Matthew A. Schnurr
I am a Professor in the Department of International Development Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. My research interests focus on the politics of agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Rock, J., Schnurr, M.A., Kingiri, A., Ely, A., Glover, D., Stone, G.D., and Fischer, K. (2023). The knowledge politics of genome editing in Africa. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 11 (1): 00143.
How is the promise of crop genome editing viewed by scientists working with or aspiring to work with the technology, by development experts seeking to mold public perceptions and policy attitudes toward genome editing, and by donors that provide funds for genome-editing research for agricultural applications in sub-Saharan Africa? In this article, we present data …
Rock, J., Schnurr, M.A., Kingiri, A., Glover, Stone, G.D., Ely, A., & Fischer, K. (2023). Beyond the Genome: Genetically Modified Crops in Africa and the Implications for Genome Editing. Development and Change.
Genome editing — a plant-breeding technology that facilitates the manipulation of genetic traits within living organisms — has captured the imagination of scholars and professionals working on agricultural development in Africa. Echoing the arrival of genetically modified (GM) crops decades ago, genome editing is being heralded as a technology with the potential to revolutionize breeding …
Schnurr, M.A., Rock, J., Kingiri, A., & Lieberman, S. (2022). Are genetically modified and genome-edited crops viable strategies for climate-change adaptation among smallholder farmers? Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 58, 101216
Genetic modification and genome editing are laboratory techniques that allow plant breeders to alter an organism’s DNA with the aim of enhancing the expression of beneficial traits. Both have been touted as pro-poor breeding technologies that can help smallholder farmers in low-income countries adapt to climate change. This review assesses the evidence showcasing both the …
Ely, A., Friedrich, B., Glover, D., Fischer, K., Stone, G., Kingiri, A., and Schnurr, M.A. (2022). Governing Agricultural Biotechnologies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany: A Trans-decadal Study of Regulatory Cultures. Science, Technologies, & Human Values.
Comparative studies of agricultural biotechnology regulation have highlighted differences in the roles that science and politics play in decision-making. Drawing on documentary and interview evidence in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, we consider how the “regulatory cultures” that guided national responses to earlier generations of agricultural biotechnology have developed, alongside the emergence …
Schnurr & Dowd-Uribe. (2021). Anticipating farmer outcomes of three genetically modified staple crops in sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from farming systems research. Journal of Rural Studies, 88, 377-387.
The research presented in this paper offers a different evaluative approach for new GM crops by taking inspiration from farming systems research (FSR). We use the conceptual starting point of FSR scholarship—the farming system—to conduct an exploratory predictive analysis of three GM crops currently in the experimental pipeline: Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) …
Schnurr & Taylor. (2021). Simulating the Sustainable Development Goals: Scaffolding, Social Media and Self-Reported Learning Outcomes Amongst Entry-Level Students. Journal of Political Science Education, 17(1), 255-274.
This paper addresses two crucial gaps in the scholarship on the design and execution Simulation-Based Education (SBE) – the importance of scaffolding in constructing successful simulations for entry-level students and the associated value of social media tools. We examine these issues within three successive iterations of a role-play simulation employed in an introductory undergraduate course. …
Addison, Schnurr, Gore, Bawa & Mujabi-Mujuzi. (2021). Women’s Empowerment in Africa: Critical Reflections on the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI). African Studies Review, 64(2), 276-291.
This commentary unpacks the underlying assumptions underpinning the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). The WEAI has emerged as a popular survey tool designed to measure women’s inclusion, agency, and empowerment in the agricultural sector. By revealing key flaws and assumptions underpinning this survey tool, our goal is to contribute to the critical literature on empowerment which …
Twum-Anti, Jeffries, Theron, Schnurr, & Ungar. (2020). Young people’s perceptions of identities in a rural oil and gas town experiencing boom-bust economic cycles. Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 3, 275–292.
To investigate young people’s experiences of living in a community dependent on resource extraction and processing industries during boom-bust economic cycles, we used a qualitative multi-method approach to engage 50 youth ages 13–24 in a study of resilience and well-being. As part of our analysis of resilience processes, we examined how young people’s perceptions of …
Schnurr, Addison, Gore, & Bawa. (2020). Genetically modified crops and gender relations in low- and middle-income countries: A critical review. Journal of Development Perspectives, 4(1-2), 9-22.
Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been lauded as a tool to redress stagnating yields and food insecurity amongst poor farmers since their release in the early 1990s. The potential for GM crops to alleviate poverty for farmers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) will likely hinge on their ability to enhance women’s overall wellbeing, yet …
Ungar, McRuer, Liu, Theron, Blais, & Schnurr. (2020). Social-ecological resilience through a biocultural lens: A participatory methodology to support global targets and local priorities. Ecology and Society, 25(3), 8.
More research is needed to properly represent social-ecological system (SES) interactions that support the integrity of biological and cultural, i.e., biocultural, relationships in places experiencing environmental, economic, and social change. In this paper we offer a novel methodology to address this need through the development of place-based indicators and engagement of young people as coresearchers …