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Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture
in Recurrent and Protracted Crises
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Simon Levine leads the Pastoralism and Crises thematic group in SPARC. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute and specialises in livelihoods and vulnerability analysis, land rights, and in early response in humanitarian crises.

Featured resources

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An Afghan farmer and his family stand beside a tractor - image by SOC Neil Chapman Defence Images - CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED Publications and resources

This policy brief looks at how aid practitioners in Afghanistan assumed a high degree of uniformity in the rural economy that does not exist, to the detriment of development interventions.
A local breadmaker prepares stacks of bread in Helmand Province, Afghanistan - image by Resolute Support Media - CC-BY-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

This policy brief looks at why millions of dollars of aid and investment failed to transform Afghanistan's economy.
Wheat harvest in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan - image by Alex Treadway / ICIMOD - CC-BY-NC-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

This policy brief looks at why aid practitioners missed an important opportunity to bolster food security by supporting improved post-harvest processing and storage in Afghanistan.
A weaver in Kaldar district Afghanistan - image by Hand in Hand International - CC- BY-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

This policy brief looks at why aid practitioners missed an important opportunity to understand and engage with informal credit systems in Afghanistan.

Latest news and features

IDPs who have been displaced by fighting in the Bajaur tribal area on the Pak-Afghan border have poured in to the Jalozai refugee camp at Nowshera in the North West Frontier Province. Credit: Abdul Majeed Goraya/IRIN. Blog

What do aid practitioners need to do to engage more seriously with context? Simon Levine unpacks the key lessons from SPARC's new report.
Improved Food Security - Photo by USAID- CC BY-NC 2.0 Blog

How re-thinking how we understand 'resilience' can spur climate, development and humanitarian actors to work together to support people in the Sahel facing complex, multiple challenges.
A girl stands watch over a herd of goats at Bakara Animal Market in Mogadishu. Blog

How are rural families in Somalia dealing with the impacts of Covid-19? SPARC speaks to farmers, agropastoralists, pastoralists and traders.

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