PhD on Political ecology of oil palm disease control: Human action, resource distribution, narratives, and institutions

We are seeking four highly motivated PhD candidates to join our team as part of the interdisciplinary Oil-Clips program (OIL-CLiPS - WUR), funded by Wageningen UR and its partners. The Oil-Clips program aims at unravelling the causes of disease outbreaks in oil palm plantations, focusing on Basal Stem Rot in Indonesia and Bud Rot in Colombia and how these are affected by changes in climate, farmer practices, and socio-economic changes. These disease outbreaks are seen as an interplay between host, pathogen, human action, social structure, and environment. The recruited PhD candidates will investigate these relations by applying concepts and methods from at least two disciplines.

This PhD project researches the political ecology of oil palm. You will study the dynamics of social relationships, human actions, and human-pathogen-environment interactions that have an impact on Ganoderma disease outbreak and management in oil palm regions in Indonesia.

Oil palm disease control is overly complex given the large diversity among growers, in terms of access to resources and position in the supply chain. Divergent narratives exist regarding disease control, often influenced by conflicting visions on sustainability and equity. In case of Ganoderma caused Basal Stem Rot disease in Indonesia, smallholder organizations recognize the threat that the disease cannot be controlled and will increase the vulnerability of smallholders. However, we lack knowledge on why smallholders find it so difficult to respond. To address this research problem, this project connects the issue of disease control with recent knowledge on how land tenure insecurity, limited access to resources and agronomic knowledge, and unguaranteed access to markets conditions smallholder’s management practices. It also connects it with the wider contentious discussion on oil palm expansion leading to deforestation, loss of land rights and livelihood resources, and increased dependency on one cash crop. Of particular interest are the implications of new sustainability policies.

As PhD researcher you will particularly explore:
The PhD candidate will develop a research proposal that will focus on one or more of the following issues: i) Shifts in government responses to disease outbreaks and farmers’ (collective) memories on disease incidence, remedies, and impact on livelihoods. ii) How social differentiation, resource distribution, and livelihood strategies condition oil palm cultivation and shape disease outbreak and management options. iii) The narratives that have developed around plant diseases in policy documents, knowledge exchange events, media, and local knowledge and how has this influenced storytelling about effectiveness of proposed treatments. iv) The institutional landscape, i.e. how institutions (as dynamic structures of rules) such as state regulations, sustainability certification schemes, and local cultural arrangements, shape disease related actions of growers and other actors. The PhD candidate will develop an approach that denaturalizes the disease and, instead, contextualizes the disease and its management by exploring social and political dynamics.

Research locations are oil palm growing regions in Indonesia and Wageningen University in the Netherlands (total stay in the Netherlands of about 18 months in different periods). You will focus on Indonesia but the work includes collaborative data collection efforts in Colombia, facilitating a comparative analysis of disease prevalence across continents.

Requirements:

We are looking for an analytical thinker with a problem solving orientation. The candidate has an interest in the social dynamics of oil palm production, sustainability discourses, interdisciplinary work and professional proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia. Specially, the candidate:

• A master’s degree in anthropology, sociology, social geography, political science, or a related discipline, with strong scores at the bachelor and master level.
• Knowledge of theories on political ecology, critical agrarian studies, or agrarian political economy.
• Experience with qualitative research methods. Some knowledge of quantitative methods is a bonus.
• Willingness to carry out field work and travel for longer periods
• Motivation to study the materiality of disease management practices and the interaction with social practices.
• Skills and commitment to work in an interdisciplinary research programme and motivation to contribute to the overall programme.
• Demonstrable academic writing skills
• Demonstrable communicative skills, ability to establish and maintain good working relations with different partners (other researchers, technical staff, farmer associations, smallholder farmers, companies, and so on), and to work in culturally diverse contexts.
• Field experience in Indonesia and proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia.

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

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Rural Sociology Group - WUR (RSO) and the OILCLIPS programme coordinated by Dr. Maja Slingerland, and supported by the Plant Production Systems Group - WUR (PPS). The candidate of this project will be supervised by Dr. Kees Jansen (project leader, RSO), Dr. Rosa de Vos (PPS), and Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi from the Department of Anthropology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Salary Benefits:

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 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 € 2.872,- per month rising to € 3.670,- 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.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands 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. 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.

38 hours per week

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