Thèse en cours : Building resilience in food insecurity: The role for the informal food economy in Senegal and its gendered dimension

Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Sous la direction de François Roubaud et Vincent Geronimi (UMI SOURCE)
Co-encadrée par Mireille Razafindrakoto et Florent Bédécarrats (UMI SOURCE)
Date d’inscription : Octobre 2023

Informal workers in the Global South have played – and continue to play – a critical role in ensuring food security at the local level through alternative and decentralized food access and distribution networks. However, research gaps remain concerning context-specific and temporally-situated empirical shreds of evidence on practices that contribute to resilience in the face of vulnerable urban food systems and compromised food security. Starting from an understanding of the potential shocks and stresses facing urban food systems in Senegal, the thesis aims to evaluate the potential contribution of practices within the informal economy on livelihood resilience and food security. It does so by focusing on the pivotal roles played by two key informal actors within this context: street food vendors and intermediaries facilitating rural-to-urban exchanges in local food products. The research aims to assess how gender differences affect women’s livelihood resilience, given their essential and representative role.