PhD: Economics of native species production and rural development in the Cerrado

Have you ever asked yourself if it is possible to harness the economic potential of biodiversity without degrading the environment? Would you like to understand how we can develop markets for native plant species that benefit rural communities while conserving biodiversity? Are you proficient in Portuguese? Then this PhD might be your next step!

The Cerrado is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots but it is increasingly threatened by agricultural expansion and global market pressures, creating tensions between conservation, economic development, and local livelihoods. Native Cerrado species such as macaúba, buriti and pequi not only have an important ecological role for the local ecosystems, but also have the potential to provide food, income, and other livelihood opportunities to the local communities

This PhD position is part of the research project “Leveraging biodiversity for reshaping agricultural production in the Brazilian Cerrado”, which examines how native species can be integrated into farming systems to support biodiversity and improve local livelihoods without further conversion of natural vegetation. The project brings together the expertise from researchers in Brazil and the Netherlands to map current production of native species and their value chains, assess promising business opportunities, estimate future income potential, and test traceability approaches together with farmers, cooperatives, and companies.

Your research will focus on understanding how native species are currently produced, managed and commercialized by smallholder farmers in the MATOPIBA region. By integrating data from primary household/farm surveys and secondary geospatial datasets, and using advanced econometric methods, you will evaluate if greater production diversity involving native species, the adoption of sustainable production practices, and specific market configurations can contribute to food security and biodiversity outcomes. You will have the opportunity to develop your own research questions within the broader objectives of the project. Start date: February 2027.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• design and implement large-scale household and farm-level surveys with smallholder farmers in the MATOPIBA region to collect socioeconomic and biodiversity field data;
• analyze geospatial and survey data using rigorous econometric methods;
• conduct workshops and focus group discussions with local stakeholders to analyze the political economy of current markets for native species;
• write research papers and present research findings at international academic conferences;
• collaborate with our research partners and contribute to the dissemination of project results.

You will work here
You will be based at the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP) at Wageningen University. The FNP group focuses on the political, socio-economic and cultural dimensions of forests and nature. Our research addresses major challenges including biodiversity conservation, deforestation, forest transitions, climate change and landscape management in both the Global North and Global South. You will be supervised by Dr. Jorge Sellare and Dr Verina Ingram.