Jordan Blekking

About

Jordan Blekking is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Global Development. Broadly, he is interested in human-environmental interactions and how these interactions shape smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Southern and Eastern Africa. His research focuses on how smallholder farmers’ perceptions of environmental conditions vary across spatial scales and locations and how these perceptions inform their cropping decisions in areas experiencing changes in growing patterns. 

Jordan earned his Ph.D. in Geography from Indiana University in 2022. His doctorate focused on how rapid urbanization in Southern African cities impacts the development of food retail environments and urban food systems. Jordan earned a Masters of Science in Geography from Indiana University, and a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies and Applications from Michigan State University. Prior to graduate school, Jordan served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia from 2012 to 2015 where he served as an agro-forestry volunteer. 

Select publications

• Brondizio, E. S., Giroux, S. A., Valliant, J. C., Blekking, J., Dickinson, S., & Henschel, B. (2023). Millions of jobs in food production are disappearing—a change in mindset would help to keep them. Nature, 620(7972), 33-36.
• Blekking, J., Giroux, S., Waldman, K., Battersby, J., Tuholske, C., Robeson, S. M., & Siame, G. (2022). The impacts of climate change and urbanization on food retailers in urban sub-Saharan Africa. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 55, 101169.
• Blekking, J., Gatti, N., Waldman, K., Evans, T., & Baylis, K. (2021). The benefits and limitations of agricultural input cooperatives in Zambia. World Development, 146, 105616.
• Waldman, K. B., Blekking, J. P., Attari, S. Z., & Evans, T. P. (2017). Maize seed choice and perceptions of climate variability among smallholder farmers. Global environmental change, 47, 51-63.