Joseph Yaro

Joseph Awetori Yaro joined the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana in 2005, after completing his PhD in Human Geography in the University of Oslo in 2004. He is the African Visiting Scholar at Carleton University’s Institute of African Studies for 2011-2012 academic year.

Joseph’s teaching and research interests reflect a combination development studies and rural geography. He has done extensive research in rural northern Ghana since 1999. He has undertaken development related research on environmental issues, poverty, food insecurity, sustainable rural livelihoods, land tenure, and climate change adaptation. He mentors students in carrying out annual evaluations of NGOs and conducting baseline studies of beneficiary communities in Ghana.

His specific research interests are in:

Sustainable rural livelihoods
Food security in rural Ghana
Climate change adaptation- local responses and building adaptive capacity
Land tenure/ the African land question and especially on recent transnational land grabs

Joseph is actively researching into transnational land deals in Ghana in Collaboration with the Futures Agricultural Consortium (Institute of Development Studies, Sussex) and also starting a new research on Building local adaptive capacity to climate change and climate variability in rural northern Ghana.

Academic Courses taught

· Research methods at both undergraduate and graduate levels
· Resource Analysis at undergraduate
· Theory and Practice of Geography/Philosophy at undergraduate
· Regional Development theories at undergraduate
· Rural Development theories and practices at undergraduate
· Environment and Society at undergraduate
· Explanation in Geography (MPhil)

Research collaboration

Joseph has carried out consultancies and research projects sponsored by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines; The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research; The University of Ghana Research and Conferences Grants; The World Bank; and The Centre for Environment and Development, University of Oslo (funded by the Norwegian Research Council).