By Fuad Hassan* Trends of agricultural mechanization have taken on a new significance in developing countries in recent years. These trends have been triggered by the shrinking availability of hired labor and rising labor wages, as more non-farm income opportunities for farmers have arisen over the past 20 years. Whereas crop cultivation used to be …

Blog von Tina Beuchelt, Dennis Aviles und Emily Brown* Trotz jahrzehntelanger Kampagnen und Maßnahmen gegen geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt, die von feministischen Gruppen und Bewegungen auf der ganzen Welt geführt werden, ist die Zahl der Frauen und Mädchen, die häusliche, partnerschaftliche und sexuelle Gewalt erleben, nach wie vor erschreckend hoch: Eine von drei Frauen weltweit erfährt im …

Written by Tina Beuchelt, Dennis Aviles, and Emily Brown* Despite decades of campaigns and action against Gender-based violence by feminist groups and movements worldwide, women and girls’ experiences of domestic, intimate partner and sexual violence remain stubbornly high: One in three women worldwide experience sexual or physical violence during her lifetime, most often perpetrated by …

In December 2021, the students of the Climate and Sustainable Development Actions Club (CSDAC) were awarded another grant by Plan International West and Central Africa. The new project plans to build human capacities in advocacy and digital campaigning: Seventeen Nigerien girl-leaders will receive training on how to best disseminate and promote the 17 SDGs on social media …

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6 targets: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. But what are the challenges on the ground in rural West Africa? Lémonla Armel Otekpo, a master student in the DAAD-funded and ZEF-run project «West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation» (WAC-SRT) and Segbedji …

This blog post was written by Sara Velander and Niklas Wagner, both doctoral researchers at ZEF’s doctoral program BIGS-DR. They spent nearly two weeks at the COP26 in Glasgow, UK (Oct. 31- Nov. 12, 2021) and observed six negotiations sessions, attended 14 side events, and conducted 19 semi-structured interviews there. Read about their impressions, observations …

In this blog post, ZEF- and Right Livelihood College (RLC) junior researcher Irene Awino Ojuok from Kenya relates about her impressions, experiences and insights of her participation in the COP 26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom (October 31-November 13, 2021). She was invited by the Global EverGreening Alliance (GEA) whom she represented as an Ambassador. Irene …

ZEF researcher Arslan Waheed (from Pakistan) wrote his doctoral thesis on ‘Development Discourses and Urban Poor: A Comparative Study of Slums of Islamabad and Brasilia’. He defended his thesis successfully on  August 27, 2021 and obtained his doctoral degree from Bonn University’s Faculty of Arts. His research was funded by the German Exchange Service DAAD). …

By Alejandro Mora Motta, Carolina Tobón Ramírez, Emilia Schmidt, & Estefanía Montoya Domínguez *) The peace agreement signed in Colombia in 2016 between the government of former president Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) was celebrated worldwide. However, five years later, Colombia is still experiencing social crises, …