins CRC as associate researcher

The CRC is pleased to introduce and welcome Valentine Opanga, the first Alexander von Humboldt International Climate Protection Fellow to be hosted by Bonn University’s Geography […]
April 1, 2021

New book: Securing land rights in Namibia

CRC associate member Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa of projects C05, ‘Framing Futures’ and A04, ‘Future Conservation’, has published her book, Securing land rights with UNAM press. The […]
March 15, 2021

Of aid and trade

Dambisa Moyo’s seminal book Dead Aid is the antidote to past and current development strategies of western countries for Africa: development aid. Moyo’s solution? Foreign direct […]
March 11, 2021

The CRC mourns the loss of Dr. Elke Grawert

With great sadness, we announce the death of our colleague and friend Dr. Elke Grawert. Elke passed away on 5 March, at the age of 62. […]
March 8, 2021

The making of a conservation landscape

The Kwando Basin of north-eastern Namibia is firmly embedded in current national and international conservation agendas. It is a key part of the world’s largest transboundary […]
February 25, 2021

Future trends, challenges, and the politics of anticipation in Africa

Globally, there is much debate about the rapid demographic developments in Africa (population growth, urbanization, youth bulge, migration), the growing demand for food, and the scenarios […]
February 22, 2021

Pandemics, ecosystems, and rainforests

What dangers does biodiversity loss pose to the eruption of future pandemics? Virologist and principal investigator of the CRC, sub-project B02, Prof. Dr. Sandra Junglen shares […]
February 2, 2021

Reflections on power, hierarchy, and knowledges

Can we get rid of ‘the west vs.” the rest”’? Well, it is never too late to reflect on hierarchical structures in development research – and […]
January 4, 2021

Podcast: Covid-19 shocks in rural and urban Africa

CRC-TRR 228 ‘Future Rural Africa’ · COVID-19 shocks in rural Africa: Preliminary findings of ongoing research The Future Rural Africa podcast, is a research series by […]
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