Agricultural Economics Research Engineer

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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.

Within the ASTRO Research Unit (Tropical Agrosystems; https://www6.antilles.inrae.fr/astro), the engineer will participate in the European ROTATES project: Minor Root and Tuber (MRT) Crops fostering Agrobiodiversity and Ecosystem Services (https://rotates.eu/). The main job task will be to identify the drivers for the adoption of minor root and tuber crops by identifying the barriers and opportunities along the value chains for human and animal consumption and to formulate recommendations for the development of those value chains. The recruited engineer will use a variety of methods (e.g., experimental economics methods and participatory approaches) to carry out the work. In addition, the person will be responsible for coordinating these activities with the European partner countries involved in the project. The engineer will report to researchers at the ASTRO INRAE Research Unit (https://astro.antilles.hub.inrae.fr/) and Scotland’s Rural College, School of Natural and Social Sciences (https://www.sruc.ac.uk/) and will work closely with the economic research teams at both research centres. 

Work environment, missions and activities

• Literature review and reflection on barriers to the adoption of orphan crops and on appropriate economic support measures (e.g., subsidies, bonuses, creation of labels, creation of marketing partnerships) to identify levers for the development of new value chains
• Analysis of data on producer and consumer preferences in terms of incentives for adopting innovations
• Development of experimental economics protocols aimed at eliciting producer and consumer preferences for high-quality, locally-based agricultural production: recruitment of producers and consumers; data collection and analysis.
• Development of interview guides to elicit the barriers and drivers for the adoption of products from MRT crops by processors and intermediaries in the sector
• Travelling to 5 European countries to implement and/or assist local teams in the implementation of the research protocols in the field
• Drafting of summary reports.
• Organisation of meetings with stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
• Support to produce communication materials (photos, videos, posters).
• Organisation of work: regular reporting to researchers and participation in team meetings. 

Training and skills

• _{^{Experience working in some of the following areas: agricultural production economics, consumer analysis, marketing, applied statistics and econometrics.}}

• _{^{English and French proficiency: level C1 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages),}}

• _{^{Ability to work within a team,}}

• _{^{Good writing and communication skills}}

• Ability to work independently, including initiative, reliability, and capacity to take ownership of work

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