General information

Summary of Project

The project will address one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges: food security in the face of climate change, resource depletion and loss of forests, wildlife and environmental services.
Africa inherited inefficient and extractive resource regimes that led also to political exclusion and poverty.

Promoting new governance configurations that are inclusive and decentralised can, by contrast, lead to a virtuous cycle in which we can produce more wealth from less environmental resources for more people, and in ways that are much better adapted to achieve food security in the face of climate change.

Globally, the challenges of food insecurity within the context of climate change are inhibiting economic growth and human wellbeing, and these problems are expected to accelerate.

The food system is also changing as a result of complex and dynamic interactions of a range of socio-economic and environmental factors, including among others, urbanisation, concentration of production, vertical integration, deregulation and economic liberalisation.

As demand for food is expected to double in the next 25-50 years, food systems will be forced to adapt to mounting challenges that current research and global institutions, especially those in Africa are only starting to grasp.

Objectives of TRECCAFRICA II

This project intends to promote this adaptation by involving and educating young Africans proactively in the process of developing, understanding and scaling new approaches through ‘transdisciplinary’ research.

The project proposes to award 86 Masters and Doctoral scholarships and exchange opportunities to some of Africa’s brightest young minds, and a further 14 staff exchange opportunities to consortium members to enhance learning and joint research on this theme. In total, 100 individual mobility opportunities are therefore foreseen.