Stefanie Lemke

• Habil Gender and Nutrition, Dr Rural Sociology, MSc Nutrition Science and Home Economics
• Professor (Full) at BOKU University

Background: Nutrition and adequate dietary intake during pregnancy strongly influence the health and well-being of the mother, as well as the physical and cognitive development of the unborn child. While previous studies have documented factors associated with the dietary behaviour of pregnant women in Ethiopia, a comprehensive overview is missing....

The demand for alternative methods of providing informed consent is increasing, especially in research with marginalised (or illiterate) research participants. This article discusses the co-creation of a visual informed consent (VIC), in collaboration with an artist. The VIC was inspired by the experience of obtaining informed consent from a group...

Women of reproductive age have specific nutritional requirements due to pregnancy and lactation. Little is known about the sociocultural determinants of dietary diversity among women of reproductive age. This study assesses trends of dietary behaviour and associated determinants of dietary diversity of women of reproductive age. A community-based c...

The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 was a challenge for any practitioner intent on engaging in authentic dialogue for people-centered, place-based transformative praxis with the most marginalized in society-be they in Europe or the Majority World. The pandemic called on us to explore new and creative methodological approaches, to find new ways t...

In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, considerable dietary shifts, including an increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV) will be required. However, worldwide consumption of FV is far below international recommendations, including in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in Africa. Understanding...

Communal rangelands are a global resource of significant benefit to society through the provision of critical ecosystem goods and services such as carbon sequestration, water and livestock forage. The relative importance of the ecosystem goods and services provided by communal rangelands is driven by the social and environmental priorities of a ran...

Proponents of large-scale land investments (LSLI) still promote them as a development opportunity, which can lead, among other benefits, to job creation and enhanced food security for local communities. However, there is increasing evidence that these investments often deprive affected communities of their access to land, with multiple negative imp...

Urban agriculture (UA) is perceived to foster the self-determination of localised food systems and feed growing urban populations. We apply a food justice lens with a focus on place and power to explore UA’s contributions to livelihoods and food availability in Cape Town, South Africa and Maputo, Mozambique and to understand the power dynamics betw...

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to make decisions that had adverse effects on local food systems and supply chains. As a result, many small-scale food producers faced difficulties growing, harvesting, and selling their goods. This participatory research examines local small-scale farmers’ challenges as farmers but also as consumers and the...

An increasing number of African States are recognizing customary land tenure. Yet, there is a lack of research on how community rights are recognized in legal and policy frameworks, how they are implemented in practice, and how to include marginalized groups. In 2018-19, we engaged in collaborative exploratory research on governing natural resource...

Population growth, socio-cultural and economic changes as well as technological progress have an immediate impact on the environment and human health in particular. Our steadily rising needs of resources increase the pressure on the environment and narrow down untainted habitats for plants and wild animals. Balance and resilience of ecosystems are...

Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) is influenced by diverse and complex factors, and therefore requires a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems plus integration of knowledge from diverse sources in science and society. Using the results of a colloquium held at the University of Hohenheim (Germany) in September 2016 leading up to the rece...

Farm workers employed on commercial farms are among the poorest and most food insecure population groups in South Africa. This study investigated formal (organisational) and informal exchange relations and the association with food security within ego (N = 561) and whole networks (N = 54) among farm workers and their households on three commercial...

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most rapidly urbanising regions in the world. Achieving food and nutrition security is not only a rural challenge; the access to adequate (in terms of quantity and quality), healthy, nutritious and affordable food is also a growing concern for urban areas. The debate on the contribution of urban agriculture to food...

In the contractual Richtersveld National Park (RNP), park officials and neighbouring communities jointly manage resources, with the aim to harmonize biodiversity conservation and human land use. Our socio-ecological approach compared herding practices and livelihoods of 36 livestock owners and 35 hired herders inside and outside RNP, and further as...

Renewable energy (RE) production promotes the efficient and sustainable utilization of natural resources at the local level. This study assessed smallholder farmers’ perceptions of RE production in two villages in West Bengal, India. The availability and potential of renewable resources and livelihood characteristics of smallholders were explored....

What are food systems? And what makes a food system resilient in a West African context? Food systems are generally understood as all the activities and outcomes from production to consumption of food, yet limited research addresses the questions above from the perspectives of local actors. I aim to address this gap by adopting a transdisciplinary...

Indigenous Peoples, especially women and children, are affected disproportionately by malnutrition and diet-related health problems. Addressing this requires an investigation of the structural conditions that underlie unequal access to resources and loss of traditional lifestyles and necessitates inclusive approaches that shed light onto these issu...

This paper presents the development and application of the Integrated Renewable Energy Potential Assessment (IREPA), employing a three-pronged approach: (i) literature review of renewable energy potential assessment methodologies, renewable energy technology (RET) selection factors and impact assessment methods; (ii) discussions with academic peers...

State-of-the-art One in eight people go to bed hungry every day in the world and most of these people are farmers [1]. Women, despite being the main producers of food – equating to 60-90% of food grown globally [2] –, are also the first victims of hunger. Climate change further exacerbates vulnerabilities in food systems. Changes in rainfall, temp...

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) enables an analysis of the complex interrelations and interdependencies between social entrepreneurs (SEs), destination communities’ livelihood assets and related transforming structures and processes. SEs in tourism are regarded as drivers for linking destina...

This article addresses under-acknowledged barriers of structural violence and discrimination that interfere with women's capacity to realize their human rights generally, and their right to adequate food and nutrition in particular. Case studies from Georgia and South Africa illustrate the need for a human rights-based approach to food and nutritio...

The release of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) led the student initiative Food Revitalisation and Eco-Gastronomic Society of Hohenheim (FRESH) at the University of Hohenheim to start a participatory process that resulted in the establishment of the seminar 'Ethics of Food and N...

This article describes a conceptual framework for exploring sustainable diets, using a case study example of ongoing research in the Vaalharts region, a rural setting in South Africa. A qualitative research approach is followed with an integrated transdisciplinary mixed methods research design with multiple concurrent components employed during two...

This article explores living conditions, livelihoods and prospects of farmworkers with regard to land reform legislation. Research was conducted from 2004 to 2010 on four farms in the North West Province, interviewing farmworkers and farm owners. Representatives of the agricultural union Agri North West and land analysts were interviewed to obtain...

In developing and emerging economies, 2.5 billion people sustain their livelihoods directly from agricultural activities and 1.5 billion people live in smallholder agricultural households (HH) (IFAD 2013). At the same time, most of the energy-poor live in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, India and other developing Asian countries. Despite of all...

Smallholder farming can play a crucial role in contributing to food supplies and autonomy at the household and community level in rural areas, yet this has been challenging to evaluate. In South Africa, smallholder agriculture faces multiple challenges due to historical injustices regarding access to land and resources and to post-apartheid policie...

In an historical perspective covering the last 20 years, the influence of scientific knowledge on international health and nutrition programs is described, together with the development of children's rights. Current statistical data indicate that there has been some but still insufficient progress on achieving major improvements in the health and n...

After the first charity programs and early legal initiatives for children, basic research since the early 20th century has achieved important insights into the aetiology and therapy of malnutrition in children. In the mid 1960s, this led to the abandonment of monocausal explanations of nutritional deficiencies and thus favoured the development of i...

This review introduces basic historical and political conditions that led to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the establishment of the human right to food. This background anticipates the development of rights-based approaches that have instigated a long overdue paradigm change including both: a movement away from food aid and towar...

This study investigates how gender affects sustainable livelihoods in terms of the impact on food and nutrition security in farm worker households. Gender variables play a crucial role in the well-being of households, especially for women and children. A case study of South African farms shows that female-headed households, although having less acc...

To assess socio-economic indicators, nutritional status and living conditions of farm workers and their families, with the purpose to develop research and intervention programmes aimed at enhancing nutritional status and quality of life. Three farm schools in two districts of the North-West Province and farming communities were selected. Anthropome...

Previous research on the health transition and nutrition security in black South African households revealed the need for further research among farm workers who belong to the poorest population categories. This article gives an overview of the link between nutrition security, livelihoods and HIV/AIDS in South Africa, drawing conclusions for resear...

To investigate underlying causes for food and nutrition insecurity in black South African households and to gain understanding of the factors contributing to better nutrition security, with emphasis on household organisation, gender and intra-household dynamics and social networks. Within a larger cross-sectional survey that investigated the impact...

Poverty, food insecurity and the high incidence of HIV/AIDS are among the most pressing issues in South Africa. Many families are disrupted, due to continuous migration, poverty and increasing societal violence, leading to the re-organisation of households and changing intra-household relationships. The article investigates gender and power relatio...

Poverty, undernutrition and malnutrition are significant problems in South Africa. About half of the population, many of whom are subject to chronic food insecurity, subsist below the poverty line. Empirical research on food security and knowledge about the specific underlying causes of food insecurity are limited. The aim of this paper is to descr...

Armut, unsichere Ernährung und HIV/AIDS zählen nicht nur weltweit sondern gerade auch in Afrika zu den drängendsten sozialen Problemen. Von den 6 Milliarden Menschen auf der Erde leben 2,8 Milliarden – also fast die Hälfte – von weniger als 2 US-Dollar pro Tag. 1,2 Milliarden Menschen, also ein Fünftel der Weltbevölkerung, verfügen über weniger als...

Armut und unsichere Ernährung zählen am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts zu den drängendsten Problemen in Südafrika und dem gesamten Sub-Kontinent. Studien haben gezeigt, dass die Nahrungssicherheit von Haushalten nicht allein von ihrer wirtschaftlichen Situation, sondern vielmehr von der Kontrolle über vorhandene Mittel sowie sozialen Beziehungen inner...