Research on agriculture supported by IGDC at the Development Studies Association conference.

Two presentations were supported by IGDC funding at the recent Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference 2025. 

Dr Paulina Flores Martinez and Dr Tomaz Fares presented new research – developed in collaboration with Professor Tony Heron – examining the expanding global footprint of Chinese agribusiness, with a particular focus on the soy–animal protein value chain. They explore how state-owned enterprises such as COFCO are not only reshaping global agricultural trade through state-capitalist strategies, but are also being shaped in turn by international market pressures and evolving sustainability norms. Drawing on the case of Brazil, the presentation highlighted the convergence of state and private interests in shaping China’s green ambitions and examined the regulatory and environmental implications of state capitalism’s growing role in global agricultural governance.

Meanwhile, Dr Gideon Baffoe presented the results of a study on urban agriculture in Accra, Ghana. As African cities continue to urbanise rapidly, many are becoming epicentres of overlapping crises, including climate shocks, poverty, food insecurity, and institutional fragmentation. Despite the chaos, however, overlooked practices like urban agriculture (UA) are quietly building resilience. Read more in Gideon's IGDC blog about how UA’s contributions are revealed to be not merely environmental but deeply socio-political.