PTL2 – Agroecology and Food Systems

• Stéphane de TOURDONNET (ABSys, Institut Agro Montpellier)
• Daniel FONCEKA (AGAP, CIRAD)
• Julien DEMENOIS + Edward GERARDEAUX / Sandrine AUZOUX (AIDA, CIRAD)
• Laurent COURNAC (Eco&Sols, IRD)
• Eric MALEZIEUX (HortSys, CIRAD)
• Valérie LULLIEN-PELLERIN (IATE, INRAE)
• Laure HOSSARD (Innovation, INRAE)
• Arnaud HÉLIAS (ITAP, INRAE)
• Eric TRABLY (LBE, INRAE)
• Caroline MÉJEAN and Olivier Lepiller (MoISA, INRAE)
• Renaud BOULANGER (Qualisud, CIRAD)
• Christian CORNIAUX (Selmet, CIRAD)
• Agnès AGEORGES (SPO, INRAE)
• Thierry BONAUDO and Agnès BÉGUÉ (TETIS, AgroParisTech)
• Karen LAMBERT-CORDILLAC (UM Biology-Health Division, UM)
• Elodie VALETTE (ArtDev – SOC Division, CIRAD)
• Nadine ANDRIEU (CIRAD CTS Food Systems, CIRAD)

Main:

• ABSYS
• AGAP Institute
• AIDA
• Eco&Sols
• MOISA
• Hortsys
• IATE
• QUALISUD
• SELMET
• SPO
• TETIS
• ITAP
• LBE
• INNOVATION

Secondary:

• ASTRE
• Biowooeb
• CBGP
• DGIMI
• DIADE
• G-WATER
• GECO
• IPSIM
• ISEM
• LEPSE
• LISAH
• Recycling and Risk
• MEANING

Title: Food Demand and the Agroecological Transition: An Analysis of the Interactions Between Consumption and Production in West African Food Systems

Title: Food Demand and Agroecological Transition: An Analysis of the Interactions Between Consumption and Production in West African Food Systems

Summary:

The agroecological transition of food systems in West Africa relies heavily on the transformation of production systems, while the role of food demand—particularly for fresh fruits and vegetables—remains insufficiently documented. This thesis aims to address this gap through an empirical analysis of the interactions between consumption dynamics, agroecological systems, and the structuring of food supply at the regional level. The study will be conducted in Senegal across two contrasting regions: the peri-urban area of Niayes and the rural area of Lake Guiers, with operational roots in living labs. It is based on two complementary components. The first component characterizes local demand for fruits and vegetables produced using agroecological practices by identifying consumer preferences, their socioeconomic determinants, and barriers to the sustainable consumption of these fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables, using field surveys and stated or revealed preference methods. The second component assesses the impact of existing regional agroecological systems on the local food supply, using quasi-experimental approaches. This research aims to generate empirical evidence useful for designing public policies and regional interventions that promote the agroecological transition in West Africa.

Keywords: Agroecology, food demand, consumer preferences, co-design, West Africa

Abstract:

The agroecological transition of food systems in West Africa has largely focused on transforming production systems, while the role of food demand—particularly for fresh fruits and vegetables—remains insufficiently documented. This thesis aims to address this gap through an empirical analysis of the interactions between consumption dynamics, agroecological arrangements, and the structuring of food supply at the territorial level. The study will be conducted in Senegal across two contrasting regions: the peri-urban Niayes area and the rural Lake Guiers area, with an operational framework based on living labs. It is structured around two complementary components. The first component characterizes local demand for fruits and vegetables produced using agroecological practices by identifying consumer preferences, their socioeconomic determinants, and barriers to the sustainable consumption of these fresh and safe fruits and vegetables, based on field surveys and stated or revealed preference methods. The second component evaluates the impact of existing territorial agroecological interventions on the local food supply, using quasi-experimental methods. This work aims to generate empirical evidence useful for the design of public policies and territorial interventions supporting the agroecological transition in West Africa.

Keywords: Agroecology, food demand, consumer preferences, co-design, West Africa

Objectives

The aim of this thesis is to provide empirical evidence on two distinct but complementary issues, in the context of the agroecological transition of food systems in West Africa:

1. Demand: To characterize consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables produced using agroecological practices by analyzing consumer preferences, procurement practices, and the economic, social, and regional factors influencing food choices. This involves identifying the barriers and drivers of consumption of agroecological products in order to inform the design of appropriate policies and interventions.

2. Supply: Assess the impact of existing regional agroecological initiatives on the structure of the local food supply (availability, accessibility, quality, price) using quasi-experimental methods. The starting point is the Mbane living lab (Lake Guiers area); one or two other initiatives in the Niayes area will be identified at the beginning of the thesis.

Project Summary
The agroecological transition of food systems is a major challenge in addressing the pressures of population growth, climate change, and food insecurity. It relies on advances in fundamental knowledge about the components of agroecosystems—soils, plants, and the organisms that surround them, whether pathogenic or symbiotic. However, while the application of this knowledge has enabled the development of agroecological strategies to address challenges related to soil fertility and pest management, the consequences of these practices are primarily evaluated in terms of crop yield, often neglecting their impact on the nutritional and health quality of the vegetables produced.

Producing food in sufficient quantity and quality is a major challenge in the Niayes market gardening basin, which supplies both local and distant markets in Senegal. This region is dominated by family farming, which faces significant constraints: low soil fertility, high disease pressure on crops, and the challenge of preserving vegetables until they reach the market. In response to these constraints, a variety of practices (fertilization with poultry manure, spatial and temporal crop rotation, and pesticide use) have been implemented, but their unintended effects remain poorly understood. While poultry manure can restore soil fertility through organic matter and nutrients, its health risks to soils and crops (heavy metals, antibiotics, diseases) and its impacts on crop storage are poorly understood. Similarly, while crop diversification and the use of pesticides can limit phytosanitary risks, their consequences on nutrient uptake by crops and on the health quality of consumed products remain to be clarified.

This thesis aims to understand how organic fertilization, crop diversification, and pesticide use influence the quantity and quality of vegetables. It will focus on the vegetable-growing region of the Niayes area in northwestern Senegal. This region is at the heart of numerous agroecological projects (OR4FOOD, FairSahel, Santé et territoires) that have studied the cropping systems in this area. By covering a wide range of practices, these projects will help uncover the relationships between soil health, plant nutritional status, and the sanitary quality of crops under real-world farming conditions.

Funding for a doctoral thesis on agrobiodiversity, co-funded by PTL2 (Agroecology and Food Systems) and PTL3 (Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution)

Submission deadline: Tuesday, May 20 (5:00 p.m.)

The PTL2 (Agroecology and Food Systems) and PTL3 (Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution in the Face of Global Change) research groups within the AEB cluster at the I-Site in Montpellier share a strong interest in all aspects of agrobiodiversity, defined here as biodiversity within agricultural landscapes. This first call for projects focuses on the plant component of agrobiodiversity and, more specifically, on all plant species sown or planted (annuals or perennials that constitute the targeted crops, but also service plants in the broadest sense). In 2026, a second call for projects will be launched, this time incorporating all other components of agrobiodiversity (weeds and other pests, pollinators, beneficial organisms, soil organisms, etc.).

This call for proposals aims to address the needs of both PTLs regarding knowledge of agrobiodiversity. PTL3 is primarily interested in the characterization of agrobiodiversity and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underpinning it. This knowledge aims to optimize, at the plot scale or beyond, the functions performed by agroecosystems in the context of agroecological transition.

The PTL2, for its part, focuses on the practical implementation of agrobiodiversity within agricultural production systems (integration into agricultural practices and systems, diversification of production systems) as well as its impact on downstream value chains (processing, distribution, and consumption) and on the nutritional quality of products derived from these diversified systems.

Although complementary, these areas of research remain too often siloed, which limits the full potential of agrobiodiversity as a lever to support the necessary and urgent agroecological transition. Bridging the gap between these disciplines represents a genuine scientific challenge—a frontier of science—that we believe is now ripe for enhanced interdisciplinary dialogue.

Call for Proposals 2025: PTL2 Exploratory Projects

Submission deadline: September 30, 2025

The PTL2 scientific community shares the goal of transforming agricultural and food systems to produce food in sufficient quantity and quality so that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet while minimizing environmental impacts. To achieve this, we must move beyond sector-specific research focused on the production, processing, distribution, or consumption of raw or processed products by promoting research that integrates these different sectors and takes into account the various scales of food systems, from the local to the global level.

One of the PTL2’s initiatives is to support approximately 20 interdisciplinary exploratory projects, which must align with the PTL2’s objectives. Expected characteristics of the exploratory projects:

• Complete at least two courses from the AEB track, at least one of which must be affiliated with PTL2

It is possible to include more than two units, and, if necessary, units outside the AEB Cluster or even outside I-Site; however, only units within I-Site will be eligible to receive a portion of the budget.

• Combine at least two different disciplines
• Last for up to 2 years
• For a total budget of up to €80,000. The budget may cover the following expenses:
  • operating expenses, including travel expenses and internship stipends
  • equipment (based on the threshold set by the administrative authority; the UM is mandatory for units under the UM’s primary administrative authority)
  • staff (fixed-term contracts for technicians or engineers, but not for doctoral students or postdocs)

This first Call for Proposals will fund approximately 7 projects, which will be evaluated by the PTL2 Steering Committee according to the following schedule and procedures:

• Submission deadline: September 30, 2025
• evaluation by the Steering Committee (with the possible involvement of external reviewers)
• Winners will be notified in mid-November 2025
• Projects will officially begin: January through June 2026

• Eligibility criteria:
  • multi-unit (minimum of 2 AEB units and one unit affiliated with PTL2)
  • interdisciplinary approach (at least two distinct disciplines)
• evaluation criteria:
  • Scientific positioning in relation to the scientific frontiers of PTL2
  • the originality of the project, from a scientific and/or methodological perspective
  • feasibility and budget