PhD Impact of reward schemes for biodiversity in Dutch dairy farming systems

Well-designed reward schemes are a crucial step in improving farm-level biodiversity. Do you want to contribute to this, and are you interested in dairy farming systems in the Netherlands? We then have an interesting PhD position for you.

Which reward schemes for biodiversity already exist? Can dairy farmers negotiate about them? Which types of schemes are preferred by dairy farmers, and how do such schemes influence adoption of biodiversity measures at farms? What is the impact on farm income? What are the risks associated with implementing biodiversity measures? Answers to these questions contribute to the design of reward schemes that connect better to the practices of farmers, agribusiness, and financial institutions, and eventually improve biodiversity.

The PhD position is part of the DECISION project (Dairy and Ecology: co-innovating business operations for nature), primarily funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The project embraces four fully-funded PhD candidates and a postdoc. It is a transdisciplinary project in which also private companies and other stakeholders actively participate. The focal region is the Alblasserwaard.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Develop a research proposal and a Training and Supervision Plan, to structure the 4-year PhD trajectory.
• Perform the PhD research along four objectives:
  
  • Analyse reward schemes for biodiversity – considering multiple actors (farms, agribusiness) and types (commercial vs subsidised, local vs national, etc.).
  • Evaluate which types of reward schemes are preferred by dairy farmers.
  • Assess the impact of reward schemes on farm-level implementation of biodiversity measures, and farm income.
  • Analyse risks associated with the implementation of biodiversity measures.
• Disseminate results by publishing papers in scientific journals, presenting in international conferences, and creating content items dedicated to stakeholders.
• Work as a team player, contributing to the activities and wider aims of the DECISION project.

You will work here
You will be supervised by Prof. dr. Miranda Meuwissen and dr. Max Koppenberg from the Business Economics (BEC) group; and Dr Raimon Ripoll-Bosch from the Animal Production Systems (APS) group of Wageningen University & Research. The work of Prof. dr Miranda Meuwissen focuses on farm economics, risk management and sustainable finance in food and agribusiness. The work of Dr Raimon Ripoll-Bosch focuses on understanding the complex interactions between livestock, nature (biodiversity and ecosystem services) and economy, to design enabling environments for the transitions to nature-inclusive agroecosystems. Dr. Max Koppenberg works on firm performance and supply chain incentives. The involvement of both BEC and APS illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of the PhD-position.