The AEP and ENR group are looking for a master student to help with running a choice experiment on contracts for environmental goods with Dutch farmers, as part of the EFFECT project. EFFECT is a European research project with the overarching goal to develop and test innovative agri-environmental contract mechanisms to improve the provision of environmental goods (http://project-effect.eu/). In this project Wageningen University investigates the functioning of the Dutch agri-environmental schemes. Since 2016 it is mandatory for Dutch farmers who want to enter a scheme to sign a contract with a farmer collective that coordinates the activities of the farmers.

Choice experiments allow to assess farmers’ preferences for the design of spatial coordination incentives, including the non-financial factors that underlie possible participation. Partners in the project have designed a protocol for the choice experiment, consisting of a discrete choice between contract types and the amount of land and its location to enter in the contract. This protocol should be applied to the Dutch context. The exact research objective of the Dutch choice experiment still has to be determined and discussed with the stakeholder - the farmer collective Noordelijke Friese Wouden in Friesland. Herein, the student will have the space to pursue his/her own research interests, for example, to accommodate a thesis or internship.    

The choice experiment is planned for the Winter 2021. It will be held through an online survey. The student’s contribution could contribute to his/her thesis or internship.