Funded Phd Studentship: Carbon Farming: Co-creation for Behavioural Change Within a Supportive Akis

**Research Office**:
**Location**:

- Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB

**Salary**:

- As per advert

**Post Type**:

- Full Time

**Contract Type**:

- Fixed Term - 48 months funded

**Closing Date**:

- 23.59 hours GMT on Wednesday 19 March 2025

**Reference**:

- RD-PHD-01-DR-MH-25

**Funded PhD Studentship: Carbon farming: co-creation for behavioural change within a supportive AKIS**

**Director of Studies: Professor David Rose**(Harper Adams, Agriculture and Environment Department)**, Dr Mohammad-Mohammadrezaei**(Teagasc)

**Second Supervisors**: Dr Fiona Williams (Harper Adams), Dr Áine Macken-Walsh (Teagasc).

**Start Date**: October 2025

The studentship covers the current Home Student (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man & Channel Isles) tuition fees, plus a yearly stipend of 25,000 euros per year., or a figure equivalent to the standard UKRI PhD stipend (for 2025/6 this is confirmed as £20,780. With an expected small increase each academic year.

**Location**:
Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB (Year 1),

Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre, Dublin (Teagasc, Years 2/3)

Year 4;Writing Up (Either)

**Project.**

Achieving a carbon neutral agriculture sector by 2050 is a key element of the national greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy in Ireland. The “farmer is at the heart of this transition” (Ag Climatise, 2020), as progress towards achieving climate objectives requires the uptake of carbon farming measures. Such measures implemented by farmers e.g., cover crops, min/no tillage, and planting trees, aim to sequester carbon. Despite efforts to improve knowledge exchange events around carbon farming to enhance uptake, which seem well attended, impactful use of certain mitigation measures is low.

Existing approaches in Ireland to knowledge exchange around carbon farming frame adoption decisions in terms of how mitigation measures benefit farmers (or otherwise) on an individual level and their corresponding willingness to adopt. They do not account for individual contexts and capabilities and that behavioural decisions are affected by social and cultural factors, as well as incentives and opportunities within the agricultural knowledge and innovation system (AKIS). There is a gap in farmer action on carbon farming and, on the part of research, a weakness in understanding behavioural drivers. Whilst investigating behavioural drivers behind engagement and use is not new, few studies have applied comprehensive behavioural frameworks in the context of the AKIS. Recent papers have highlighted the importance of doing so, as well as moving towards an exploration of farmers’ capabilities, opportunities, and motivations. Using mixed methods involving farmers and Teagasc advisors, our aim is to expedite the meaningful and impactful use of carbon farming measures through a more nuanced understanding of farmer behaviour. The project will use behavioural frameworks that embed the individual farmer within the AKIS to explain reasons for non/use of carbon farming measures and to co-create interventions for enhanced use, considering the role for Teagasc, other AKIS actors (such as industry) and policy-makers.

The PhD is funded by the Walsh Scholars Programme (Teagasc). This is Teagasc's postgraduate development programme, with some 140 students pursuing PhD programmes at any one time. A budget of €3.65 million per annum is committed to the programme. There are up to 35 new places each year with a grant of €31,000 per annum which includes flat rate stipend of €25,000 per annum. The programme is called Walsh Scholars, to commemorate the late Dr Tom Walsh, first Director of both the Agricultural Research Institute and the National Advisory and Training Service, which were merged to form Teagasc, and a prime mover in developing agricultural and food research in Ireland.

The objective of the Walsh Scholars Programme is to support the training and professional development of Scholars in association with Irish and international universities.

All aspects of agriculture, horticulture, food, agri-food economics, rural development and rural environment, as well as specific topics identified for priority funding each year.

Teagasc is committed to a co-ordinated professional development strategy for Scholars. The participating Scholar’s programme includes the development of discipline-specific knowledge, research skills and generic/transferable skills.

Harper Adams is consistently positioned highly in a range of national ratings, performance measures and league tables. The University has been the highest performing modern university in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the last four years, climbing to 17th place in the overall league table. In the 2020 guide Harper Adams was named Modern University of the Year and runner-up University of the Year. In the 2019 Whatuni? Student Choice Awards, based on student reviews, Harper Adams won the Student Support category for the fifth time - the only university to have taken the tit