PhD Position - Transforming Food Systems for enhanced resilience

Your job

Are you looking for a PhD and interested in the economics of food systems? Do you want to use quantitative methods to identify promising interventions to enhance food security resilience? Then, this PhD vacancy may be of interest to you.

The Development Economics group at Wageningen University and Wageningen Economic Research are looking for a PhD candidate in the area of food systems transformation, focusing on resilience. There is pressing need for transforming the food system. First, the current food system does not deliver the social, just and sustainable patterns of food consumption the world urgently needs. Second, the upheaval of food markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine has (re-)drawn attention to the limited stability and resilience of Food Systems.

Transformation is a process that progresses through a set of changes in beliefs, information, policy regulation and economic incentives, and often a combination of these all. Such changes, for different sets of actors in the food system, are eventually anticipated to lead to changes in production, trade and consumption, and the system outcomes as a whole. Using the food system as an analytical concept enables/urges researchers to study processes of transformation in their wider socio-economic and political contexts: not only to address what needs to change, but often more importantly, how such change can take place.

The food system approach has led to a broader appreciation of the complexity of food systems and their vulnerability to shocks and stressors, i.e. the level of FS resilience. The objective of strengthening FS resilience has led to a lively debate on its conceptualization  and the elements that constitute resilience for different actors (and those that do not) and subsequently how these elements can be translated into measurable indicators. With consensus slowly emerging on the conceptualization of resilience, first strides being made on its empirical measurement.

As a PhD student, you contribute to strengthening the empirical foundations of food system resilience. Specifically, you will work on

• assessing the current knowledge on the heterogeneous impacts of interventions for enhancing food system resilience and the mechanisms underlying these impacts;
• selecting and evaluating the impact of promising interventions to enhance food system resilience;
• analyzing potential trade-offs and synergies with other selected FS outcomes (nutrition, environment) and how possible trade-offs can be mitigated;
• comparing efficiency and (cost) effectiveness of different interventions.

At Wageningen Economic Research (WEcR) you will further apply and broaden your (gained) empirical knowledge in multiple applied research projects that focus on FS resilience. WEcR advices policy makers and other stakeholders on how food systems can be made more resilient to shocks.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair group Development Economics and the Food System and Food System Governance team of Wageningen Economic Research. You will be co-supervised by Dr Marrit van den Berg (DEC-WUR) and Dr Ezra Berkhout (WECR).
You will be working 30 hours for WU and 8 hours for WEcR per week.

Your qualities

You have:

• a high interest in applied food system research;
• the ability to coordinate field data collection in an LMIC-setting;
• scientific ambition in conducting and publishing research work;
• curiosity and motivation to address important real-world problems through rigorous academic inquiry;
• the ability to work as a team-player in international, multidisciplinary teams in complex project environments;
• the capacity to communicate and collaborate engagingly in fluent English (Dutch and French language skills are a plus).

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognized Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

You also possess:

• MA/MSc degree in economics (preferably agricultural, development or environmental economics) or another social science with a strong focus on economics;
• skills and knowledge of quantitative research methods, econometrics, causal inference, and experience with analyzing large existing datasets such as LSMS. Knowledge of qualitative research methods is desirable.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.770 - per month rising to € 3.539,-  in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Marrit van den Berg, Associate Professor at the Development Economics Group, marrit.vandenberg@wur.nl, or Ezra Berkhout, Senior Researcher at WEcR, ezra.berkhout@wur.nl 

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, recruitment.ssg@wur.nl

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 2 August 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews soon after the closing date.

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!


We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.