Coordinator
Prof. Andrea Cavallini
e-mail: andrea.cavallini@unipi.it
Administrative seat
Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-Environmental Sciences
Project description
The PhD programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences is a three-year postgraduate PhD course offered by the Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-Environmental Sciences (DiSAAA-a) at the University of Pisa. The programme focuses on the sustainability of agri-food systems and is aligned with the European Union’s “Food 2030” strategy. It spans several ERC domains, including LS9 (Applied Life Sciences), LS2 (Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology), SH3 (Environment, Space and Population), and SH1 (Individuals, Institutions and Markets).
The programme starts from the premise that agri-food sustainability must be achieved through a wide range of activities—from production to consumption—engaging a variety of stakeholders and mobilising both natural and industrial resources. Pursuing sustainability implies that the necessary specialisation in agricultural sciences must be accompanied by a strong commitment to considering systemic implications, including the unintended consequences of specific technological solutions.
The programme also acknowledges that sustainability is a multidimensional concept, which must be evaluated through a variety of criteria—environmental, social, economic, and health-related—so that technological strategies can be selected by overcoming conflicting interests, perspectives, and priorities. For this reason, the active participation of stakeholders is essential in defining sustainability goals and research approaches.
To meet these challenges, we have designed an interdisciplinary programme that brings together agricultural sciences and a range of biological disciplines. The research activities are structured around three main thematic areas:
- Biological Foundations of Sustainability
- Sustainability of Agri-Food Production Systems
- Food Quality and Safety
PhD candidates take part in teaching activities such as courses, seminars, summer schools, and conferences organised by the University of Pisa and other institutions in Italy and abroad. Each student follows a personalised study plan aimed at acquiring an in-depth knowledge of specific scientific topics, alongside the development of broader professional skills.
Specifically, in the first and second year, students attend both general courses—open to all PhD students at the University of Pisa—and courses specific to this PhD programme.
The University also offers cross-disciplinary training, including two “Scientific English” courses (in the first and second year), and various workshops such as Career Labs for Doc, Research and Knowledge Management, Valorisation of Research Results and Intellectual Property, and Gender Issues Analysis.
PhD candidates in this programme also attend targeted courses such as “Fundamentals of Statistics for Agricultural Research” (first year), “Publishing in International Scientific Journals” (first year), “Innovative Methodologies in Agricultural Sciences” (second year).
All students are encouraged to spend at least six months abroad at high-level research institutions during their second and/or third year. At the end of each academic year, students must submit a research progress report and deliver a public seminar in English.
To be awarded the degree, each candidate must have published at least one article in a peer-reviewed indexed journal. The final thesis, written in English, is assessed by two external reviewers from other Italian or international universities, followed by evaluation from an internal examination board appointed by the Academic Board of the PhD programme, which confers the title of PhD graduate.
Course objectives
Compared to a few decades ago, agricultural sciences have made significant progress towards embracing the principles of sustainability. The limits of industrial agriculture—based on high fossil energy consumption and extreme specialisation—are now widely recognised, along with the benefits of ecosystem services linked to agriculture. However, in the coming decade, agricultural sciences will face new and significant challenges.
A large proportion of food production in Europe still relies on unsustainable practices: heavy dependence on external inputs (such as feed, fertilisers, pesticides), excessive use of natural resources like water and land, high emissions of carbon and nutrients, and simplification of production processes, which undermines nutrient cycling and biodiversity conservation. However, global population growth and the need to ensure safe and reliable access to food are placing increasing pressure on agricultural systems, which have long been challenged by climate change.
This scenario raises serious concerns about the resilience of agri-food systems and calls for adaptation and mitigation strategies, as highlighted in the COP21 agreements. The FAO, in outlining the Sustainable Development Goals, has clearly stated that agriculture must significantly reduce its environmental impact in the coming decades, improve access to food and key nutrients for a growing global population, ensure fair incomes for farmers, and help sustain rural communities.
This means addressing all three fundamental aspects of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. The use of a wide range of emerging technologies – based on omics sciences, information technologies, robotics, and artificial intelligence – could contribute to achieving these goals. At the same time, there is a growing recognition, also among international organisations, of the need to align technological innovation with agroecological principles, so that farming systems can be redesigned with the specific needs of rural communities and local territories in mind.
In this context of growing demand for enabling technologies capable of improving the efficiency of agricultural systems while reducing their environmental impact, the so-called bioeconomy revolution offers major opportunities—driven by advances in biomass conversion into bioproducts.
The PhD programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences is designed to train researchers—also through partnerships with public and private institutions and enterprises—equipped to address the challenges of sustainability in the agri-food sector, by improving production efficiency, ensuring high nutritional quality, and guaranteeing food security.
The main research topics addressed within the programme include:
- Sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural systems
- Plant, animal and microbial biotechnologies
- Agroecological approaches to production systems
- Ecology, physiology, genomics, proteomics and metabolomics of food-producing organisms
- Sustainable food technologies
- Quality of plant- and animal-based food, and the genetic and environmental factors affecting it
- Enabling technologies for precision farming in plant and animal production
- Technologies for plant and soil protection and environmental remediation, including in urban areas
- Technologies to support the bioeconomy, especially for transforming agri-food by-products into feed, fertilisers, soil amendments, biostimulants, and nutraceuticals
The programme promotes the development of shared systemic approaches through a training strategy based on the scientific principles of sustainability and strong partnership networks. Specific agreements have already been established with leading institutions (e.g. the National Research Council, FAO), as well as with major companies in the agri-food sector.
Scientific-disciplinary areas
Agronomy and Field Crops
Arboriculture and Tree Crops
Environmental and Applied Botany
Agricultural Chemistry
Agricultural Law
Agricultural Economics and Appraisal
General and Applied Entomology
Plant Physiology
Agricultural Genetics
Agricultural Hydraulics and Forest Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Agricultural Microbiology
Horticulture and Floriculture
Plant Pathology
Food Science and Technology
General and Special Animal Science
Animal Breeding and Genetics
Internal Regulations of the PhD Programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences
Website
https://phd-dafe.agr.unipi.it/it/
