Tony's doctoral research in 1974 was on the relationships between rural development and diamond mining in Sierra Leone, since when he has travelled and researched extensively throughout Africa. His research is mainly concerned with resource development and poverty alleviation, with particular reference to the dynamics of indigenous farming, pastoral and fishing food production systems. His recent work has focused on community-based development initiatives in South Africa, post-war community reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka and urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam. His work in the Pacific region is concerned with the role of the church in development in Samoa and community-based adaptation to climate change.
A workshop was held in Kano in 1999, to bring together a number of other empirical studies on urban agriculture. Papers have been published subsequently with colleagues in both Kano and the University of Gloucestershire (UK). Doctoral student, Roy Maconachie, completed his thesis on the question of land degradation at the rural-urban interface in the Kano close-settled zone. Four other doctoral students have studied aspects of urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa; Samuel Boakye evaluated the significance of urban agriculture in Tema, Ghana, Danny Simatele worked on urban agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, whilst Alec Thornton investigated urban agriculture as a poverty alleviation strategy in post-apartheid South Africa. Emaediong Uko investigated planning policies towards urban agriculture in two southern Nigerian cities (Benin and Uyo).
In January 2005, Tony conducted field-based research on urban agriculture in Hanoi, Vietnam with Otago Masters in Planning student, Brody Lee, and Alan Dixon (Otago), and in 2007 undertook preliminary field-based research in Samoa with post-doctoral fellow Alec Thornton (Otago). Otago PhD student, Jessie Smart, has worked on urban agriculture in the Zambian Copperbelt towns of Kitwe and Ndola.
In July 2004, Tony was invited to become a member of the Advisory Committee of AGROPOLIS, International Research Awards in Urban Agriculture, based at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. From 2010, Tony was involved with Etienne Nel (Otago) and collaborators at the Universities of Zambia and the Copperbelt, in a project funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on, The significance of urban agriculture in food security and sustainable livelihoods in response to economic restructuring in Zambia's Copperbelt Province.
Bangura, K. S., Lynch, K., Binns, T., & Gbanie, S. (2023). Facing post-crisis livelihood challenges? Insights from young farmers in Kenema city, Eastern Province, Sierra Leone.
Land Use Policy,
134, 106875.
doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106875
Journal - Research Article
Uko, E., Binns, T., & Nel, E. (2023). ‘I lost my job suddenly, but I was prepared’: The significance of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Benin City, Nigeria.
Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems,
47(1), 25-46.
doi: 10.1080/21683565.2022.2124474
Journal - Research Article
Binns, T., & Bateman, J. (2022). ‘Resilience without development’ in a remote rural West African community: The case of Kayima, Sierra Leone.
Journal of Modern African Studies,
60(3), 297-322.
doi: 10.1017/S0022278X22000179
Journal - Research Article
Filep, S., Matteucci, X., Bateman, J., & Binns, T. (2022). Experiences of love in diaspora tourism.
Current Issues in Tourism,
25(16), 2547-2551.
doi: 10.1080/13683500.2021.2011163
Journal - Research Other
Alam, A., Binns, T., Cullen, N., Freeman, C., Nel, E., & Roche, M. (2021). Celebrating 75 years of geography teaching and research at the University of Otago [Introduction to virtual special issue].
New Zealand Geographer,
77, 242-247.
doi: 10.1111/nzg.12306
Journal - Research Other
Potter, R., Binns, T., Elliott, J. A., Nel, E., & Smith, D. W. (2018).
Geographies of development: An introduction to development studies (4th ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 636p.
Authored Book - Research
Binns, T., Dixon, A., & Nel, E. (2012).
Africa: Diversity and development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 414p.
Authored Book - Research
Potter, R. B., Binns, T., Elliott, J. A., & Smith, D. (2008).
Geographies of development: An introduction to development studies (3rd ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education, 545p.
Authored Book - Research
Binns, T., Dixon, A., & Spellman, G. (2007).
Sustainable development. Deddington, UK: Philip Allan Updates, 221p.
Authored Book - Research
Potter, R. B., Binns, T., Elliott, J. A., & Smith, D. (2004).
Geographies of development: An introduction to development studies (2nd ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education, 509p.
Authored Book - Research
Lester, A., Nel, E., & Binns, T. (2000).
South Africa, past, present and future: Gold at the end of the rainbow? Harlow, England: Pearson Education, 374p.
Authored Book - Research
Bowden, R., & Binns, T. (2001).
The changing face of South Africa,
88. Lewes, England: White-Thomson.
Authored Book - Other
Binns, T., Clark, D., & Matthews, H. (2000).
Regional development and change,
88. Deddington, England: Philip Allan Updates.
Authored Book - Other
Binns, T., Lynch, K., & Nel, E. (Eds.). (2018).
The Routledge handbook of African development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 700p.
Edited Book - Research
Fisher, C., & Binns, T. (Eds.). (2000).
Issues in geography teaching,
88. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Edited Book - Research
Binns, T., & Nel, E. (2020). Reconceptualizing urban agriculture in Africa: Issues of scale, class and institutional support in Zambian copperbelt towns. In A. Thornton (Ed.),
Urban food democracy and governance in North and South. (pp. 213-229). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-17187-2_13
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T., & Nel, E. (2018). African development: 'Hopeless Africa', 'Africa rising', or somewhere in between? In T. Binns, K. Lynch & E. Nel (Eds.),
The Routledge handbook of African development. (pp. 273-285). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T., Nel, E., & Lynch, K. (2018). Conclusion: Looking forward. In T. Binns, K. Lynch & E. Nel (Eds.),
The Routledge handbook of African development. (pp. 665-669). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T., Nel, E., & Lynch, K. (2018). Introduction. In T. Binns, K. Lynch & E. Nel (Eds.),
The Routledge handbook of African development. (pp. 3-9). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Bateman, J., Binns, T., & Nel, E. (2017). Flirting with food security: Resilience in the face of conflict, climate change and communicable disease in rural Sierra Leone. In E. T. H. Hope (Ed.),
Climate change and food security: Africa and the Caribbean. (pp. 128-142). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T. (2017). Participatory development. In D. Richardson (Ed.),
The international encyclopedia of geography: People, the earth, environment and technology. Wiley-Blackwell. [Encyclopaedia/Dictionary Entry].
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T. (2014). Dualistic and unilinear concepts of development. In V. Desai & R. B. Potter (Eds.),
The companion to development studies. (3rd ed.) (pp. 100-105). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Nel, E., Binns, T., & Bek, D. (2013). Fair trade and alternative food networks in the internationalization of small-scale rural entrepreneurs in South Africa. In H. Etemad (Ed.),
The process of internationalization in emerging SMEs and emerging economies. (pp. 234-259). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Chapter in Book - Research
Bek, D., McEwan, C., & Binns, T. (2012). The South African wine industry: Meeting the challenges of structural and ethical transformation. In P. H. Dougherty (Ed.),
The geography of wine: Regions, terroir and techniques. (pp. 137-157). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T. (2008). Dualistic and unilinear concepts of development. In V. Desai & R. B. Potter (Eds.),
The companion to development studies. (2nd ed.) (pp. 81-85). London: Hodder Education.
Chapter in Book - Research
Nel, E., & Binns, J. A. (2008). Evolving economic marginality and local economic development responses in selected South African gold and coal mining areas. In M. M. Valenca, E. Nel & W. Leimgruber (Eds.),
The global challenge and marginalization. (pp. 197-208). New York: Nova Science.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T., Bek, D., Nel, E., & Ellison, B. (2007). Sidestepping the mainstream: Fairtrade
Rooibos tea production in Wupperthal, South Africa. In D. Maye, L. Holloway & M. Kneafsey (Eds.),
Alternative food geographies: Representation and practice. (pp. 331-350). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T. (2006). Doing fieldwork in developing countries: Planning and logistics. In V. Desai & R. B. Potter (Eds.),
Doing development research. (pp. 13-24). London, UK: SAGE Publications.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T. (2006). E.F. (Fritz) Schumacher (1911-77). In D. Simon (Ed.),
Fifty key thinkers on development. (pp. 218-223). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Binns, T., & Maconachie, R. (2006). Re-evaluating people-environment relationships at the rural-urban interface: How sustainable is the peri-urban zone in Kano, Northern Nigeria? In D. McGregor, D. Simon & D. Thompson (Eds.),
The peri-urban interface: Approaches to sustainable natural and human resource use. (pp. 211-228). London, UK: Earthscan.
Chapter in Book - Research
