The projects are part of a new priority program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and will receive a total of 670,000 € in funding.
In the research project “Navigating Uncertainty in Multiple Crises: Tanzanian Agri-Food Chains across the Adaptation-Maladaptation Continuum (MAVUNO),” Prof. Dr. Britta Höllermann, together with Tanzanian partners from the University of Dar es Salaam and Sokoine University, is investigating how Tanzanian farmers cope with uncertainty in the face of multiple crises and hydroclimatic variability.
“We are examining the extent to which individual perceptions of uncertainty determine whether chosen strategies lead to resilient, sustainable, and equitable development or may result in maladaptation,” explains Prof. Dr. Britta Höllermann, Professor of Human-Environment Geography at Osnabrück University. In particular, MAVUNO examines the different courses of action available to stakeholders: While uncertainties pose an insurmountable hurdle for some, others use them as an opportunity for transformative change. The focus is on the potential negative effects of adaptation measures, which, while reducing risks in the short term, can create new vulnerabilities or exacerbate existing inequalities in the long term.
The research project “Spice Routes in Crisis: Navigating Risks to Build Resilience/Sustainability in Global Spice Production Networks (SPRINC-GPN)” by Prof. Dr. Martin Franz and PD Dr. Philip Verfürth focuses on global spice production networks connecting India and Germany.
“SPRINC-GPN examines how environmental crises affect the sustainability and resilience of these global production networks. The focus is on the question of how different stakeholders perceive and assess the risks associated with environmental crises—from Indian farmers to processing and trading companies to retailers in Germany,” explains PD Dr. Philip Verfürth, a research associate at the Institute of Geography. The project also investigates how these differing perceptions of risk influence the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The DFG Priority Program “Sustainability and Resilience of Agri-Food Chains in Times of Multiple Crises? Toward a Joint and Critical Understanding (Agri-Food Chains)” brings together diverse disciplinary, methodological, and regional perspectives. The goal is to develop a shared yet critical understanding of sustainability and resilience in agri-food supply chains. By systematically linking different research approaches, the program also enables the comparison of developments and coping strategies across different regions of the world. Prof. Höllermann emphasizes that this global perspective is also significant for regional research. “The challenges we are investigating in India and Tanzania are not isolated problems of the Global South. Similarly, we encounter issues of uncertainty and resilience right here at home, for example in agriculture in Lower Saxony, which we are studying at Osnabrück University as part of the DFG Graduate School ECORISK,” Höllermann continues.
“I am very pleased that the Institute of Geography at Osnabrück University has successfully secured funding for two projects within this priority program. With these two distinct regional and conceptual perspectives, we are contributing to a better understanding of how agricultural and food supply chains can be made more resilient and sustainable under conditions of multiple crises,” adds Prof. Franz, who heads the Institute of Geography.
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Britta Höllermann, Osnabrück
University, Institute of Geography
britta.hoellermann@uni-osnabrueck.de
PD Dr. Philip Verfürth, Osnabrück University
Institute of Geography
