Interdisciplinary studies in relation to Food Systems – methodological issues and concerns

1. Interdisciplinary studies in relation to Food Systems – methodological issues and concerns J. Magid , and Andreas de NeergaardPlant and Soil Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Sciences; KVL

2. Key points • The SLUSE Consortium • Urban areas as ’Super Organisms’ • Agricultural production in a Rural – Urban Gradient (Kwa Zulu Natal) • Delienating Urban Agriculture as a Food System?

3. Achievements (1998-2004): The foundation for teaching inter-disciplinary environmental courses has been set up in the three partner universities in Denmark and in the partner consortia in Malaysia, Thailand and southern Africa (MUCED, TUCED and SACUDE SLUSE). SLUSE joint research programs have been set up in Malaysia, Thailand and southern Africa. 12 PhD students within SLUSE In Denmark extensive course catalogues have been set up, and over 300 Danish students have taken or currently attend SLUSE courses at the three universities. In Malaysia 100 students have gone or are going through the M.Sc. training, and of these about 70% were mid-career professionals. The past 2 years have seen an intake of 50-60 students annually in SLUSE curricula in Thailand. In southern Africa HRD programmes and educational and research activities are now being established in Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland. www.sluse.dk

4. Capacity building and HRD

5. Scientists’ Fantasies? Why this focus on interdisciplinarity and on problem orientation ?

6. Framework for Research-Based Teaching SLUSE adaptive model Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Research Research Academic Knowledge Academic Knowledge - - Staff Staff Academic Academic - - Students Students Academic Academic Curriculum Curriculum Qualification/ Qualification/ Teaching Teaching Accreditation Accreditation Thesis Thesis Training Training Sustained Results of Sustained Results of Dissertation Dissertation KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH RESEARCH Land Use Utilization - - Graduate Graduate Reports/ Reports/ students students Publications Publications Practical Practical Management Management Intervention/ Intervention/ Action Research Action Research Policy/Frame Policy/Frame Action Plans Action Plans - - Agencies Agencies Applied Knowledge Applied Knowledge work work - - Academics Academics - - Communities Communities (Diagram developed jointly by SLUSE consortia partners) (Diagram developed jointly by SLUSE consortia partners)

7. Student field-course Research GA & NGO activities Continued research & development of activities Study area, in this case a watershed, The SLUSE model in action where a number of related activities takes place

8. The importance of homegardens for household livelyhoods

9. Succes and failure of community projects

10. Land use and land distribution

11. The use and misuse of medicinal plants

15. Long-term trajectories for soil fertility Century modelling of data from chronosequences in Zimbabwe Harare 5E red clay Soil C (t ha-1) Time (years) Zingore, Manyame, Nyamugafata and Giller (2002)

17. Agricultural production along a rural-urban gradient

18. Downtown Hammersdale Umbululu Madlangala

19. Madlangala

20. Umbululu

21. Hammersdale

24. Development housing?

25. Private gardens “Squatter farming” Community gardens Typologies of urban farming

27. Key points • Extractive urban areas are rapidly changing the face of the earth (GEC) • Food production (squatter / private / communal / commercial) in urban and peri-urban areas is a livelyhood issue (700 mio. people) • Linkages to health (public and private) issues are crucial

28. What are the drivers • Why do the urbanites use the soil so intensively (economics, health, livelyhoods) ? • Does it make sense to study urban/peri-urban food systems (squatter  commercial) ? • Can urban areas be managed into becoming more benign (less extractive) superorganisms?