About us

The RDE studies rural development with a focus on communities in the Global South. We integrate economics and sociology to increase our understanding on how institutional dynamics affect people who are making a living from sustainable agriculture. With our research outcomes we seek to find institutional changes that may improve the livelihoods of people depending on agriculture in terms of poverty alleviation, improved food and nutrition security and increased resilience to adverse effects.

Research focus and projects

• Food security
• Food policy
• Rural sociology
• Rural market access, cooperatives and contracts
• Institutional changes in land, labour and market conditions

Education

• Nutrition and food policy
• Rural development
• Development economics
• Sociological perspectives on agriculture
• Rural project management
• Seminars in rural development

Contact

Staff

Amber Steyaert

PhD candidate
Rural development
Department of Agricultural Economics
Ghent University
Coupure Links 653
Office A1.
9000 Ghent, Belgium
✉︎ amber.steyaert@ugent.be

Willy Désiré Emera

PhD candidate
Rural development
Department of Agricultural Economics
Ghent University
Coupure Links 653
Office A1.
9000 Ghent, Belgium
✉︎ willy.emera@ugent.be
✆+257 71 211 281

Debella Deressa Bayissa

PhD candidatRural development
Department of Agricultural Economics
Ghent University
Coupure Links 653
Office A1.
9000 Ghent, Belgium
✉︎ debelladeressa.bayissa@ugent.be