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Sumberg, J.

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Sumberg
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Sumberg, J.
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0000-0002-4626-5237

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2017 - 201932020 - 20212
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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Do young farmers farm differently? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
    (CIMMYT, 2021) Chamberlin, J.; Sumberg, J.
    Publication
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    Landscapes of opportunity: patterns of young people’s engagement with the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021) Abay, K.A.; Asnake, W.; Hailemariam Ayalew; Chamberlin, J.; Sumberg, J.
    Publication
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    Landscapes of rural youth opportunity
    (IFAD, 2019) Sumberg, J.; Chamberlin, J.; Flynn, J.; Glover, D.; Johnson, V.A.
    This paper is motivated by the consistent portrayal, within current policy discourse, of agriculture and the broader rural economy in Africa as domains of opportunity for rural youth. It presents a new conceptualization of landscapes of rural youth opportunity, where these landscapes reflect an individual’s reading of the complex interplay between economic geography; local history, agrarian relations, institutions and politics; social and cultural norms; family influences; education and experience; aspirations and preferences; and access to resources. The argument is that it is essential to acknowledge the importance of opportunity structures, and avoid anything that suggests that individual characteristics, such as agency, aspirations, skills, entrepreneurial behaviour and “good choices” should be the primary considerations in relation to an “investing in youth” strategy. The paper also presents new empirical analysis of young people’s engagement with the rural economy using LSMS data from six African countries.
    Publication
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    Rethinking technological change in smallholder agriculture
    (SAGE Publishing, 2019) Glover, D.; Sumberg, J.; Ton, G.; Andersson, J.A.; Badstue, L.B.
    The concept of technology adoption (along with its companions, diffusion and scaling) is commonly used to design development interventions, to frame impact evaluations and to inform decision-making about new investments in development-oriented agricultural research. However, adoption simplifies and mischaracterises what happens during processes of technological change. In all but the very simplest cases, it is likely to be inadequate to capture the complex reconfiguration of social and technical components of a technological practice or system. We review the insights of a large and expanding literature, from various disciplines, which has deepened understanding of technological change as an intricate and complex sociotechnical reconfiguration, situated in time and space. We explain the problems arising from the inappropriate use of adoption as a framing concept and propose an alternative conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating technological change. The new approach breaks down technology change programmes into four aspects: propositions, encounters, dispositions and responses. We begin to sketch out how this new framework could be operationalised.
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    Rural transformation, cereals and youth in Africa: what role for international agricultural research?
    (SAGE Publishing, 2017) Ripoll, S.; Andersson, J.A.; Badstue, L.B.; Buttner, M.; Chamberlin, J.; Erenstein, O.; Sumberg, J.
    Young people are increasingly linked to targeted agriculture and food security interventions. In Africa, the argument is that the combination of agricultural value chains, technology and entrepreneurship will unlock a sweet spot for youth employment. This article examines this argument from a rural transformations perspective. A framework is proposed with which to analyse young people’s economic room to manoeuvre in different rural contexts and the differential abilities of young people to exploit associated opportunities. Using cereal agri-food systems as an example, the article identifies two new research areas that address important knowledge gaps: how young rural people in Africa engage with these systems and what pathways they use to become engaged. To address these questions, we propose an analytical framework built around key contextual factors that constrain or enable young people’s economic activity. By pursuing the proposed research agenda, international agricultural research could make important contributions to both agricultural policy debates and development-oriented interventions.
    Publication