Postdoctoral Research Fellow in conservation agriculture and participatory modelling in Zürich

100%, Zurich, temporary

The Forest Management and Development group (ForDev) at ETH Zürich is seeking to recruit one post-doctoral researcher to contribute to the project “Is there a future for conservation agriculture in Togo? A comprehensive approach accounting for the biophysical and socio-economic context”.

The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation under the Swiss Programme for International Research by Scientific Investigation Teams (SPIRIT). The duration of the Project is from January 2021 to June 2023.

The Forest Management and Development group (ForDev), based at ETH Zürich, works on the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in tropical forest landscapes under transition. Lands use changes, livelihoods, sustainability, governance and participatory management are strong elements of our research. We develop models that merge local ecological knowledge and scientific expertise. We use games to explore possible futures of landscape changes with the stakeholders, and design with them theories of change.

Conservation agriculture (CA), an agricultural practice defined by minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation, is a technically pertinent strategy to improve smallholder farmers’ yield. Despite its positive effect on agricultural production, farmers tend to abandon CA once they no longer receive support because it is rarely embedded in a broader approach accounting for the local biophysical, socio-economic and cultural context. To assess the local potential of CA together with a market participation measure, we propose to run onsite agricultural trials and use role-playing games.

The study focuses on a small village in Togo, a country that has received little attention compared to the rest of Africa. The Togolese NGO “Etoile Verte” (supported by the Swiss NGO “Happy Togo”) present in the village has already designed locally adapted CA practices involving agroforestry and hypothesized that the formation of a farmer’s organization could increase market participation. As a first step to test if their approach matches the environmental context as well as farmers’ investment and labor use strategy, we propose to run onsite agricultural trials comparing yield of CA and traditional agriculture while also measuring their respective external inputs including labor and financial investment.

To co-design solutions with the smallholder farmers and assess whether CA and the formation of a farmer’s organization are suitable for the socio-economic and cultural constraints of both men and women, we propose to represent the system in the form of a role-playing game. The game would be modular so that it could be used in different sites facing similar challenges. Role-playing games can help players elaborate strategies and explore possible futures in a risk-free environment. By observing players’ behavior and recording their narratives, we can identify factors driving farming and marketing decisions of the farmers and thus tailored strategies to the context. With this research, we hope to set the path for a comprehensive approach to conservation agriculture that accounts not only for biophysical constraint of the site but also the socio-economic and cultural aspects, and provide a modular game that can be used in other locations to assess the potential of CA.

You will use a companion modeling approach (ComMod, Étienne 2014) as an umbrella approach to understand the factors driving smallholder farmers towards and away from CA, and thus identify how CA can be adapted to the local context and whether a farmer’s organisation can enhance market participation of both men and women smallholder farmers.

The objectives will be to:

• understand the current farming and marketing strategies of male and female smallholder farmers,
• assess the dynamics pathways and the driving factors of landscape change,
• identify factors driving women and men smallholder farmers’ farming and marketing strategies when offered the opportunity to practice CA and to join a farmers’ organization,
• design a modular role-playing game that can be adjusted to different sites to discuss the acceptance of CA.

Essential experience, skills and characteristics

• A relevant PhD in agronomy, geography, environmental science, social science or related fields
• Familiarity with the concept of Conservation Agriculture or Agroecology
• English and French proficiency
• Strong team work and communication skills
• Cultural sensitivity working with diverse stakeholders
• Readiness to travel to Togo in remote places
• Good track record of publications in international journals
• Ability to work independently, with flexibility, humour and critical thinking

Desirable criteria

• Familiarity with, and interest in, games, their development and research use
• Familiarity with Agent-based modelling
• Familiarity with the rural African context
• Experience of field work in tropical environment
• Experience with transdisciplinary projects
• A keen interest in stakeholders’ engagement and communication

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