Dr. Georges Djohy
Georges Djohy is rural sociologist and social anthropologist. He studied Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Parakou (Benin) and holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Göttingen (Germany). He has been involved since 2008 in short and long-term studies among crop farmers and Fulani pastoralists, with a focus on environmental and socio-technological changes. He has interest in climate change, land use change, livelihood and structural changes, gender and social inclusion and grassroots organisation. He served at Göttingen Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology (GISCA) as a Research Associate and has (co)-published many articles and contributed to collective volumes. He held positions and conducted assignments with various international institutions, including the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the International Network for Promoting Local Innovation (Prolinnova), the French Red-Cross Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation. Georges Djohy is currently working as Assistant Professor at the National School of Statistics, Planning and Demography (ENSPD), University of Parakou (Benin). He leads the Research Unit on Agro-Pastoral Humanitarian and Food Systems (UR-SAPHA) and also oversees Prolinnova-Benin, a multi-stakeholder platform of local research, community-based and development organisations promoting innovation processes in agroecology and natural resource management for sustainable livelihoods. He is a Country Partner of the Least Developed Countries Universities Consortium for Climate Change (LUCCC), a South-South long-term capacity-building platform through which faculty members and students share experiences and knowledge on climate change to build capacity through education, training, research and communication.
Regional focus
Benin Republic, Sahel, West Africa
Thematic focus
Pastoralism, Environmental/climate change, Socio-technological change, Land use change, Sustainable livelihood, Grassroots organization politics, Gender and social inclusion, Humanitarian aid, Food systems
Current and former research projects
Former and current field studies
- Decision support for strengthening land resilience in the face of global challenges – DecLaRe (2022–2026): Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Berlin, Germany / https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb11agrar/fachgebiete-/-einrichtungen/opats/declare/project-summary
- Enhancing women´s agency in navigating changing food environments to improve child nutrition in African drylands – NaviNut (2020–2023): Funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Bonn, Germany / https://www.ditsl.org/en/research/projects/navinut
- COVID-19 and pastoralism in a context of rupture and structural reforms in Benin: Learning from uncertainty management from below – PASTCOV (2021–2022): Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), Bonn, Germany / https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/468375783?language=en
- Navigating uncertainties: New livelihood trajectories by Fulani pastoralist youth in Northern Benin – PASTUNAT (2020–2023): Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, Hanover, Germany / https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectDetails.do?ref=98474
- Intensive science communication on gender and pastoralism in Benin (2020–2021): Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, Hanover, Germany / https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectDetails.do?ref=928631
- Women’s associations in a pastoralist society in transformation: implications for gender-based livelihood improvement policies in Benin (2017–2020): Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, Hanover, Germany / https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectDetails.do?ref=92863
- Configurations et dynamiques de l’aide humanitaire dans les zones d’inondations de la vallée du fleuve Niger au Nord-Bénin (2017–2019): Funded by the Fondation de la Croix-Rouge Française (FCRF), Paris, France & Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Marseille, France / https://www.fondation-croix-rouge.fr/recherches-soutenues/georges-djohy/
- Pastoralism and socio-technical transformations in northern Benin: implications for environmental change policies (2013–2016): Funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn, Germany / https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/wissenschaftlicher-werdegang--biography/534495.html
- Socio-economic appropriation of mobile phone in pastoralist communities in northern Benin (2015–2016): Funded by the International Foundation for Science (IFS), Stockholm, Sweden / https://issuu.com/ifs2013/docs/ifs_annualreport_2014_issuu
- Agent-Based Modeling of herders’ vulnerability and adaptation strategies regarding water resources in a context of climate change in Alibori, Northern Benin (2011–2012): Funded by the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP), Dar Es Salam, Tanzania & the Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START), Washington DC, USA /. https://start.org/programs/accfp
- Transhumance and climate change: analysis of socio-political and organizational dynamics of herders’ adaptation in Alibori, Northern Benin (2008–2010): Funded by the European Union-funded Interdisciplinary and Participatory Research Program on Interactions between Ecosystems, Climate and Society in West Africa (RIPIECSA–Transhumance), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Marseille, France / http://www.secheresse.info/spip.php?article42900
Former and current field studies
- Women, changing food environments & child nutrition (Alibori & Borgou Regions, Northern Benin: 2020–2023)
- COVID-19, pastoralism & uncertainty management (Borgou Region, Northern Benin: 2021–2022)
- New livelihood trajectories by Fulani Pastoralist Youth (Alibori & Borgou Regions, Northern Benin: 2020–2022)
- Women’s associations in a pastoralist society in transformation (Alibori & Borgou Regions, Northern Benin: 2017–2019)
- Configurations et dynamiques de l’aide humanitaire (Niger Valley/Alibori Region, Northern Benin: 2017–2018)
- Pastoralism and socio-technical transformations (Alibori Region, Northern Benin: 2013–2014)
- Socio-economic appropriation of mobile phone in pastoralist communities (Alibori Region, Northern Benin: 2015–2016)
- Climate change and herders’ vulnerability and adaptation to water scarcity (Alibori Region, Northern Benin: 2011–2012)
- Transhumance and climate change (Alibori Region, Northern Benin: 2008–2009)