Do you have the ambition to analyse linkages between agriculture and water management? Are you passionate about re-designing more sustainable and resilient farming systems? Do you like to collaborate with people from different backgrounds in an international context? Then we invite you to apply for this PhD position!

Low farm income, climate change, water shortage, and water pollution are real challenges asking for integrated farm- and water-system interventions at farm and landscape scale. In this PhD project you will have the opportunity to study a redesign process of farming systems and water management practices in a landscape in South/South-East Asia (India, Nepal or Vietnam) with multi-level stakeholder interactions.

The PhD candidate will study the redesign of farm systems and water management in one landscape where groups of people try to actively reduce agricultural water use or water pollution. The PhD candidate will develop a unique interdisciplinary approach that merges analyses of farm system redesign (i.e. antifragility, positive deviance approach) with reform in agricultural water management (i.e. Reorientation) using systems modelling (Compass Framework). The PhD candidate will combine participatory methods with models and analyses at farm and landscape levels.

The research questions of the PhD research cover (i) heterogeneity in farming systems and water resources, (ii) strategies and outcomes for farms to reduce water use and/or water pollution, (iii) characteristics of resilient farming, and (iv) cross-scale interconnections when scaling redesigned farming systems. The research project is a unique collaboration of Plant Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and potentially CGIAR.

The duties and responsibilities include:

• develop a research proposal and write peer-reviewed publications about your research as is detailed in the next bullets;
• analyse for a landscape in South/South-East Asia the heterogeneity in farming systems and water resources (e.g. through field visits, farm survey, positive deviant analysis, river/watershed mapping);
• analyse in this landscape farmer and community strategies and changes in water use farming practices, and their impacts on water availability and pollution before and during the Reorientation (e.g. land-water balance, Reorientation, Compass Framework);
• assess characteristics of resilient farming systems across agro-hydrological zones in this landscape (e.g. through participatory mapping, antifragility analysis, positive deviant analysis);
• communicate your research findings to farmers, scientists, and other groups in society (e.g. presentations, blogs, podcast).

You will work here
The research is embedded within the two chairs of Farming Systems Ecology and Water Resources Management Group. Daily supervision will be by Roos de Adelhart Toorop (Farming Systems Ecology) and Chris Seijger (Water Resources Management), with Jeroen Groot (Farming Systems Ecology) as promotor. Interviews for this position are scheduled for 12 and 19 November 2024.

You are / you have:

• enthusiastic about interdisciplinary research that integrates agronomical, biophysical and social aspects with farm-level realities and land-water trends;
• a strong background in agronomy and/or water resources management with proven capacity to critically analyse agriculture and water dynamics at farm and landscape/watershed/river basin level;
• at least intermediate mathematical and statistical skills;
• strong in communication skills with a readiness to apply them in an international setting.

You also possess:

• a university degree (MSc) in a relevant field (e.g. Resilient Farming, International Land and Water Management, Resource Management, Environmental Sciences) with a broad and interdisciplinary interest;
• strong affinity with sustainable agriculture and water, working with farmers and water managers;
• very good English communicative and academic writing skills; research findings will have to be published in international academic journals;
• a collegial attitude and a clear willingness to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team;
• Compliance with all the entry requirements of the WUR PhD programme.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.872,- per month rising to € 3.670,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.