About
Rachel Bezner Kerr is a Professor of Global Development at Cornell University with a background in sociology, environmental science and international development. She does long-term research in Malawi and Tanzania, using participatory research methods to test the impacts of agroecological approaches on livelihoods, nutrition and sustainable land management for rural communities. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and books, in scientific journals such as Global Change Biology, Global Food Security, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Agriculture and Human Values, Social Science and Medicine, Public Health Nutrition, Global Environmental Change, Journal of Peasant Studies and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She coauthored a report for the United Nations High Level Panel of Experts which examined the potential for agroecology to address food security and nutrition. She served as a Coordinating Lead Author for the chapter on climate change impacts and adaptation of food systems for the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from 2019-2022.
Engaged learning and community-based research is also a priority for Dr. Bezner Kerr. In 2020 she helped to form the local Covid-19 Food Task Force. She serves as the Director of the Graduate Field of Development Studies, Director of the Institute for African Development housed in the Einaudi Center for International Studies, and Director of the Community Food Systems minor at Cornell University, which provides engaged learning experiences for students with organizations working on sustainable agriculture and food justice issues. When she is not working, Rachel loves hanging out with her family, gardening and hiking.
Research Focus
Rachel has four major areas of research:
- historical, political and social roots of the food system in northern Malawi;
- sustainable agriculture, food security and social processes in rural Africa;
- social relations linked to health and nutritional outcomes and
- local knowledge and climate change adaptation.
Her general approach to food systems has been holistic, interdisciplinary and collaborative, drawing from both the natural and social sciences, including collaborations with those working in agricultural and nutritional science, public health and ecology. Most of her research is also applied, community-based and participatory, involving local organizations and community members addressing ways to develop a sustainable food system. In her work, she pays attention to different scales of a problem, as well as the historical roots that shape contemporary realities. She also studies discursive framings of food issues, using post-structural and feminist theory as well as political ecology to explore agricultural practices and policies in southern Africa. Concepts drawn from agroecology, public health and international nutrition have also been important in her research. Her long-term collaborative research project has shown evidence-based improvement in nutrition, food security and soil management from agro-ecological practices in Malawi and Tanzania.
Honors, Awards & Policy Work
- 2022: Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This award recognizes the central role in producing scientific knowledge that inform decision makers in society on combatting climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
- 2022: Outstanding Achievements in Science and Policy Award, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- 2019-22: Coordinating Lead Author, Chapter 5, Food, fibre, and other ecosystem products, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.
- 2018-19: High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security & Nutrition (HLPE), UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), Project Team, “Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture & food systems that enhance food security & nutrition.”
Recent Media Highlights
