Funded MA research opportunities | Researching South Asian farmers in Canada (Deadline: 21 December 2023)
Research funding is available for two graduate students as part of a two-year Master of Arts (MA) in Sociology or Public Issues in Anthropology (with the option of the collaborative Development Studies program) at the University of Guelph to undertake research on a topic related to racialized farmers, particularly South Asian farmers in Canada. With a large and growing proportion of racialized immigrant population, we know little about the extent of their involvement and their lived experiences in farming.
Opportunity description and how to apply can be found at this link.
Our new edited, open access book, Becoming a Young Farmer: Young People’s Pathways into Farming—Canada, China, India, Indonesia, edited by Sharada Srinivasan, is now available for download at this link.
Becoming a young farmer examines young people’s pathways into farming in Canada, China, India and Indonesia. While the dominant and mainstream narratives focus on why young people leave farming, this research asks why in spite of social, economic and physical obstacles, young people are (becoming) farmers. The research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s (SSHRC) Insight program.
RESEARCH TEAM
Sharada Srinivasan, PrincipaI Investigator (University of Guelph)
Haroon Akram-Lodhi (Trent University)
Annette Desmarais (University of Manitoba)
Roy Huijsmans (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Pan Lu (China Agriculture University)
M. Vijayabaskar (Madras Institute of Development Studies)
Sudha Narayanan (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research [IGIDR])
Isono Sadoko (AKATIGA Center for Social Analysis)
Ben White (Erasmus University)
Ye Jingzhong (China Agriculture University)
OUTPUTS
Graduate Student Theses and Research Papers
Avelar, Alexa. 2019. “[In]visible: Where are young women farmers? Investigating in a Canadian context.” MA thesis, University of Guelph.
Chazali, Charina. 2019. “The intergenerational dimensions of land transfer among smallholder farm households in Indonesia.” MA Research Paper, International Institute of Social Studies, Social Policy for Development.
Delarge, Ashley. 2018. “An impossible position: Policies for young, small farmers in Southwestern Ontario.” MA Research Paper, University of Guelph.
Savatti, Maurice. 2020. “Finding the farm: Connecting a sense of place to young farmers’ educational pathways.” MA thesis, University of Guelph.
Tarek, Gazi Mahmudul Alam. 2019. “Young people’s experience in becoming a farmer: A case study of Bangladesh.” MA thesis, University of Guelph.
Publications
Ambarwati, Aprilia, Isono Sadoko, Charina Chazali, and Ben White. 2018. “Pemuda dan pertanian di Indonesia” [Young people and agriculture in Indonesia]. Jurnal Analisis Sosial, special issue on rural youth 20, no. 1–2.
Huijsmans, Roy, Aprilia Ambarwati, Charina Chazali, and M. Vijayabaskar. 2021. “Farming, gender and aspirations across young people’s life course: Attempting to keep things open while becoming a farmer.” European Journal of Development Research 33, no. 1: 71–88.
Qualman, Darrin, A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Annette Aurélie Desmarais, and Sharada Srinivasan. 2018. “Forever young? The crisis of generational renewal on Canada’s farms.” Canadian Food Studies 5, no. 3: 100–27.
Srinivasan, Sharada, Pan Lu, and Aprilia Ambarwati, eds. Young and Female: International Perspectives on the Future of Farming (under preparation).
Vijayabaskar, M., Sudha Narayanan, and Sharada Srinivasan. 2018. “Agricultural revival and rural dividend, Review of Rural Affairs.” Economic and Political Weekly 53, nos. 26 & 27: 8–16.
White, Ben. 2018. Rural Youth, Today and Tomorrow. Rural Development Report Background Paper No. 8. Rome: International Fund for Agricultural Development.
White, Ben. 2020. Agriculture and the Generation Problem. Halifax: Fernwood Publications and Rugby: Practical Action Publications.
White, Ben. 2020. “Rural household pluriactivity and plurilocality: A source of resilience to climate breakdown.” IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 451 012001.
Widjaya, Hanny, Ben White, Aprilia Ambarwati, and Charina Chazali. 2018. “Pemuda desa dan Karang Taruna: Bertani kolektif di Kulon Progo” [Rural youth and Karang Taruna: Collective farming in Kulon Progo]. Jurnal Analisis Sosial, special issue on rural youth 20, no. 1–2.
Presentations
Ambarwati, Aprili, Charina Chazali, Hanny Widjaya, and Ben White. 2019. “Young women equality farmers in Indonesia: At the intersection of gender, generation and class.” Presented at the Seeds of Change: Gender Through Agricultural Research for Development conference, Canberra, Australia, 2–4 April 2019.
Chazali, Charina, and Roy Huijsmans, 2019. “Gender-based engagements with the generation problem in agriculture: Reflections on representation and practice.” Presentation at ICAS11, Leiden, The Netherlands, 18 July 2019.
Huijsmans, Roy, Aprilia Ambarwati, Charina Chazali, and M. Vijayabaskar. 2018. “Aspiration, farming, and the lifecourse.” Presented at the Theorising Young People’s Aspirations in a Global Context: An interdisciplinary conference, Brunel University London, 26-27 March 2018.
Narayanan, Sudha. 2017. Presented initial results from the project at the Expert Group Meeting, Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women, Rome, 23–25 September 2017.
Narayanan, Sudha. 2018. Presentation at “Recognizing the rights of women agricultural workers in South Asia.” Presented at the Roundtable on Policy, Politics and Impact,” UN Women and Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 25 October 2018.
Srinivasan, Sharada. 2019. “Young and female? International perspectives on the future of farming.” Endowment lecture presented at the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, February 2019.
White, Ben. 2018. “The coming crisis in youth employment.” Keynote address presented at the Conference on Population and Social Policy in a Disrupted World. Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, 6 August 2018.
White, Ben. 2019. “Generational crises in smallholder farming? Rural youth and farming futures.” Presented at the Centre for Development Research, BOKU University, Vienna, 3 June 2019.
White, Ben. 2019. “At the intersection of gender, generation and class: Young women farmers in commercializing smallholder agriculture.” Presented at the DEMETER Project workshop “Gender, land and the right to food,” Chulalongkorn University/ University of Ghana/ Stockholm Environmental Institute/ Geneva University Graduate Institute, Bangkok, Thailand, 23–24 July 2019.
White, Ben and Hanny Wijaya. 2019. “Pluriactivity and plurilocality: Young people’s pathways out of and into farming in Kulon Progo (Yogyakarta, Indonesia).” Presented as part of the panel on “The politics of place: Mobilities and livelihoods in Southeast Asia,” International Convention of Asia Scholars, Leiden, 15-19 July 2019.
Project Team Presentations
2019. Output workshop, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, August 2019.
Ambarwati, Aprilia, and Charina Chazali. 2017. “Becoming a Young Farmer: Young Women’s Experiences into Agriculture in West Manggarai.” Presented as part of the panel on “Becoming a Young Farmer: The Role of Youth in Rural Development,” Agrifood XXIV: The 24th International Conference of Agri-food Research Network, Bandung, Indonesia, 4 December 2017.
Ambarwati, Aprilia, and Charina Chazali. 2018. “Young women farmer in Indonesia.” Presented as part of the panel on “Young and female? International perspectives on the future of farming,” Arrell Food Summit, University of Guelph, Canada, 22 May 2018.
Narayanan, Sudha. 2017. “Becoming a Young Farmer: Youth and Agriculture in India.” Presented at Agrifood XXIV: The 24th International Conference of Agri-food Research Network, Bandung, Indonesia, 2–5 December 2017.
Narayanan, Sudha. 2018. Participated in Presented at “Young and female? International perspectives on the future of farming,” Arrell Food Summit, University of Guelph, Canada, 22 May 2018.
Srinivasan, Sharada. 2016. Organized and chaired session titled “Becoming a young farmer.” 14th World Congress of Rural Sociology, Toronto, Canada, 10–14 August 2016.
Srinivasan, Sharada. 2017. “Young farmers in Canadian agriculture: Explaining a crisis.” Agrifood XXIV: The 24th International Conference of Agri-food Research Network, Bandung, Indonesia, 4 December 2017.
Srinivasan, Sharada. 2018. Organized and chaired session titled “Young and female? International perspectives on the future of farming” Arrell Food Summit, University of Guelph, Canada, 22 May 2018.
White, Ben. 2017. “Who will grow our food? The generation problem in smallholder farming.” Keynote address presented at Agrifood XXIV: The 24th International Conference of Agri-food Research Network, Bandung, Indonesia, 2–5 December 2017.
Wijaya, Hanny, and Ben White, 2017. “Young people’s movement out of and into farming: A life-course perspective from Kulonprogo (Yogyakarta).” Presented as part of the panel on “Becoming a Young Farmer: The Role of Youth in Rural Development,” Agrifood XXIV: The 24th International Conference of Agri-food Research Network, Bandung, Indonesia, 4 December 2017.
Media
Ambarwati, Aprili, and Charina Chazali. 2018. “Being young, female and poor.” Inside Indonesia 134, Oct–December.
Simes, Jeremy. 2018. “Young farmers begin making their mark in industry.” Western Producer, February 8.
Nicholson, Jacquie. 2018. “Young farmers determined to persevere, despite challenges.” Manitoba Famers’ Voice, Winter 2018: 12–15.
Stevenson, Lorraine. 2018. “Young farmer research shared with KAP delegates.” Manitoba Cooperator, February 8: 3.
Owen Roberts. 2017. “Urban cowboy: Researcher wants to know what draws young people to farming.” Guelph Today, August 17.
