Pierre Girard holds a PhD in Economics from the Univeristy of Montpellier (France). He works at CIRAD, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, whose mandate is to produce and disseminate knowledge and innovations and contribute to capacity building in support of agricultural development in the Global South. Pierre Girard is been posted to ISSER since mid-2023. Before obtaining his PhD, he worked in international development in many African countries with a focus on supporting farmers’organization. His research interests is on structural change in rural change in relation with employment issues. He especially focuses on the agricultural development models that can provide decent jobs to people, the role of agroecology, bionenergies and mechanization in transforming farming systems and territories, and rural-urban linkages.
- Structural change in rural areas
- Labour
- Youth transition
- Agroecology
- Household survey
- Multivariate analysis
Journal Articles
Girard P. 2023. From family to markets. How institutional determinants of rural youth transitions have changed in Senegal and Zambia over time. Journal of Rural Studies, 101 : 17 p. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103040
Mercandalli S., Girard P., Dione B., Michel S. 2023. Assessing rural-urban linkages and their contribution to territorial development: Insights from Zimbabwe's small and medium-sized cities. Sustainability, 15 (7) (n.spéc. Territorial Approaches to Sustainability) : 32 p. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076223
Girard P., Laske E., Sylla E.H.M., Bourgoin J., Sall M. 2022. Une agriculture familiale de plus en plus dépendante du salariat ? Les travailleurs saisonniers dans l'agriculture familiale sénégalaise (régions des Niayes et du Delta). Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines : p. 207-239. https://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/36355
Girard P., Michel S., Mercandalli S., Losch B. 2022. The income-labour nexus as the dominant institutional form in rural sub-Saharan Africa. How youth transition helps to understand structural change. Revue de la Régulation, 32 : 32 p. https://doi.org/10.4000/regulation.21157
Book chapters
Girard P. 2023. Rapport social d'activité et changement structurel : le cas du Sénégal. In : Boyer Robert (ed.), Chanteau Jean-Pierre (ed.), Labrousse Agnès (ed.), Lamarche Thomas (ed.). Théorie de la régulation - Un nouvel état des savoirs. Paris : Dunod, p. 412-418.
Giordano T., Losch B., Sourisseau J.M., Girard P. 2019. Risks of mass unemployment and worsening of working conditions. In : Dury Sandrine (ed.), Bendjebbar Pauline (ed), Hainzelin Etienne (ed.), Giordano Thierry (ed.), Bricas Nicolas (ed.). Food systems at risk. New trends and challenges. Rome : CIRAD; FAO, p. 75-77. https://doi.org/10.19182/agritrop/00097
Girard P., Bourgoin J., Diop D., Diao Camara A., Dia D. 2019. Évolution des structures agraires et installation des jeunes en agriculture. Retour sur quarante ans d'installation en agriculture irriguée dans le delta du fleuve Sénégal. In : Merlet Michel (ed.), Levesque Robert (ed.), Range Charline (ed.), Benkahla Amel (ed.). Structures agraires et accès des jeunes à la terre. Gestion intrafamiliale du foncier et stratégies d¿autonomisation des jeunes. Paris : AFD, p. 123-143. http://www.foncier-developpement.fr/publication/structures-agraires-et-acces-des-jeunes-a-la-terre-gestion-intrafamiliale-du-foncier-et-strategies-dautonomisation-des-jeunes/
Girard P., Chapoto A. 2017. Zambia: internal migration at the core of territorial dynamics. In : Mercandalli Sara (ed.), Losch Bruno (ed.). Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration South of the Sahara. Rome : FAO; CIRAD, p. 34-35. http://www.fao.org/policy-support/resources/resources-details/en/c/1106688/
Projects
JobAgri (2024-2026). Funded by the BMZ. The objective of this project, based on the implementation of specific surveys with an original methodology allowing for international comparisons, is to support effective and job-rich investments in agriculture and agri-food value chains through renewed and innovative knowledge generation on the quantity and quality of labour. See more at https://www.ilo.org/emppolicy/pubs/WCMS_762511/lang--en/index.htm
MecaWAT (2023-2025). Funded by the French ministry of foreign affairs. The project aims to contribute to the development of agroecological agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa, through the mechanization of plant production operations. Its aim is to combine better labour productivity with less hardship and a work organisation that is favourable to women and young people. see more at https://www.cirad.fr/en/worldwide/cirad-worldwide/projects/projet-mecawat
EmployAE (2024-2025). Funded by the TSARA initiative. The project aims to characterize and identify different profiles of activities at farm and value chain level, according to agricultural and business models. See more about TSARA at: https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2022/the-initiative-tsara-moves-into-action
BioStar (2020-2025). Funded by the European Union and the French Development Agency. The BioStar project aims to contribute to energy and food security in West Africa through the development of a bioenergy sector that serves the needs of food processing SMEs. See more at: https://www.biostar-afrique.org/en