ABSTRACT

Knowledge and politics underpin a contestation over the future of African agriculture, which is associated with risk and opportunity, uncertainty, ambiguity and ignorance. This chapter focuses on a framework for conducting sociological analyses of risk assessment and systematically deconstructing knowledge claims. The social relationships and trust play an important role in shaping the interactions involved in governance of agricultural change. The concept of social interactions and solidarities reinforcing cultural barriers and constructions of risk has been developed in literature on the social amplification of risk. This scenario is described as the internalisation of knowledge, reflecting an insular approach to risk management that is distrusting or sceptical of external knowledges. It is argued that in preparing for an uncertain future in African agriculture, acknowledging the incompleteness of knowledge and the value of multiple knowledges, as opposed to implementing adaptation strategies that are based on hegemonic assumptions, are essential for achieving appropriate outcomes.