New PhD offer in the GALILEO EU-AU project based in Montpellier CIRAD, France, with field work in Kenya
PhD title:
Multi-criteria and multi-scale assessment of performances and trade-offs induced by agroforestry for climate change resilience
Keywords:
Smallholder farms, agroforestry, Sub-saharan Africa, multicriteria assessment, indicators, trade-offs, ecosystem services
Funding type:
Cirad and EU Horizon Europe GALILEO project
Funding status: Secured
Details: ½ Cirad grant and ½ GALILEO project grant, thesis operations covered by GALILEO project
Candidate profile:
A Master 2 in geography, and/or environmental science and/or agronomy, with good training in landscape approaches, territorial diagnosis and participatory sciences. Willingness to do fieldwork in Africa. Programming and GIS skills. Experience with R or another modelling platform would be ideal. Strong interest in sustainable transitions. Skills required: Autonomy, writing skills, ability to synthesise, interest in meeting people, conducting surveys, running workshops. Interdisciplinary interest (from biological and agronomic to social sciences). Interest in living abroad and doing fieldwork in rural areas.
Language proficiency required:
Minimum French and English level (CEFR): B2/C1
Thesis project summary:
Agroforestry (AF), the combination of trees or shrubs with crops or pastures, offers a wide range of socio-economic and ecological benefits linked to ecosystem services. The thesis aims to evaluate the effects and trade-offs of agroforestry from plot to landscape scale to identify optimal configurations. It uses the analytical framework of Mouchet et al. (2014), focusing on service-to-service (supply-supply), service-to-individual (supply-demand), and individual-to-collective (demand-demand) trade-offs. Participatory research, mapping, and multi-criteria evaluation will be applied, considering actor objectives and constraints. The goal is to find agroforestry setups that balance multifunctionality and equity in context-specific conditions.
Objective:
To assess agroforestry effects and trade-offs from plot to landscape scales to identify desirable configurations for implementation from the perspective of local populations. The research is part of the GALILEO project: Strengthening rural livelihoods and resilience to climate change in Africa: innovative agroforestry integrating people, trees, crops and livestock.
Context:
Agroforestry is integral to agricultural landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa. While tree-level studies show numerous benefits, landscape-level studies reveal potential dis-services due to resource competition or mismatched objectives. Integrating analysis at tree, plot, farm, and landscape levels is vital to evaluating trade-offs and synergies for effective agroforestry implementation.
Methodology:
Based on Mouchet et al. (2014), the thesis addresses trade-offs through participatory mapping, scenario building, and multi-scale evaluation. It includes surveys to assess stakeholder priorities, uses biophysical and remote sensing data, and integrates socio-economic modelling. Primary fieldwork will occur in semi-arid regions, especially Mount Kenya.
Expected outcomes:
Identification of multifunctional and equitable agroforestry landscapes through participatory co-construction that align with stakeholder needs and constraints.
Application deadline: 11 May 2025 – 11:59 PM (midnight)
Contract start date: October 2025
Application procedure and contact (mandatory to follow):
Applications must be sent by email to Gabriel Denis (gabriel.denis@cirad.fr) and to the thesis director (contacts listed in the thesis topic). The email must specify the thesis topic and include the following documents: CV, motivation letter, full academic transcripts from undergraduate (L1 to L3) and Master’s years (M1 and M2, or equivalent for engineering programmes). If the second year of the master (M2) is ongoing, provide the latest available transcript. No recommendation letters will be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
All project activities will be published on the project’s social media accounts. Stay tuned!
