Climate risks and producer behaviour: advancing our knowledge and capacity to deal with risks in agriculture

Climate change is a significant and growing threat to the world’s food supply and food security. It has already directly affected vulnerable populations in many developing countries and is expected to affect many more people in the future. Even though the effects of climate change on the volatility of agricultural production, crop and livestock prices, and on the incidence of extreme events are well documented, social scientists have predominantly focused on the impacts of average effects (e.g. changes in average temperatures and average rainfall). Moreover, while it is known that producers operate in an environment in which they face multiple and concurrent risks (production, markets, institutional, financial and personal), researchers have overwhelmingly focused on only two of these (production and markets) and have investigated the effects of these risks by only addressing one source of risk at the time. Research in this area is urgent and of strategic importance given that several policy-driven initiatives are targeting risk and climate resilience holistically without solid research to support them. The proposed work addresses this gap. This research will utilize, at least initially and in case additional collection is impossible because of restrictions imposed by the current pandemic, data sets such as the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey and the Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) surveys collected in Ghana, Malawi, and Ethiopia. All of the data sets are open access and made available by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C. USA. The objectives of this research project are multiple: 1) use the existing knowledge and literature to develop a conceptual framework to empirically deal with multiple and concurrent risks in agricultural production under changing climate regimes, 2) develop and implement a model to generate household-relevant “what-if” scenarios that account for production, market, financial and personal (idiosyncratic) risks, and 3) based on the model results, develop a prioritization method to guide decision-makers in their risk-management investments.

Bursary available (subject to satisfactory performance):
Year 1: £15,258 Year 2: In line with UKRI rate Year 3: In line with UKRI rate
Scholarships are available for three years, full-time study from the date scholars first register as an MPhil/PhD student with the university. The successful candidate will receive a waiver for tuition fees for the duration of their three-year scholarship. Students may be liable for tuition fees after this period. Applicants must meet the programme entry requirements.
For additional information about the scholarship please go to: https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/study/research-studentships-and-scholarships
Please read this information before making an application. Applications need to be made online via https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/study/apply/application-process. No other form of application will be considered.
The scholarship must commence by 5 Jan 2021.