Global Partnership Network (GPN)

The Global Partnership Network (GPN) is an alliance of higher education institutions and civil society groups for research, teaching and workshops around SDG 17: "Global Partnership for Sustainable Development". From 2020 until 2022, I was a member of the Board of Directors of the GPN and the Head of GPN's Research Cluster "Global Economy". The GPN draws attention to the shortcomings, limitations and problematic aspects of international partnerships that have historically been shaped by, and sometimes still reflect, colonial relations between North and South. Through research and PhD supervision I continue to be engaged with the network, that is working to change the concept of partnership to one that is more based on mutual recognition and solidarity and more in line with the multipolar and postcolonial 21st century.
In one of our collaborative projects I worked together with  colleagues from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, to explore the penetration of agribusiness on the peasantry in a Karnal zone of Haryana, with a focus on input supply networks. The study analyses the ways in which big corporations, particularly transnational agribusiness, penetrate the markets and production systems through the promotion of ‘integrated solutions’. In particular, the study focuses on impacts on cost of production, pesticide use, and environmental and occupational health. These themes are illustrated through field studies on paddy, vegetables and maize in the Karnal Zone comprising Karnal, Panipat and Kurukshetra districts.

GPN Working Paper: Prasad, A., Abrol, D., Jha, P. Matheis, T.V., Herzig, C., in collaboration with John, R. Singh, R., 2023, Impact of Corporate Integrated Farm Solutions on Small Farmers: A Case Study of Bayer, Karnal, Haryana, GPN Working Paper 2, 87 pages.