Agri-food systems modeling

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will work in Rennes in the Valuation team within Unité Mixte de Recherche SAS (https://www.rennes.inrae.fr/umrsas/). Your postdoctoral research position will participate in the new DESCALE project (ANR-25-CE32-4555) titled: Evaluation of the temporal and spatial scales of future agri-food transitions in livestock territories. You will be part of a team that will eventually include the project leader funded by the ANR, a PhD student, and interns. The DESCALE project is supported by a steering committee composed of five researchers.

State of the art on modeling of agri-food transitions

Several recent studies in the literature highlight the importance of analyzing material and energy flows (Gingrich et al., 2018; Le Noë et al., 2018), particularly through the socio-metabolism framework (Harchaoui and Chatzimpiros, 2018), to understand the dynamics of transitions in agri-food systems. Modeling of these systems emphasizes the major role of livestock systems in nutrient circularity (Harchaoui et al., 2024), reduction of environmental impacts, and food security. However, there are still gaps in developing assessment frameworks that are easy to manipulate and calibrate, incorporating carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and energy flows. Some models exist but face challenges in representing the diversity of livestock systems or different levels of crop-livestock integration (Duru et al., 2015). Furthermore, current evaluation frameworks struggle to link territorial analyses averaged over regions with assessments that account for the diversity of farms constituting the territory. The postdoctoral project aims to address some of these gaps identified in the literature.

Missions  and activities

The DESCALE project aims to develop an assessment framework that integrates energy, and nitrogen functioning, allowing for the articulation of multi-criteria environmental objectives of agri-food systems, from territorial to farm level, while considering the diversity of livestock practices and species. It will generate knowledge to evaluate the temporalities of different transition pathways, taking into account the sequencing of levers mobilized at the farm and territorial levels. Transition scenarios will test combinations of political and territorial objectives, including the development of organic farming, bioenergy production, and reduction of non-renewable inputs. The study will focus on Brittany, a region characterized as one of the densest animal population areas in Europe, with diverse livestock systems and, more recently, a decline in dairy cattle herds.

Within this framework, we offer a two-year postdoctoral researcher position focused on developing a territorial modeling approach for agri-food systems aimed at characterizing nitrogen, energy flows, and greenhouse gas emissions, to quantify environmental impacts and their uncertainties. This modeling will integrate the various roles of livestock systems within agri-food systems (protein producers, effluent producers for crop fertilization, energy valorization, consumption of biomass—both edible and non-edible by humans).

Your main missions include

1. Construction of a biomass, nitrogen, energy flow, and greenhouse gas emission model for an agri-food system, focusing on livestock systems based on an existing ALPHA model

• Develop the model specifications in collaboration with the project team members, particularly regarding the diversity of livestock systems.
• Model the flows of biomass, nitrogen, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) across a territory—refining the ALPHA model (Chatzimpiros and Harchaoui, 2023; Vergely et al., 2024), notably by integrating links between animal feed, livestock productivity (including both herbivores and non-herbivores), and accounting for biogas units within the agri-food system.
• Incorporate indicators of competition between human food, animal feed, and energy derived from scientific literature.

2. Calibration of the model at the Brittany scale

• Collect agricultural and energy statistical data, as well as nitrogen flux declaration data for Brittany.
• Calibrate the model from 2000 to the present.
• Estimate the uncertainty of key variables based on scientific literature and surveys.

3. Simulations under expected transition constraints

• Develop simulations considering constraints such as reducing livestock feed imports, lowering GHG emissions, agricultural export levels, or biogas production.
• Assess potential trade-offs and synergies related to livestock systems.

In particular, you will be responsible for:

• Developing a new version of the ALPHA model to address the research questions of the project (participating in formulating the model equations and coding in Python or R).
• Writing two scientific publications based on the work carried out, suitable for submission to academic competitions, and participating in oral presentations and conferences.
• Producing a data paper to showcase the datasets used.
• Contributing to scientific activities and maintaining regular interactions with team members (including interns) and the UMR SAS.

Références

Chatzimpiros, P., Harchaoui, S., 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00741-w

Duru, M., et al. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0318-x

Gingrich, S. et al. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1261-y

Harchaoui, S., Chatzimpiros, P., 2018.. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12760

Harchaoui, S et al. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-024-10344-x

Le Noë, J et al. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.06.006

Vergely, F. et al. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107726

Training and skills

Recommended training: PhD in agronomic, livestock science and/or ecological sciences with modeling experience.

Desired knowledge: Strong understanding of nutrient fluxes, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource mobilization (including energy) within agri-food systems, as well as excellent command of English, both spoken and written.

Preferred experience: Experience in modeling and handling agricultural statistical data; programming experience in Python or R.

Desired skills: Curiosity, independence, and initiative. Good writing and oral communication skills. Enjoy teamwork.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter