From May to July two PhD candidates in Geography and Environment from the Environment Health and Hazard Lab, led by Dr. Isaac Luginaah, were conducting research in collaboration with SFHC.

Kamaldeen Mohammed along with our forestry team, Linda, Mwapi and Tapiwa, were collaborating with farmers from several working areas to collect data in community forests. Kamaldeen’s project explores how rural communities can harness forest resources to mitigate the double burden of climate change and food insecurity in Malawi. The project uses a Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) and forestry inventory approach to understand the carbon sequestration potential of rural community forests and food provisioning services.

Kamal (top left) and together with team members and farmers at Nkhondopela village in the Mlimo area.

Daniel Amouk’s research seeks to understand the challenges of local seed systems and the social factors that influence seed security and food security. Specifically, he is interested in understanding the role of informal networks on the social and spatial access to seeds within the frame of recurring environmental shocks. To achieve these objectives, he deploys a mixed method approach, including questionnaire survey and in-depth interview instruments to gather data about smallholder farmers’ social networks and seed security in the context of climate change. He is grateful to the SFHC staff and management for the support and groundwork done to ensure that his research goes smoothly.

Daniel (left) together with some of his team members, Mary and Alinafe, interviewing a farmer on seed security.