Dr M Bozzola, Prof A Longo
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Background and significance of research:
The second goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for the global community to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Nowhere has this objective encountered more challenges than in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA’s agricultural systems are under pressure to feed a growing population locally, while supplying agricultural commodities to global value chains. Despite this, SSA has fallen behind in the adoption of technologies essential to increase productivity, such as improved seed varieties. The development of sustainable value chains in the agri-food sector could be a challenging but powerful tool to devise trade mechanisms that are locally owned and sustainable. To date, researchers and policy makers alike still face gaps in understanding and addressing the main challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers to participate in sustainable trade. More research is needed to understand how farmers’ participation in GVCs can be promoted in a manner that fosters decent economic growth, and enhances resilience to climate change, the effects of which are particularly severe in SSA countries. In turn, sustainable GVCs should promote sustainable local food systems while insuring that smallholder farmers become a reliable and sustainable part of global value.
Research aims:
The project aims at enhancing understanding of how sustainable trade and inclusive participation of smallholder farmers in global value chains (GVCs) can be promoted, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The project has two main goals: 1. Deliver high-level research outputs, outstanding from a methodological point of view, which could engage the research community and target leading academic journals (e.g. World Development, Food Policy). 2. Support and guide well-informed policy-making.
This project will be supervised by Dr Martina Bozzola and Dr Alberto Longo of the Institute for Global Food Security/School of Biological Sciences.
The successful applicant will register as a research student at Queen’s University School of Biological Sciences.
Funding Notes
This project is funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE). Only UK and EU students are eligible to apply. Full information on eligibility criteria is available from the DfE website: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/department-economy-studentships
Academic requirements:
A 2.1 UK Honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject is required.
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