Improving water and food security for smallholder farmer communities in sub-Saharan Africa through inter-disciplinary research

This project will aim to improve the resilience of small-scale farmers in Malawi, Kenya and/or Ghana to natural shocks which may threaten their food and water security. With climate change, growing populations and more demand for food and water, resilience needs to be strengthened if development is to continue. Understanding the link between water and food security with resilience is incredibly complex, and knowledge gaps need to be filled so that policies resource management practises can be implemented. The use of technology and traditional management to increase resilience will be studied, as will the role institutions play in strengthening food and water security. This project will be interdisciplinary, with both qualitative and quantitative research being undertaken, though the former will be mostly used. The research will be undertaken alongside collaborators in the three countries, who will be able to provide invaluable local knowledge.