This book explores how social groups in the urban fringe of Abuja, Nigeria, engaged with a series of development projects spanning 15 years (2003 to 2018) which focused on the enhancement of food security for farming households. The groups were at the heart of these development projects and the book presents the many insights that were gained by farmers and project agents working within these partnerships and provides advice for those seeking to do the same. The book also explores how the social groups attempted to lever benefits from being near to the fastest growing city in Africa and a centre of economic and political power. While much has been written about social groups and their embeddedness within wider social networks in Africa and in other parts of the world, the exploration of the role of social groups within development projects is an area that remains relatively unchartered and this book seeks to fill that important gap in knowledge. It provides an important contribution for all those researching and working with social groups in the developing world.

Provides a critical analysis of social networks as facilitation spaces in food security A practical guide for working with social networks in a sustainable development context (especially food security) Insight in challenges faced when improving food security in the urban fringe

Autorentext

Stephen Morse holds the Chair in Systems Analysis for Sustainability at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, UK. Steve has a background in applied ecology and the environment and his research and teaching interests are broad spanning both the natural and social sciences. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Society of Biology and the Higher Education Academy and has authored and edited 22 books and over 140 academic papers, many of them on the assessment of sustainability (including indicators) and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. Nora McNamara trained as a social scientist and in 1970 Nora was appointed coordinator for Social Development for Diocese of Idah (Igalaland), Nigeria. Agriculture formed the basis for most of the development in the area but this incorporated every possible aspect including water, nutrition and primary health care and micro credit. She has been a director of a number of Boards in Nigeria and in Ireland including the first Misean Cara board which was the conduit through which Irish Aid was channeled through to over 80 orders of priests and Religious worldwide. She was the director for all Holy Rosary Development projects and programmes from 2003 to 2015. She is currently a board Member of the German Foundation Nachstenliebe Weltweit.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction: The leveraging by and of social groups.- Chapter 2. Social groups, networks, leadership and trust.- Chapter 3. Exploring social groups.- Chapter 4. Abuja: A new city of opportunity.- Chapter 5. The social group landscape.- Chapter 6. Social groups as catalysts.- Chapter 7. Lessons and the future.