Biography 

Dr Atenchong Talleh Nkobou is an Associate Professor in Critical Development Studies with a PhD in International Rural Development from the University of Reading. His scholarship examines agrarian change, land rights, decoloniality, food systems, and rural transformation. He leads and contributes to major UKRI-funded research programmes and works closely with communities, policymakers, and researchers across the UK, Scotland, South Africa, Tanzania, and Europe. His work bridges critical scholarships and practical impact through policy engagement, public dialogue, and international collaboration.

 Projects

Professional activities and contributions outside the University

Media engagements and mentions

Conference and public engagement activities
  • Organised a multi-actor land reform workshop in Glasgow (2025) bringing together academics, community leaders and policymakers.
  • Presenter at the International Land Reform Futures Symposium, Aberdeen (2025).
  • Collaborator and member of the Community Land Academic Network (CLAN).
  • Participant at the Community Land Scotland Conference (2025).
  • Panellist at the Gathering Table Summit on Racial Justice in Food and Farming, Bristol (2025).
  • Panel convenor at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (2025 and 2026).
  • Co-organiser of the first UK Social Science Conference on Cellular Agriculture (2026).
  • Collaborator with the Food Standards Agency Regulatory Sandbox and Innovation Research Programme.
  • Member of the Advisory Committee of the Museum of English Rural Life.

Selected publications and research outputs
  • Riley, J., Talleh Nkobou, A., & Lewis, K. (2026). Cultivating Debate: Citizen Insights on a Future with Cultivated Meat. Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub. Royal Agricultural University. Jan 2026. https://www.rau.ac.uk/research/cultivating-debate 
  • Ainslie A. & Talleh Nkobou, A (2026). Responsible research in a polarising world, Development in Practice, https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2609153   
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2025) Teaching and Research as a ‘Trans-world activity’: A Decolonial Approach to
  • Development Studies and Research, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1-15, https://doi.org10.1080/14767724.2025.2536300 
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2025). Beyond positionalities – engaging with academic and willful resistance through complex communication, Development in Practice, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2452404 
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong & Doble, Josh (2024) Reflections on the Community Land Scotland (CLS) Conference 2024, https://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/reflections-on-the-cls-conference-2024/ , Community Land Scotland, [accessed 27.Ausgust 2024]
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong & A. Ainslie (2021) 'Developmental Nationalism?' Political Trust and the politics of large-scale land investment in Magufuli's Tanzania, Journal of East African Studies 15 (3): 378-399. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2021.1951944
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong, A. Ainslie, S. Lemke, (2022) Broken Promises: A Rights-Based Analysis of Marginalised Livelihoods and Food Insecurity Experiences in Large-Scale Land Investments in Rural Tanzania, Food Security https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01195-3
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2021). Historical Contextualism: The Role of the MERL in the Twenty-first Century, 51 Voices project MERL, https://merl.reading.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/Object_10_-_Groundnut_Film_-_The_MERL-51_Voices.pdf
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2020). "The Trepidations of a PhD Researcher – Who Are You and Why Are You Here?" Area 53 (2): 257-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12672.
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong & J. A., Francis. (2020) A position paper on the future drivers of research and innovation; implication for EFARD - priorities, partnerships and funding, April 2020. 23pp.
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2020) Public-private partnerships and technology transfer: a baseline survey of business environment reforms and local content requirements in Tanzania, http://hdl.handle.net/10625/59831, IDRC.CRDI, Canada, March 2020. 
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong (2020) Putting the International Development Department of the University of Reading at the Centre of the Decolonising Development Discourse, University of Reading, 23pp
  • Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong British colonial policy in Tanzania: Research-Based Curriculum for Key Stage 5 history, https://www.access-ed.ngo/british-colonial-policy-in-tanzania, Access-Ed, UK, February 2020
  • Francis, A. Judith & Talleh Nkobou, Atenchong CAAST-Net Plus (2014), Africa-EU Research Collaboration of Food Security: A Critical Analysis of the Scope, Coordination and Uptake of Finding.– Caast-net-plus.org https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/food-security/news/gaps-africa-eu-food-security-r-d-links.html 

Academic leadership and administration
  • Senior PhD and MRes Academic Support Tutor
  • Secured programme validation for MSc Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (RAU and QAU China)
  • Led validation of International Rural Development and Food Security modules for TNE delivery
  • Member, ESRC Peer Review College
  • Field External Examiner, School of Applied Sciences, UWE Bristol (2023–2024)
  • Panel Convener, Responsible Research: Ethics and Integrity in the Anthropocene, DSA Conference 2024 & 2025
  • PhD Viva Examiner (RAU, 2023)
  • Second Supervisor for 3 PhD candidates

Postgraduate teaching
  • International Rural Development
  • Research Skills
  • Dissertation
  • Poverty and Food Security
  • Climate Change and Sustainability