Title

Developing a transport-cost model to test the resilience of foodsheds in four African cities

Context

Understanding the food sourcing practices of cities is crucial for assessing their resilience to challenges such as climate change and economic crises. Food systems are increasingly gaining attention in both academic and policy discussions surrounding sustainable development. In West Africa, urbanization has emerged as a significant driver of changes in the food system, affecting agricultural land uses and dietary patterns. A recent study conducted by Karg et al. (2023) provides valuable food flow data gathered from four West African cities: Bamako (Mali), Bamenda (Cameroon), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Tamale (Ghana).

This research aims to leverage the provided data by constructing an exploratory mathematical programming model that simulates decision-making processes related to food transport costs in these cities (Nguyen et al., 2021; Soto-Silva et al., 2016). The future intern will be involved in all the tasks of the MOFAA project, which main objective is developing a cost-minimization model for enhancing the resilience of food basins in four African cities. The model and scenarios will be used to address the following research questions: what would be the impact of a rise of fuel prices in terms of food availability? What are the greenhouse gases implications of minimizing the transport costs of foodsheds? What are the seasonal implications on nutrients availability?

Location

UMR MoISA, CIRAD, Montpellier

Missions

Read scientific articles and write a state-of-the-art document on transport cost models on food flows. Using R, the intern will build a database based on data published by Karg et al. (2023) and complement with additional data for modelling purposes. Using GAMS or R, the intern will help developing a mathematical programming model to minimize the transport costs of 4 African foodsheds calibrated to reproduce the foodsheds patterns. Build scenarios to test three resilience aspects of the foodsheds. Write a paper draft.

Objectives

The intern will focus on the following project objectives according to their skills and interests:

1. Conduct a state-of-the-art review in transport cost models for food flows.
2. Develop a conceptual model and a pilot model.
3. Elaborate a database.
4. Develop a transport-cost model and scenarios.
5. Draft a paper.

Profile

The candidate should be a Master student in agricultural or environmental economics (M2).

Operational skills: Recommended knowledge of R and GAMS software. Language: Working knowledge of English is required. Proficiency in French would be advantageous but is not mandatory.

Deadline

Please send your CV and motivation letter before January 25, 2024 to Joaquin Ameller
joaquin.ameller@cirad.fr

References

Karg, H., Akoto-Danso, E. K., Amprako, L., Drechsel, P., Nyarko, G., Lompo, D. J.-P., Ndzerem, S.,Sidibé, S., Hoschek, M., & Buerkert, A. (2023). A spatio-temporal dataset on food flows for four West African cities. Scientific Data, 10(1), Article 1.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02163-6

Nguyen, T.-D., Nguyen-Quang, T., Venkatadri, U., Diallo, C., & Adams, M. (2021). Mathematical Programming Models for Fresh Fruit Supply Chain Optimization : A Review of the Literature and Emerging Trends. AgriEngineering, 3(3), Article 3.
https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering3030034

Soto-Silva, W. E., Nadal-Roig, E., González-Araya, M. C., & Pla-Aragones, L. M. (2016). Operational research models applied to the fresh fruit supply chain. European Journal of Operational Research, 251(2), 345‑ 355.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2015.08.046