Felicity Cobbing

Felicity Cobbing is a British development practitioner and activist known for her decades-long work supporting smallholder farmers, land rights, agroecology, and seed sovereignty across Africa and Asia. She has worked with international development organizations, non-governmental organizations, farmer federations, and multilateral institutions to promote land tenure security, sustainable farming practices, and farmer-led research. Cobbing's work spans grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, research facilitation, and public communication.

Early life and education

Cobbing trained in contexts that connected rural livelihoods with international development, drawing on networks around Overseas Development Institute, University of Sussex, International Institute of Environment and Development, University of East Anglia, Royal Geographical Society, and other British institutions active in development studies. Her formative years engaged with practitioner communities linked to Oxfam, Christian Aid, CARE International, Voluntary Service Overseas, and multilateral actors such as the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Early exposure to social movements associated with Committee on the Present Danger, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and farm unions informed her orientation toward farmer-led approaches. Cobbing developed technical and facilitation skills that enabled collaboration with farmer organizations like La Via Campesina, Kenya Land Alliance, and regional bodies active in rural land and seed issues.

Career and activism

Cobbing has held roles across NGO management, program coordination, and advocacy liaison functions with organizations including ActionAid, Intermediate Technology Development Group, IIED, and Stewardship International-style bodies. She built partnerships with continental and national networks such as African Union, African Land Policy Centre, Southern African Development Community, East African Legislative Assembly, and farmer federations like Kenya Small-scale Farmers Forum and Zambia National Farmers Union. Her activism connected to campaigns run by International Fund for Agricultural Development, World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, and civil society coalitions that include Landesa, International Land Coalition, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and Seed Freedom-aligned groups. Cobbing frequently collaborated with research centers such as CABI, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, CIAT, International Food Policy Research Institute, and universities including University of Nairobi, Makerere University, University of Ghana, and University of Cape Town to bridge farmer knowledge with policy debates.

Land rights and sustainable agriculture work

Cobbing’s substantive work centers on land tenure security, community land mapping, and sustainable agriculture practices that support smallholders and pastoralists. She has supported land rights initiatives linked to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, regional policy processes in African Union protocols, and national reforms promoted by entities such as the Ministry of Lands (Kenya), Ministry of Agriculture (Uganda), and Department of Agriculture (South Africa). Her sustainable agriculture engagements emphasized agroecological transitions in collaboration with networks like La Via Campesina, Agroecology Europe, The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Permaculture Association, and Sustainable Agriculture Network. Cobbing facilitated participatory seed systems work connecting farmer seed networks to institutions like Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Global Crop Diversity Trust, and seed policy forums convened by Bioversity International and the Food and Agriculture Organization. She promoted community-led approaches with grassroots partners including Land Rights Now, African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Small-scale Farmers’ Forums, and indigenous custodians involved in customary tenure arrangements.

Awards and recognition

Cobbing’s contributions have been acknowledged by civil society and development platforms, receiving commendations and platform invitations from organizations such as ActionAid International, International Land Coalition, IIED, and regional forums hosted by the African Union and United Nations Human Rights Council. Her leadership in participatory research and advocacy has led to speaking engagements at conferences convened by Stockholm International Water Institute, World Social Forum, World Agroforestry Centre, International Federation of Agricultural Producers, and academic symposia at London School of Economics, SOAS University of London, and University of Sussex. She has been profiled in program reports and campaign briefings by Oxfam, CARE International, Landesa, and media outlets covering land governance and agricultural resilience.

Publications and media appearances

Cobbing has authored and contributed to reports, briefing papers, and toolkits used by practitioners and policymakers, produced in collaboration with IIED, ActionAid, Oxfam, International Land Coalition, CIFOR, Bioversity International, Global Land Tool Network, and university research groups. Her published outputs encompass participatory land mapping manuals, seed sovereignty briefs, agroecology case studies, and policy submissions to bodies like the African Union and UN Committee on World Food Security. She has appeared on panels and in interviews hosted by platforms including BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, The Guardian forums on development, Reuters-led roundtables, and webinars organized by Chatham House, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and International Crisis Group. Her media presence amplified farmer voices in debates around land grabs, corporate investment frameworks discussed at the World Economic Forum, and community resilience dialogues tied to Climate Change Conference processes.

Category:British activists Category:Agroecology Category:Land rights activists