French order of merit for Professor of Development Economics and Environment

Bina Agarwal

A University of Manchester professor has been awarded the French order of merit for agriculture.

Bina Agarwal, Professor at the University’s Global Development Institute, has been appointed Officer in the Order of Agricultural Merit (Ordre du Mérite Agricole) by France.

This prestigious award, established in 1883, is bestowed for outstanding contributions to agriculture in terms of research, innovation or practice, and is rarely awarded to non-French citizens.

In a communication, the Ambassador of France, Francois Richier, said the award had been bestowed on Agarwal in recognition of her “remarkable international career as a development economist, [her] various works on rural economy, much of which have received acclaim and awards, as well as [her] strong commitment towards rural development, gender equality and the environment”.

Bina Agarwal has written extensively on land, livelihoods and property rights; environment and development; the political economy of gender; poverty and inequality; legal change; and agriculture and technological transformation.

Among her best known works is the award-winning book—A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia — which has had a significant impact on governments, NGOs, and international agencies in promoting women's rights in land and property.

This work has also inspired research in Latin America and globally. Her more recent widely - cited books, all published by Oxford University Press, include Gender and Green Governance and a three volume compendium of her selected papers entitled Gender Challenges.