People

In 2017, ten scholars became HCP-WLU Queen Elizabeth Scholars-Advanced Scholars as part of the QES-HCP project. In 2018, another eight scholars will join the program.

DOCTORAL SCHOLARS

Ezequiel Abrahamo

Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

Maputo, Mozambique

http://en.gravatar.com/ezequielabrahamo56

Ezequiel is spending his scholarship at the Balsillie School of International Affairs researching food security in Maputo with Dr Jonathan Crush and Dr Cameron McCordic. His research placement is at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

Ning Dai

Department of Geography and Environmental Management

University of Waterloo

https://uwaterloo.ca/ecological-agriculture-in-china/about/people/ning-dai

Ning is spending his scholarship at Nanjing University conducting research on informal food vendors and the role of wet markets in Nanjing, China, with Dr Taiyang Zhong. His research placements are with the retailing stores of Planck Organic Farm and Heyuan Wet Market in Nanjing.

Jennifer Kandjii

Balsillie School of International Affairs & University of Namibia

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/people/jennifer-kandjii

Jennifer is spending her scholarship at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, where she is conducting research on precarity and food insecurity amongst urban refugees in Cape Town with Dr Gareth Haysom. Her research placement is with the UNHCR Office in Cape Town.

Farhan Rahman

Department of Geography and Environmental Management

University of Waterloo

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/farhan-rahman-b0448331

Farhan is spending his scholarship and research placement at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bangalore, India. He is researching informal food value chains in Bangalore under the supervision of Dr Neha Sami.

Beth Timmers

School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability

University of Waterloo

https://uwaterloo.ca/global-food-politics-group/people-profiles/beth-timmers

Beth is spending her scholarship at the University of West Indies working with Dr Elizabeth Thomas Hope on Kingston’s food system.

Amanda Joynt

Department of Geography and Environmental Management

University of Waterloo

https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-student-association/people-profiles/amanda-joynt

Amanda is spending her scholarship at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi with Dr. Bernard Kamanga. Her research is focused on the influences of multi-scalar governance of the urban food system of Mzuzu, Malawi. Her research placement is with the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia Development Department.

Emmanuel Chilanga

Emmanuel is a doctoral candidate in Social Work at McGill University. He completed his Master of Science degree (Geography) at Western University. As a QES-Advanced Scholar, Emmanuel is based in Malawi at the University of Livingstonia with a placement at the Foundation for Children’s Rights. His research will focus on urban household food security and dietary diversity and aim to use survey data to develop a nutritional intervention program protocol.

Anil Dhakal

Anil is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. Anil has a Masters of Development Practice from the University of Waterloo and an M.A. in Rural Development from the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu in Nepal. Anil’s research focus as a QES-Advanced Scholar centres on the relationship between remittances and the food security status of remittance-receiving households in Mzuzu, Malawi. His scholarship is at University of Livingstonia and his placement is with the CCAP Synod.

Vonai Chiramba

Vonai is a PhD student in the department of Statistics and a lecturer in the Animal Science department at the University of Namibia. She holds an MSc in Statistics and teaches courses in biometry, biostatistics and research methods. During her scholarship period, Vonai will focus on the efficacy of statistical models used to measure food security in the Global South.

Xinxian Qi

Xinxian is a PhD candidate in School of Geography at Nanjing University in China. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in resources environment and the Management of Urban and Rural Planning. Xinxian’s research interests are food geographies, environmental economy and policy, land economy and policy. During his QES Advanced Scholarship, Xinxian aims to examine the spatial differences of the operation of wet markets and how the differences are associated with local socioeconomic conditions.

Yanick Borel Kamga

Yanick is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Plant Biology at University of Dschang, Cameroon. During his scholarship period at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, he focuses on food security in the secondary cities in Africa (Dschang, Cameroon) and translating research into policy recommendations. He also work with Canadian researchers to prepare for a vendor survey in Dschang.

Yuan Yuan

Yuan is a PhD candidate in School of Geography at Nanjing University in China. She holds a Bachelor of Management degree in Land Resources Management. During her QES Advanced Scholarship, Yuan aims to examine the supermarketisation process in Nanjing, its interactions with traditional food outlets and the implications for the local food economy.

Yaya Song

Yaya is a PhD candidate in School of Geography at Nanjing University in China. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in human geography and urban planning. Yaya’s research interests are food security, food geography and sustainable development. During her QES Advanced Scholarship, Yaya aims to assess whether food affordability (food price in supply-side) in different regions of Nanjing has been systematically improved by establishing affordable food stores of agricultural products and quantify the food security implications of affordable food stores from the perspective of geography.

POST-DOCTORAL SCHOLARS

Dr. Mary Caesar

University of Cape Town

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/mary-s-caesar/

Mary is undertaking her Post-Doctoral Fellowship with Dr Jonathan Crush at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She is working on the governance of Cape Town’s food system and her research placement is with the Toronto Food Policy Council.

Dr. Zhenzhong Si

Nanjing University

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/zhenzhong-si/

Zhenzhong is undertaking his Post-Doctoral Fellowship with Dr Jonathan Crush at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He is working on the governance of Nanjing’s food system and his research placement is with the Toronto Food Policy Council.

Dr. Helena Shilomboleni

University of Namibia

https://uwaterloo.ca/global-food-politics-group/people-profiles/helena-shilomboleni

Helena completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship with Dr Jonathan Crush at the Balsillie School of International Affairs where she conducted research on the food system in Oshakati, Namibia.

Dr. Graeme Young

https://balsillieschool.academia.edu/GraemeYoung

Dr. Young received his PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge. His research examines the politics of development and informal sector governance in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on how state institutions, political processes and urban development initiatives impact the urban poor and shape prospects for inclusive growth. He will be undertaking his scholarship at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town and working with the Western Cape Government on issues of informality and the urban food sector.

Dr. Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango

Dr. Onyango completed her PhD in Health Geography in the faculty of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Her PhD worked on the Global Index of Wellbeing project with a focus on the health and wellbeing indicators that matter to Kenyans of different ages, genders and from different regions in the country. Elizabeth has taught epidemiology and community health related courses in different institutions in Kenya. Currently, Elizabeth is working as a Queen Elizabeth Scholar (QES) postdoctoral fellow/visiting scholar at Wilfrid Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) where her research work is on the role of formal and informal social protection systems in boosting food security status of urban households.

Dr. Percy Toriro

Dr. Toriro did his PhD at the University of Cape Town. He is a practicing Urban Planner who has worked in many cities in different countries across Africa. He has also lectured in the Planning School at the University of Zimbabwe and is a past President of the Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban Planners (ZIRUP). Percy participated in the AFSUN and CUP projects. Percy sees his mission as bridging the gap between academia and practice and is currently involved in knowledge generation that seeks to produce university teaching materials whilst providing practitioners with tools for evidence-based policymaking and strategy development.

EARLY CAREER/INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS

Dr. Godfrey Tawodzera

University of Cape Town

https://za.linkedin.com/in/dr-godfrey-tawodzera-730313b

Dr. Tawodzera is an independent scholar attached to the African Centre for Cities at UCT. He is working with Dr Jonathan Crush and Dr Cameron McCordic at the Balsillie School of International Affairs on Cape Town’s informal food vendors. His research placement is with the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

Dr. Ndeyapo Nickanor

Dr. Nickanor is a Lecturer in Statistics at the University of Namibia. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Cape Town. Her research interests include urbanization, migration and food security in Namibia. While in Canada, she will work with Dr Jonathan Crush on the urban food system of secondary cities in northern Namibia. Her placement is with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).

Dr. Robert Kinlocke

Dr. Kinlocke is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica. Dr. Kinlocke’s doctoral research focused on fear, social capital and residential boundaries in the Kingston Metropolitan Area.

Mr. Lovemore Itai Zuze

Mr. Zuze is a Lecturer under the Department of Food Security and Nutrition at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi. He teaches and facilitates research activities in food security and urban poverty in urbanising cities. His work aims at guiding local policies in the Global South that will see a large proportion of its population living in the urban areas in the foreseeable future. Mr. Zuze is an active participant in the African Food Security Urban Network (AFSUN) projects which looked at household food security in 2017 as well as the food retailers in Malawi’s third largest city Mzuzu, conducted in April 2019. Mr. Zuze also runs a consultant and research firm that promotes the use of digital data collection tools mainly for under graduate university students with an interest in urban poverty, food governance and food security in Malawi.

FACULTY MENTORS

Dr Jonathan Crush

Balsillie School of International Affairs

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/jonathan-crush/

Dr Bruce Frayne

University of Waterloo

https://uwaterloo.ca/school-environment-enterprise-development/people-profiles/bruce-frayne

Dr Cameron McCordic

Balsillie School of International Affairs

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/cameron-mccordic/

Dr Gareth Haysom

University of Cape Town, South Africa