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Community Seed Banks – too Embedded to Fail? A comparative case study on the sustainability of community seed banks in Uganda and Tanzania

Reinhard, Lukas LU (2022) MIDM19 20221
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
Since the 1980s, community seed banks (CSBs) have been established around the world to conserve and improve access to indigenous seed for smallholder communities and contribute to food and seed sovereignty. However, after the withdrawal of external support, these CSB initiatives often collapse. Using a qualitative, comparative case study design, this study provides an in-depth analysis of CSBs established in Uganda and Tanzania. In doing so, I draw on social capital theory and feminist political ecology (FPE), as previous research in other geographical contexts has shown their importance.

Apart from field notes and participant observation, the empirical research includes 22 semi-structured interviews with CSB members and INGO... (More)
Since the 1980s, community seed banks (CSBs) have been established around the world to conserve and improve access to indigenous seed for smallholder communities and contribute to food and seed sovereignty. However, after the withdrawal of external support, these CSB initiatives often collapse. Using a qualitative, comparative case study design, this study provides an in-depth analysis of CSBs established in Uganda and Tanzania. In doing so, I draw on social capital theory and feminist political ecology (FPE), as previous research in other geographical contexts has shown their importance.

Apart from field notes and participant observation, the empirical research includes 22 semi-structured interviews with CSB members and INGO representatives conducted in ten CSB initiatives in Uganda and Tanzania. This work concludes that the three pillars of social capital – ties, bridges and connections – as well as women’s participation have a strong influence on the sustainability of CSBs as these factors largely determine the activities of these initiatives. This study thus contributes to the still relatively small body of academic literature on CSBs by arguing that both the embeddedness of CSBs in social ties and the participation of women farmers are crucial for their sustainability in the East African context. (Less)
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author
Reinhard, Lukas LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Community seed banks, Social capital, Feminist political ecology, Smallholder agriculture, Uganda, Tanzania
language
English
id
9079332
date added to LUP
2022-07-20 09:36:20
date last changed
2022-07-20 09:36:20
@misc{9079332,
  abstract     = {{Since the 1980s, community seed banks (CSBs) have been established around the world to conserve and improve access to indigenous seed for smallholder communities and contribute to food and seed sovereignty. However, after the withdrawal of external support, these CSB initiatives often collapse. Using a qualitative, comparative case study design, this study provides an in-depth analysis of CSBs established in Uganda and Tanzania. In doing so, I draw on social capital theory and feminist political ecology (FPE), as previous research in other geographical contexts has shown their importance.

Apart from field notes and participant observation, the empirical research includes 22 semi-structured interviews with CSB members and INGO representatives conducted in ten CSB initiatives in Uganda and Tanzania. This work concludes that the three pillars of social capital – ties, bridges and connections – as well as women’s participation have a strong influence on the sustainability of CSBs as these factors largely determine the activities of these initiatives. This study thus contributes to the still relatively small body of academic literature on CSBs by arguing that both the embeddedness of CSBs in social ties and the participation of women farmers are crucial for their sustainability in the East African context.}},
  author       = {{Reinhard, Lukas}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Community Seed Banks – too Embedded to Fail? A comparative case study on the sustainability of community seed banks in Uganda and Tanzania}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}