Lidia Cabral | Institute of Development Studies (original) (raw)

Papers by Lidia Cabral

IDS Bulletin

As global agri-food systems come under increasing stress, debates on their future have become hig... more As global agri-food systems come under increasing stress, debates on their future have become highly polarised, exposing fundamental differences in understandings and priorities: industrial production versus traditional rights; short-term yields versus longer-term sustainability; cheap versus healthy food. Brazil is at the core of these debates, with the Cerrado being centre stage since the soybean-powered Green Revolution. Accompanied by deforestation, soil degradation, and depletion of water resources, Brazil’s agricultural production frontier has now moved northwards into the Matopiba region. This issue of the IDS Bulletin explores the ongoing territorial transformation, considering the violent logics of extraction in frontier zones, the grabbing of nature, and the dynamics of resistance in local and international spheres. Exposing both the material and discursive appropriation experienced by the Cerrado, this issue profiles it as a key site of multi-scalar injustices against peo...

The Cerrado is a natural biome occupying 25 per cent of Brazil’s surface. Compared to the Amazon,... more The Cerrado is a natural biome occupying 25 per cent of Brazil’s surface. Compared to the Amazon, it is relatively unknown to international audiences, yet it is currently the world’s largest agricultural frontier. Intensive soybean and beef production are driving deforestation, water depletion, habitat loss, and land grabbing. Emphasising the scale of land-based inequality and conflicts, this briefing exposes the Cerrado as a territory of martyrdom, contrasting the ‘miracle’ portrayed by the dominant agri-food regime. Resistance struggles within the region are outlined and recommendations looking to challenge the success narrative of agribusiness and to move towards territorial justice are presented.

holds a master's degree in Development Studies from IDS, University of Sussex. Prior to this, Oli... more holds a master's degree in Development Studies from IDS, University of Sussex. Prior to this, Olivia coordinated education and social impact programmes in Bristol and London. Her research interests include environmental pathways, creative methods to achieve social change, and rights-based approaches to gender equality. Amy Coupland has a keen interest in building resilience and fairness in local and global value chains, having worked with farmer groups, businesses, and donors on food security and entrepreneurship. She currently works with a consultancy focused on working with food and agriculture businesses to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and as a Poverty Advisor for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Fund. She previously worked with farmer groups on the Zimbabwe Livelihoods and Food Security programme looking at alternative livelihood options, and with cocoa and coffee communities in Ghana and Uganda in a sustainability role.

World Development, 2020

Food has become both a pivotal topic in development and a lens through which to integrate and add... more Food has become both a pivotal topic in development and a lens through which to integrate and address a range of contemporary global challenges. This review article addresses in particular the interrelationship between food and sustainable, equitable development, arguing that this is fundamentally political. We offer a set of approaches to understanding food politics, each underlain by broader theoretical traditions in power analysis, focused respectively on food interests and incentives; food regimes; food institutions; food innovation systems; food contentions and movements; food discourses, and food socio-natures. Applications of these approaches are then illustrated through a set of problematiques, providing a (selective) overview of some of the major literatures and topics of note in food politics and development. Starting with the role of the state and state-society relations in different forms of food regime, we then consider the role of science and technology (and its discourses) in shaping agricultural and food policy directions before looking in more detail at rural livelihoods in agri-food systems and the politics of inclusive structural transformation. Broadening beyond agri-food systems then brings us to interrogate dominant narratives of nutrition and review literature on the cultural politics of food and eating. A concluding section provides a synthesis across the cases, drawing together the various approaches to power and politics and showing how they might be integrated via an analytical framework which combines plural approaches to describe different pathways of change and intervention, raising critical questions about the overall direction and diversity of these pathways, their distributional effects, and the extent of democratic inclusion in decisions about food pathways. We find this extended '4D' approach helpful in highlighting current food systems inequities and the political options for future food systems change, and conclude by considering how it might be harnessed as part of a future interdisciplinary, engaged research agenda.

Development Policy Review, 2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Journal of Peasant Studies

This paper reviews the latest mechanisation programme by the Mozambican government, asking how it... more This paper reviews the latest mechanisation programme by the Mozambican government, asking how it is politically driven and how it shapes and is shaped by agrarian structures. Old ideas about agrarian dualism are reproduced today, albeit with a new language of public-private partnerships that are seen as potentially driving the modernisation of the peasantry. Statesponsored and privately-run service centres, featuring zinc roofed warehouses, are the government's preferred route to modernisation, yet failing to reach the average farmer and understanding the motives and predicaments of private managers. Emerging small to medium farmers, who keep tractors under shady mango trees in their backyards, are also offering mechanisation services to their peers, which are instrumental to stepping up their production and commercial activities. The state's push for mechanisation feeds uneven patterns of accumulation and social differentiation.

Agriculture and Human Values, 2021

The Green Revolution is often seen as epitomising the dawn of scientific and technological advanc... more The Green Revolution is often seen as epitomising the dawn of scientific and technological advancement and modernity in the agricultural sector across developing countries, a process that unfolded from the 1940s through to the 1980s. Despite the time that has elapsed, this episode of the past continues to resonate today, and still shapes the institutions and practices of agricultural science and technology. In Brazil, China, and India, narratives of science-led agricultural transformations portray that period in glorifying terms—entailing pressing national imperatives, unprecedented achievements, and heroic individuals or organizations. These “epic narratives” draw on the past to produce meaning and empower the actors that deploy them. Epic narratives are reproduced over time and perpetuate a conviction about the heroic power of science and technology in agricultural development. By crafting history and cultivating a sense of scientific nationalism, exceptionalism, and heritage, the...

Agricultural mechanisation has once again become a topical issue in African policymaking, followi... more Agricultural mechanisation has once again become a topical issue in African policymaking, following the reinstatement of agriculture in the growth and development agenda for the continent since the turn of the century. This is illustrated by the pan-Africa strategy for agriculture (the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Policy [CAADP]), the renewed interest in the sector within the established aid system, and the unfolding of new South-South relations involving agricultural investments, technology transfers and trade.

Revista NERA, Sep 1, 2017

This paper is situated in an emerging body on Brazilian development cooperation, looking at the s... more This paper is situated in an emerging body on Brazilian development cooperation, looking at the specific case of cooperation concerning agricultural development in Africa. The analysis highlights the discursive side of Brazilian cooperation, where competing narratives about models and purposes construct different versions of reality for reasons related to the political character of cooperation. Discourse is hence an expression of the political. This paper frames Brazil's agricultural cooperation as a domain of priests, technicians and traders, driven, respectively, by doctrinal, technical fixing and business rationales. This provides an initial frame of reference to distil actors' narratives about Brazilian cooperation programmes. The paper focuses on two cooperation programmes in Mozambique: ProSAVANA and More Food International. The key for understanding competing narratives on these programmes and how they intermingle and change over time can be found in Brazil's domestic sphere. The two programmes have been interpreted as an expression of contradictions in Brazil's agriculture and particularly its dualistic character, typically framed as family farming versus agribusiness. Through the lenses of discourse analysis, this paper offers a critical reading of the interplay between priests, technicians and traders, as shaped by different interests and points of view in cooperation relations.

Future Agricultures Briefing Paper, Overseas …, 2007

The Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the f... more The Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa. The consortium is a partnership between research-based organisations in Africa and the UK.

Different ‘narratives’ – or storylines – about agricultural policies are being pushed by differen... more Different ‘narratives’ – or storylines – about agricultural policies are being pushed by different actors in the policy process, each envisages a different kind of ministry of agriculture. Three different versions are elaborated. One sees the return of the hey-day of the sectoral ministry with capacity and policy clout – to address the major constraints of agriculture, it is argued, what is required is a strong, well-funded line ministry, and the challenge today is to rebuild such an organisation. A second – at the other extreme – sees such sectoral ministries taking on a minimal role, focused on oversight and regulation, as the private sector takes on a more substantive role in a ‘freemarket’ environment. A third, perhaps less stridently articulated than the others, sees an important role for the state – and the ministry of agriculture, together with other state agencies – in addressing the coordination and intermediation roles of getting markets to work effectively, while ensuring...

This paper reviews the literature on decentralisation in Africa, with a focus on impact on servic... more This paper reviews the literature on decentralisation in Africa, with a focus on impact on service delivery and poverty reduction. It notes decentralisation is not necessarily good or bad, but success depends on the details of policy design and context, particularly the political motivations of ruling elites and its relations with local power bases and constituencies. In Africa, decentralisation is widespread but not deep. Driven largely by political motivations, decentralisation experiences in the region have consisted mostly of deconcentration of administrative functions, rather than true devolution of powers. Although there is limited evidence available, the impact of decentralisation on service delivery is probably limited, judging by its impact on intermediate variables such as access to information, locus of power, administrative performance and accountability relations. The propoor character of decentralisation is also questionable. Available evidence does not confirm that decentralised governments perform better in delivering services to the poor, despite the fact they ofter are their largest constituency. In Africa, decentralisation has been essentially used to consolidate alliances with local elites and thereby reinforce central power, rather than to pursue pro-poor policies. Institutional weaknesses and fiscal constraints have also limited the success of decentralisation in Africa. Therefore, as an overarching governance process, decentralisation may have limited chances of success without a more structural transformation in African societies which reduces the polarisation of power and gives the median voter greater agency.

Europe S World the Only Europe Wide Policy Journal, 2010