A Special Issue:
LAND, GENDER, AND FOOD SECURITY
Guest Editors
Stephanie Seguino, Gale Summerfield, and Dzodzi Tsikata
In reaction to the global food price crisis in 2007–8
as well as concerns over population pressures and water shortages, wealthier
developing countries and newly industrialized ones have begun a surge
of leasing and acquisition of millions of hectares of farmland in many
poorer developing countries. The expanding global demand for biofuels
and other non-food agricultural commodities, along with rising agricultural
commodity prices, represent an additional impetus for these acquisitions
by wealthier developing countries. Experts are concerned that these large-scale
land deals will increase food insecurity and inequalities within the countries
that lease or sell land. Such transactions may also widen income gaps
between the wealthier and poorer developing countries engaged in them.
To date, analyses of land acquisitions have not addressed gender implications
of these processes. Given women’s important roles as producers and consumers
of agricultural products in affected countries and the implications of
gender equality for long-run growth, this is a critical lacuna in research.
For this special issue, Feminist Economics encourages scholars from economics
and related disciplines to submit papers that reveal gender impacts of
the leases and acquisitions, including effects on women’s access to land,
intrahousehold allocation, on-farm agricultural productivity, household
food security, and investments in children’s well-being. Consideration
of gender differences related to class, ethnicity, and location are encouraged.Feminist
Economics especially welcomes submissions from the Global South and transition
economies.
Contributions may cover diverse topics, including but not limited to:
- Distributional, including gender, effects on access to and control over land and livelihoods
- Gender employment effects and broader socioeconomic impacts of land leasing and land acquisition
- Impacts of the leasing arrangements on urban and rural producers and consumers
- Land rights, human rights, and socioeconomic justice
- Responses by civil society and government to land acquisitions
If the Guest Editors approve an abstract, the potential contributor may be eligible to apply for a small amount of funding to partially defray research expenses. The complete, invited manuscript will be due 15 March 2011 and should be submitted to Feminist Economics through the submissions website (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rfec). Questions about these procedures may be sent to feministeconomics@rice.edu, +1.713.348.4083 (phone), or +1.713.348.5495 (fax).