Current calls

Summary

Working with Kindling Farm, – a community-owned farm near Liverpool – this project will seek to understand the financial implications of different on-site sustainable farming initiatives, set against their environmental impacts.

Description

The financial and regulatory landscape for farming has changed dramatically in the past few decades. Farming is recognised as a multidimensional and multifunctional activity, and while its contribution to food security is highlighted, some farming practices are under scrutiny due to impacts on biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the well-publicised financial plight of some farmers leaves them ill-equipped to take the risks necessary to develop new ways of growing food.

Nevertheless, new and experimental business models are emerging, aiming to combine rural revitalisation with more environmentally-friendly practices. Using Kindling Farm as a series of case studies, this project will explore the factors affecting the financial and environmental sustainability of different agricultural activities while accounting for potential biodiversity, climate and soil-health trade-offs and site-specific characteristics. The selected candidate will work closely with our partners, Kindling Farm, who will facilitate data, including environmental indicators.

The project will ask why some farming initiatives produce better yields than others, scrutinising the scale of activity, specific local conditions and/or market fluctuations, or distinguishing between short term measurable gains and potential long-term impact. Specific characteristics include the costs of biodiversity data gathering, the roles of regular volunteers, and community ownership through a community benefit society. The project will offer a model of farming activity diversification that can be used as a guideline by farmers elsewhere in the country and potentially beyond, where the best land and investment returns (profits) can be paired with positive outcomes for biodiversity, climate and soil health. 

Research questions

• How can we best model sustainable farming initiatives at a farm-level? 
• Does community farming offer a reliable model for sustainable practices alternative or complementary to traditional farming? 
• What are the barriers that would need to be overcome for farmers to embrace more sustainable farming practices? 
• How can farmers distinguish between short-term benefits and long-term sustainability? 
• Are there specific incentive measures that could be implemented to scale up sustainable farming practices across different rural areas? 

Lead supervisor

Rosa Fernandez Martin r.fernandez.martin@keele.ac.uk

Specific requirements

Proficient quantitative data analysis skills.

Possible SURF partners

Kindling Farm 

Disciplines 

Primary: Economics, Environmental Science.

Secondary: Sociology.