Professor Julian May

• PhD in Development Economics and International Development (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
• Masters in Social Science in Development Studies (University of Natal)
• Honours in Economics (University of Natal)
• Bachelor in Social Science (University of Natal).

Professor Julian May is the Director of the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), which is hosted by the University of the Western Cape, and co-hosted by the University of Pretoria; holder of the UNESCO Chair in Science and Education for African Food Systems; and Project Leader for the African German Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems and Applied Agricultural and Food Data Science (UKUDLA). Additionally, Professor May serves as Commissioner for the National Planning Commission of South Africa, and as Treasurer of the Academy of Science of South Africa’s Council. Prior to this, he held the South African Research Chair in Applied Poverty Reduction Assessment, and was Director of the German-South African Centre of Excellence in Development Research.

In addition to his role as Director at the CoE-FS, Professor May is co-principal investigator of the “Governance, Power and Public Engagement in Food Systems” programme. He recently co-edited the “South African Child Gauge 2020: Food and Nutrition Security” and has edited six other books and journal special editions; written over 40 chapters for various books; and published more than 50 refereed journal articles, the most recent of which is “Food system interventions in urban environments: Integrating simulation models and stakeholder solutions”. During his 30-year career, he has worked on options for poverty reduction including land reform, social grants, information technology and urban agriculture throughout Africa and in the Indian Ocean Islands. His current research focuses on food security, childhood deprivation and malnutrition.

He has been an associate researcher at Oxford University, the University of Bergen, the University of Manchester and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and a visiting researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Université de Paris and the University of Cape Town. He was a visiting researcher at the Montpellier University of Excellence (MUSE) from 01 October, 2019 until 30 March, 2020.

He served on the South African Statistics Council for more than ten years, and, in addition to his position as ASSAf Council Treasurer, chairs the Standing Committee on Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality. He also represents ASSAf on the Science for Poverty Eradication Committee of the International Academic Partnership.

Professor May has served on the Senate Human Subjects Ethics Review Committees of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of the Western Cape, as well; on task teams for research policy and data management.

He was a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the International Comparisons Programme, led by the World Bank. He has served on Expert Group meetings convened by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations International Childrenʼs Fund (UNICEF). He has consulted for the World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

• Bayat, A., Quinn, C., May, J., & Govera, H. (2023). Food systems approach: Reversing the trajectory of food insecurity in Africa. New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy, (90), 24–29. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/ejc-nagenda_v2023_n90_a8
• Kubik, Z., Mirzabaev, A., & May, J. (2023). Climate change, food and nutrition security, and human capital. In K. F. Zimmermann (Ed.), Handbook of labor, human resources and population economics. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_333-1
• Losch, B., & May, J. (2023). Place-based approaches to food system resilience: Emerging trends and lessons from South Africa. In C. Béné & S. Devereux (Eds.), Resilience and food security in a food systems context (pp. 321–353). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23535-1_10
• Hemerijckx, L. M., Nakyagaba, G. N., Sseviiri, H., Janusz, K., Eichinger, M., Lwasa, S., May, J. D., Verburg, P. H., & Van Rompaey, A. (2023). Mapping the consumer foodshed of the Kampala city region shows the importance of urban agriculture. npj Urban Sustainability, 3(1), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-023-00093-1
• Davis, J., Magadzire, N., Hemerijckx, L. M., Maes, T., Durno, D., Kenyana, N., Lwasa, S., Van Rompaey, A., Verburg, P. H., & May, J. D. (2022). Precision approaches to food insecurity: A spatial analysis of urban hunger and its contextual correlates in an African city. World Development, 149, Article 105694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105694
• May, J. (2021). A political economy of persistent food insecurity in South Africa. In A. Oqubay, F. Tregenna, & I. Valodia (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the South African economy. Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/37171
• May, J. (2021). Poverty measurement and mitigation: A case study of contestation and compromise in South Africa. In D. Ross & H. Kincaid (Eds.), A modern guide to philosophy of economics (pp. 234–253). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788974462.00016
• Siebert, A., & May, J. (2021). Food and nutrition security policies in Africa. In G. Onyango (Ed.), Routledge handbook of public policy in Africa (pp. 477–487). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003143840-49
• May, J. D., & Mentz-Coetzee, M. (2021). Re-imagining resilient food systems in the post-COVID-19 era in Africa. Sustainability, 13(19), Article 10752. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910752
• Momberg, D. J., Ngandu, B. C., Voth-Gaeddert, L. E., Cardoso Ribeiro, K., May, J. D., Norris, S. A., & Said-Mohamed, R. (2021). Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in sub-Saharan Africa and associations with undernutrition, and governance in children under five years of age: A systematic review. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 12(1), 6–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174419000898
• Momberg, D. J., Mahlangu, P., Ngandu, B. C., May, J. D., Norris, S. A., & Said-Mohamed, R. (2020). Intersectoral (in)activity: Towards an understanding of public sector department links between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and childhood undernutrition in South Africa. Health Policy and Planning, 35(7), 829–841. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaa028
• Momberg, D. J., Voth-Gaeddert, L. E., Ngandu, B. C., Richter, L., May, J. D., Norris, S. A., & Said-Mohamed, R. (2020). Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) factors associated with growth between birth and 1 year of age in children in Soweto, South Africa: Results from the Soweto Baby WASH study. Journal of Water and Health, 18(5), 798–819. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2020.085
• Voth-Gaeddert, L. E., Jonah, C. M. P., Momberg, D., Ngandu, B., Said-Mohamed, R., Oerther, D. B., & May, J. D. (2020). Assessment of environmental exposure factors on child diarrhea and systemic inflammation in the Eastern Cape. Water Research, 169, Article 115244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.115244
• Jonah, C. M. P., & May, J. D. (2020). The nexus between urbanization and food insecurity in South Africa: Does the type of dwelling matter? International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 12(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2019.1666852
• Jonah, C. M. P., Mabhena, R., & May, J. D. (2020). Does subsistence farming ameliorate hunger in urban areas? A quantitative examination of urban areas in South Africa. Journal of Reviews on Global Economics, 9, 191–199. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-7092.2020.09.18
• Hofman, K., Erzse, A., Kruger, P., Abdool Karim, S., & May, J. (2020). Double burden and double duty: Government action required to improve child nutrition. In J. May, C. Witten, & L. Lake (Eds.), South African child gauge 2020: Food and nutrition security (pp. 135–142). Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. https://tinyurl.com/4pwytdfz
• May, J., Witten, C., & Lake, L. (Eds.). (2020). South African child gauge 2020: Food and nutrition security. Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. https://tinyurl.com/4pwytdfz
• May, J., Witten, C., Lake, L., & Skelton, A. (2020). The slow violence of malnutrition. In J. May, C. Witten, & L. Lake (Eds.), South African child gauge 2020: Food and nutrition security (pp. 24–45). Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. https://tinyurl.com/yu8uy6jx
• Marafa, L., May, J., & Tenebe, V. A. (2020). Upscaling agriculture and food security in Africa in pursuit of the SDGs: What role does China play? In M. Ramutsindela & D. Mickler (Eds.), Africa and the sustainable development goals (pp. 165–175). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14857-7_16
• May, J. (2020). Integrating a human rights approach to food security in national plans and budgets: The South African National Development Plan. In E. Durojaye & G. Mirugi-Mukundi (Eds.), Exploring the link between poverty and human rights in Africa (pp. 15–29). Pretoria University Law Press. https://tinyurl.com/53rj4buw
• May, J. (2020). Re-imagining ‘development’: Brian O’Connell’s legacy at the Institute for Social Development. In R. Bharuthram & L. Pokpas (Eds.), From hope to action through knowledge: The renaissance of the University of the Western Cape, 2001–2014 (pp. 289–303). UWC Press. https://doi.org/10.18820/9781990995019/17