Animal Production Systems Group - Current PhD Projects
Environment
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Balancing biodiversity conservation and food production
PhD project by Vincent Oostvogels. It remains difficult to increase agriculture’s contribution to biodiversity conservation, among others due to... -
Integrated crop-dairy systems as a solution towards circularity in agriculture
PhD project by Lianne Alderkamp. Combining forage crops and temporary grassland with cash-crop production, can mitigate the environmental impacts of... -
Restoring nutrient cycling in the Chinese dairy sector from a perspective of the entire food system
PhD project by Yue Wang. To develop a sustainable dairy system in China, crop and animal production need to be recoupled and nutrients need to be... -
Environmental consequences of adopting circularity at different spatial scales
PhD project by Ben van Selm. Circular food systems are increasingly seen as an important pathway to a sustainable food system. Closing cycles at a... -
Towards regenerative agriculture: the case of dairy and arable farming in the Netherlands
PhD project by Loekie Schreefel. Farm animals reared under a circular paradigm can play a crucial role in feeding humanity while decreasing the... -
Pursuing circularity in food systems: unravelling the environmental potential of waste-fed black soldier fly larvae
PhD project by Alejandro Parodi Parodi. Food systems need to be restructured through a synergistic combination of measures that tackle food waste and... -
The role of livestock in the food system: the case of Ireland
PhD project by Donagh Hennessy. To meet global nutritional needs within global production boundaries a solution is to use livestock to convert biomass... -
Reducinq freshwater use in pork production - the case study of Ireland
PhD project by Shilpi Misra. The livestock sector is highly dependent on water availability, as water is used for animal drinking, cleaning, feed... -
The role of animal-source food in a planet-friendly and healthy diet
PhD project of Anita Frehner. The role of animal source food (ASF) in the food system deserves a special focus, since the current consumption and... -
Improving feeding practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from smallholder dairy farms in Indonesia
PhD project by Titis Apdini. The Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia developed a policy to increase herd size from 2 to 5 cows per farm....
Animal welfare
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Continuous welfare assessment: using feeding patterns to monitor the welfare of growing-finishing pigs
PhD project by Jacinta Bus. Animal welfare is a dynamic process and differs between individuals housed in the same environment. Continuous monitoring... -
The welfare of dairy cows in pasture-based systems
PhD project by Robin Crossley. In pasture-based systems, cows must obtain the majority of their dry matter intake (DMI) through grazing, must walk... -
Evaluating strategies to reduce labour shortages associated with calf rearing
PhD project by Alison Sinnott. Calving is one of the most labour intensive processes in a grass-based dairy system, because of its seasonality.... -
Implications of cow-calf contact for dairy cow and calf welfare
PhD project by Margret Wenker. There are societal concerns about the early separation of dairy cow and calf. This project aims to investigate rearing... -
Biomarkers of happiness and stress in dairy cattle
PhD project by Louise Kremer. Animal welfare depends on their emotional experiences. Current methods to assess emotions in cows are still lacking...
Livelihood
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The role of maize-soybean-chicken value chains in sustainable food systems: the case of Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania
PhD project by Wilson Charles Wilson. Tanzania has a large gap between food production and healthy consumption. To attain SDG2, a diet should be... -
Improving milk quality of dairy systems in Kenya
PhD project by Simon Ndungu Nyokabi. Knowledge of milk quality and constraints to improvement is limited among smallholder farmers in Kenya, which... -
The potential of livestock production to improve the livelihoods of beneficiaries on land reform farms in Limpopo Province of South Africa
PhD project by Avhafunani Netshipale. In the past 250 years, many countries have attempted to do land reform (both ownership and access), informed by... -
Livestock and competing claims on natural resources at the population-land-livestock nexus in Mbire District in the Mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe
PhD project by Steven Matema. Smallholder farmers in rural communal areas of Zimbabwe practice mixed farming under rain fed conditions, in which...