Decolonising the pathways between soil science agricultural policy: An exploration of the spatial-temporal linkages between historical soil and land use appraisals and development of agricultural policies in Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Project Description: (500 words Max). Include outline of research area, brief methodology, research aims/questions.

Start date: 1 October 2024

Application Deadline: 17:00 on Friday 28^th June 2024.

Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, is pleased to announce the availability of a 3-year Vice Chancellor Doctoral Studentship.

Research Project Motivation

Scientists have led soil and land use evaluations to provide valuable information to colonial governments, informing agricultural, forestry, conservation policy decisions. While sovereign states have pushed to modernise agricultural systems, policy inertia has been associated with limited economic, technological and social transformation linked with legacies of structural injustice from colonial era.

This project aims to critically examine how historical soil and land use appraisals contributed to the development of key agricultural policies from the 1950s to present and lessons learned in Central America and the Caribbean. 

In this PhD project you will:

i) Explore the relationship between soil and land evaluations to key agricultural policies by systematically reviewing archival data from the Natural Resources Institute and others, and comparing publicly available policy data in Central America and the Caribbean 

ii) Explore the integration of historical land maps and their interpretations into contemporary remote sensing databases for agricultural development using Geographic Information System software e.g. ArcGIS. You will consolidate historical documentation to examine a) the changes in soil survey reporting from 1950 to present and b) the changes in land use and agricultural development based on recommendations over the period. The analysis will contribute to the development of an interactive map, tracing the various technical studies, recommendations, and policy changes across time and space. iii) Compare agricultural policies in the period following independence to identify potential differences between countries with high or low efforts towards decolonisation of agricultural sciences.

You should have an aptitude and experience in qualitative research and inter- or trans-disciplinary approaches to research, with some experience in topics including but not limited to: soil surveys, archival methods, history, agroecology, human geography, political science, decolonisation, social-ecological systems, or archaeology. 

If you are interested in applying, we encourage you contact June Po (j.y.t.po@gre.ac.uk) or Marcos Paradelo Pérez (m.paradeloperez@greenwich.ac.uk) for an informal discussion about this opportunity.

Please visit this page  for the full application information and instructions:

“Decolonising the pathways between soil science agricultural policy: An exploration of the spatial-temporal linkages between historical soil and land use appraisals and development of agricultural policies in Caribbean Small Island Developing States”