Doctoral Dissertation Research: Maize and the Food Landscape of Southern Zambia

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In rural southern Zambia, maize serves as the primary income generator and staple food for the population. It occupies a central place in both the national and household level politics of economic growth and food security. As a result, its distribution across the population of southern Zambia is dictated by both agricultural policies and local cultural practices of food sharing, gift giving, and other non-market exchange systems. Despite its importance, the relationship between political-economic change and culturally mediated systems of food production and distribution has been under-explored. This doctoral dissertation research project examines the relationship between political-economic change in Zambia's agricultural sector and culturally mediated systems of maize production and distribution in southern Zambia. A transition to neoliberal agricultural policies in Zambia has dramatically altered the ways in which people engage in non-market, culturally mediated forms of maize distribution and production. This change has important implications for household level and individual food security in the region. This research asks the following questions: (1) How has a neo-liberal maize market affected the processes of maize production, distribution, and consumption for people in rural southern Zambia? (2) How has differential access to maize in an era of neo-liberalism changed the ways in which people attempt to cope with food insecurity in the region? Archival research of agricultural policy documents, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with rural household members will provide data on the changing patterns of culturally mediated systems of maize production, distribution, and consumption in rural southern Zambia within the context of neoliberal reform. The investigators expect to demonstrate that as a result of market liberalization, the value of maize for some segments of society has become increasingly embedded in non-market systems of valuation. They also expect to show how non-market systems of distribution have been differentially mediated by market forces across the population, creating a landscape of unequal access to maize in southern Zambia. This research project will investigate how a global process like neoliberal economic restructuring affects local household food security. Foods offer a powerful lens into questions about the relationship between places and the spaces created by a neoliberal ideology. Across the globe, foods act as important objects around which societies are organized politically, economically, and culturally. This research opens up the field of food security studies to analyze the link between political-economic structural change and culturally mediated practice through the lens of a particular food. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.