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Knowledge4Policy
KNOWLEDGE FOR POLICY

Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

Publication | 2022

An argument for place-based policies: The importance of local agro-economic, political and environmental conditions for agricultural policies exemplified by the Zambezi region, Namibia

Global Food and Nutrition Security

Highlights:

  • Agricultural policies often only poorly consider the local realities.
  • We suggest place-based approach instead of generalized top down policies.
  • This approach includes knowledge on soil, climate, water, production capacities and practices.
  • We base our results on an interdisciplinary study from social & natural sciences.

Abstract:

This article outlines the importance of place-based policies derived from knowledge on local realities. Through an analysis of maize policies and their impact on the Zambezi region, Namibia, we illustrate the constraining limitations of insufficiently place-based policies. We highlight the problems of current top-down policies of production promotion, value chain integration, and sector protection which barely integrate region-specific knowledge. We emphasize the importance of integrating knowledge on soil, climate, water conditions, production capacities, and local farming practices. Based on our analysis, we recommend a more knowledge- and place-based policy including a multidimensional perspective, adapted agricultural management, and open decentralized governance structures that engages region-specific agricultural, economic, political, and environmental knowledge.