Dr Edward Lahiff

Biography

Dr Edward Lahiff is a Senior Lecturer in International Development in the Department of Food Business and Development.  He is Co-Director of the BSc International Development.

Dr Lahiff has published widely on land reform, rural livelihoods and natural resources in the global south. His current research is on agriculture-nutrition linkages in Ethiopia, small scale farming in Kenya, and social inclusion in Vietnam. He was Principal Investigator on the Irish Research Council-funded project 'Social inclusion of rural migrants in Hanoi City, Vietnam', a collaboration with the University of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi (2019-22).

Dr Lahiff teaches on multiple modules on the BSc International Development, in the areas of development studies, agriculture and contemporary issues in development. He coordinates the third-year international work placement and the fourth-year dissertations. At post-graduate level, he teaches the module Sustainable Food Systems on the MSc Food Business and Innovation and the MSc  Sustainable Development, Agri-Food and Co-operatives. He has supervised a wide range of dissertations at masters and doctoral level on topics related to food security, natural resources and human rights in the global south. He is currently supervising six doctoral students in the areas of agriculture, food security and rural development. 

He holds an M.A. in Development Studies from the University of Manchester and a PhD. in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London. He spent ten years in southern Africa working with rural NGOs and as Senior Lecturer in Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape. Dr Lahiff is Chair of the UCC branch of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) and sits on its National Executive Committee. He is also an academic staff representative on the UCC Governing Authority (2023-27). He is a frequent contributor to developed-related debates and policy discussions in Ireland and abroad.