PhD courses at Animal Production Systems

Two MSc courses suitable for PhD students are APS-30306 Sustainability Assessment of Animal Systems (March-May), and APS-31306 Future Livestock Systems (May-July). Please contact the course co-ordinator if you would like to join.

Our PhD courses are:

• Environmental Impact Assessment of Livestock Systems (5 days)
• The Future of Tropical Livestock Systems (3 days) 6-9 May 2025, please register through WIAS
• Shaping Future Animal Systems: Exploring Practices through Dialogue (2 days)
  

Please check the WIAS website for dates (if planned), and registration.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Livestock Systems

Background and aim - Feeding nine billion people in 2050 within the carrying capacity of the earth is perhaps the greatest challenge mankind has ever faced. An important aspect of the debate about feeding the world is the role of livestock production. The current livestock sector already poses severe pressure on the environment and competes increasingly for scarce resources, such as land, water, fossil energy and phosphorus. The demand for livestock products is expected to increase significantly. Without major changes, therefore, the above described environmental concerns about the livestock sector will increase only further. So we are facing an urgent question: how to reduce the environmental impact of production of animal-source food? To gain insight into future options and limitations of reducing the environmental impact of livestock production, we need sound environmental impact assessment tools. The aim of this course is to provide participants with advanced knowledge, both theoretical and practical, on the environmental impact assessment of livestock systems. We will discuss the latest insights of environmental impact assessment tools. Key issues addressed are: how to incorporate carbon sequestration in an assessment? How to perform an uncertainty or sensitivity analysis? How to assess land use efficiency of livestock systems? Which water footprint method is appropriate? Which metrics should we use to determine emissions of greenhouse gases? What’s the difference between a nutrient flow analysis and a life cycle assessment (LCA)? What’s the difference between an attributional or consequential LCA, and when to apply what method? How to assess the impact of livestock production on biodiversity?

Target group and registration - This PhD course will be of great interest to PhD students and professionals exploring environmental consequences of (innovations in) livestock production systems. We do expect that you have basic knowledge about the relation between livestock and the environment, nutrient flow analysis and life cycle assessment. Participants are challenged to actively contribute to discussions, and within the programme three sessions are devoted to 5-min pitches. In these 5-min pitches you can address your methodological challenge(s) so we can incorporate these challenges in our discussions.
The number of participants is limited to 40 persons, admitted on a ‘first-come’ basis. Registration fee was last time 500 € for PhD students, 800 € for other academic staff and 1200 € for company staff, this may be different for future courses. The course fee includes materials, coffee/tea during breaks, lunches and a course dinner but does not cover accommodation. For further information please contact Corina van Middelaar.

Study load - The study load of this course is 2.0 ECTS, including preparation.

Organisation - Prof. Dr. Imke de Boer & Dr. Corina van Middelaar, Animal Production Systems, Wageningen University

The future of Tropical Livestock Systems

Background - Globally, tropical livestock production systems need to adapt to climate change, growing demand for animal source food, and resource scarcity. Transitions to sustainable future systems are guided by a wide variety of drivers and demands, be they economic (such as profitability and farmer livelihoods), socio-political (such as inclusion of smallholders and food safety), or environmental (such as nutrient cycling and avoiding feed-food competition). Understanding these drivers and the nature of system transitions is essential for the design of meaningful interventions. Especially as transitions depend on the values, roles, priorities, and commitments of stakeholders involved.

Course objectives - This course will explore the web of drivers that affect transition of tropical livestock systems towards a state in which they are better able to do what is expected: contribute to healthy diets, offer income and livelihood to farmers, and contribute to efficient use of resources. It will also help you in selecting methodologies for charting out and evaluating pathways to sustainable future tropical livestock systems in ways that match bottom-up and top down planning processes, address multiple demands (political, environmental, social, technological, legal, economic), and are sensitive to the plurality of values encountered.

Course participants will have increased abilities:

• To explore the technical and social complexity of defining sustainable transition pathways for tropical livestock systems, incorporating various roles of livestock and choosing appropriate system levels for analysis and planning.
• To navigate the various people-profit-planet sustainability objectives for livestock systems, such as food production, market participation, climate change, biodiversity, circularity, and feed-food competition.
• To identify the technical, social and institutional changes required for facilitating system transition, such as technology development and adoption, financing, and policies.
• To explore the applicability of a variety of methods for tropical livestock systems, including modelling at various system levels, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Target group - The course is aimed PhD-students and Postdocs of any discipline and, though specifically aimed at PhD-students from tropical and emerging countries, could be relevant for PhD-students and Postdocs studying complexity in western livestock production too.

Prior knowledge - Good understanding of tropical livestock production systems, including pastoral, specialized and mixed crop-livestock, aquaculture and coastal fishing systems. Good understanding of food system dynamics around tropical livestock production systems.

Organisation - Dr. Jan van der Lee, Prof. Simon Oosting, Animal Production Systems, Wageningen University

Location - Wageningen University Campus, Wageningen, The Netherlands, in-person only.

Shaping Future Animal Systems: Exploring Practices through Dialogue

Course description - Based on theories from communication and innovation sciences, natural scientists and social scientists will together analyse the failures and successes of potential solutions to create a more sustainable animal sector. Through meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue, this course seeks to strengthen our understanding of contested issues around animal production, including different perspectives of different stakeholders, and to encourage a constructive engagement with such complexity, in order to enhance our capacity to comprehend these problems and develop, evaluate and implement sustainable innovations.

Learning goals - Understand the complexity of a transition towards sustainable animal systems from different perspectives

1. Understand different theoretical models to analyse complex animal system cases
2. Constructively use the theoretical models for contested issues

Target group - This course is intended for PhDs, postdocs, and staff members from across a variety of natural and social science backgrounds, who want to engage with contested issues around animal production through meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue. While the course specifically targets PhD candidates from WIAS and WASS, candidates from other graduate schools and external participants are encouraged to participate as well. Since the aim is to attract a target audience from varied disciplinary backgrounds in order to enrich the dialogue, there is no specific assumed prior knowledge; this course is relevant for beginner as well as experienced researchers.

Teaching methods - Through a series of short presentations by natural and social scientists, participants will be introduced to the study case from different scientific and stakeholder perspectives; while also becoming more familiarized with the theoretical and analytical tools to engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue with and between stakeholders. Students will also partake in a series of exercises (both in smaller groups and the group as a whole) to understand different perspectives – including their own –, analyse and engage in dialogue to discuss the case of study and potential solutions, as well as reflecting on these processes and their outcomes. 

Requirements and ECTS - Individuals who follow the course receive 0.4 ECTS, through preparation for the course, attendance on both afternoons, and active participation in the discussions, exercises and reflections.

Organisation - Animal Production Systems Group & Strategic Communication Group