Research Context and Objectives

Pulses offer environmental and agronomic benefits, but their consumption remains low in France, and their development faces technical and economic constraints. The multidisciplinary PULSE FICTION project aims to develop minimally processed, low-environmental-impact legume-based products, taking into account the constraints faced by value-chain stakeholders and consumer expectations.

As part of this project, a PhD research project investigates scenarios for the production and consumption of four pulses (lentils, chickpeas, faba beans and dry beans) by 2050 in the Dijon living area. It combines the MAELIA territorial modelling platform with life cycle assessment (LCA). Three scenarios are being considered: a baseline scenario reflecting the current situation, a scenario based on the objectives of the PRODIJ Territorial Food Project (Projet alimentaire territorial, PAT), and a scenario based on the recommendations of the French National Nutrition and Health Programme (Programme national nutrition santé, PNNS).

Supervised by researchers from Institut Agro Dijon and INRAE (PAM, CESAER and LAE research units), the internship will contribute to developing these scenarios and translating them into data that can be used for modelling. The aim is to identify farming practices and value-chain organisation arrangements that could achieve the targeted production and consumption levels, and to develop an initial qualitative formalisation of these scenarios, which will form the core of the internship report.

Activities

Working closely with the PhD student, he or she will be expected to:

• Conduct field surveys with farmers, agricultural advisors and stakeholders involved in the initial stages of the supply chain, including sorting and storage, using existing survey guidelines.
• Organise and structure the collected data to support MAELIA modelling and life cycle assessment (LCA) inventories. The data will cover farming practices, crop rotations, inputs, field operations and material flows.
• Contribute to scenario development by identifying potential drivers of change (farming practices, cropping patterns, market outlets and value-chain organisation) and qualitatively describing the changes envisaged under each scenario.
• Design a scenario-building workshop approach involving a small group of local stakeholders, ensuring that collective discussions are aligned with modelling requirements. The research team will provide methodological training.
• Depending on the intern’s background and the progress of the project, contribute to quantifying scenario variables and carrying out an initial simulation using MAELIA.

The fieldwork will also document farmers’ decision-making rules and on-farm operations (drying, storage and transport), as well as material flows and infrastructure requirements at the sorting and storage stages.

Candidate profile

• Engineering degree or Master’s degree in agronomy or food science and technology, with a background in cropping systems, value chains or territorial development. A background combining agronomy and social sciences will be an advantage.
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary research and fieldwork.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, essential for conducting interviews and field surveys.
• Experience in agricultural systems modelling or life cycle assessment (LCA) would be an asset.