Background

My academic background is mainly within Human Ecology, Development Studies, Gender Studies and History. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies in 2007 and my Master’s degree in Human Ecology in 2008, both at Lund University. My Master’s thesis explored local strategies for soil fertility management and the determinants of technology adoption among Ugandan smallholder farmers.

Current research interest

My PhD research project focuses on the problem of soil degradation in sub-Saharan African smallholder farming. Although land degradation has biophysical attributes, the fundamental driving forces of the problem are embedded in larger societal contexts Therefore, more nuanced understandings of the social structures in smallholder farming are imperative to better comprehend and address challenges in terms of land use change, food production and poverty alleviation.

The aim of my PhD project is to explore changing land management strategies and adaptive responses to land degradation at both farm and community levels. It is a place-based study involving Ugandan smallholders as research participants. The focus is on the role of collective action and local innovation for soil improvement. While much research on collective action in relation to natural resource management has focused on common-pool resources, I intend to further explore these interactions in the context of private land ownership representing the ownership structure of the vast majority of farms in the region. Specific research questions include:

1. What is the role of local community groups in fostering cooperation, innovation and collective action regarding land management?
2. What are the main attributes that make community groups successful in land management, and how can collective strategies best be supported and strengthened?
3. What are the main challenges of collective action related to land management in terms of internal power dynamics, inhibiting factors, and social exclusion?

I employ a mixed methods approach, drawing on questionnaires, open interviews, focus group dialogues, as well as ‘narrative walks’. My research efforts are guided by participatory approaches, including action-oriented research, since I believe that sustainability challenges generally require different ways of learning and knowledge that is ‘co-produced’ by researchers and practitioners.

Teaching and supervision

• Assistant Supervisor, LUMID Master Programme, Lund University
• Assistant Supervisor, Tillämpad klimatstrategi (Applied Climate Strategy), Lund University
• Assistant Supervisor, LUMES Master Programme, Lund University
  •Course administrator, Development and Sustainability, LUMES Programme, Lund University
• Lecturer, Rural Systems and Sustainability, Development and Sustainability, Methodology, Methods and Tools, LUMES Programme, Lund University

I am also the contact person for Right Livelihood College (RLC) at LUCSUS, which is an initiative of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation for sharing and producing knowledge between laureates, researchers and students.

Publications

Andersson, E., Brogaard, S., Olsson, L., 2011: Political Ecology of Land Degradation. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 36, 295-319.
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-environ-033110-092827

Andersson, E. and Gabrielsson, S., 2012: ‘Because of poverty, we had to come together’: collective action for improved food security in rural Kenya and Uganda. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 10(3) In press.

Andersson, E. 2008. Soil for life: Exploring soil fertility management strategies among smallholders in Tororo, Uganda, Master’s thesis, Human Ecology, Lund University