The University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town has opened applications for two doctoral research positions under the Digital Agrarian Futures project, a joint initiative with the University of Cologne in Germany. The scholarships will support doctoral research into how digital technologies are changing agricultural economies, labour relations and food systems in Africa.
What the programme covers
Successful applicants will be based primarily at UWC and will undertake doctoral research within the field of Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies. The partnership with Cologne also provides opportunities for research stays in Germany.
The project will fund two PhD candidates. Research is expected to examine the political and socioeconomic dynamics of digitalisation among farmers in Kenya and Tanzania, focusing on how new technologies influence ownership, finance, labour and broader food-system change.
Research themes
Applicants are expected to develop doctoral topics that align with one of three central themes:
- Financialisation and data ownership — how financial systems, digital tools and agricultural data affect ownership and agrarian economies.
- Labour, class, gender and generational relations — the impact of digitalisation on rural labour, social relations and inequality.
- Corporate power and food-system transformation — the role of corporations and digital platforms in reshaping production, markets and rural communities.
Structure and expectations
The programme will select two candidates on the basis of academic qualifications and the strength of their proposed research topics. Candidates will be registered in the relevant doctoral programme at UWC’s Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies department and are expected to conduct fieldwork that addresses the project’s thematic priorities.
While the successful applicants will be primarily resident at UWC, the collaboration with the University of Cologne includes provisions for time abroad, enabling access to additional supervision, networks and comparative perspectives.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Host institutions | University of the Western Cape; University of Cologne |
| Number of scholarships | 2 PhD positions |
| Primary base | UWC, Cape Town |
| Research focus | Digital agrarian futures in Kenya and Tanzania |
| Discipline | Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (doctoral level) |
Why this matters locally
The initiative links a Western Cape university to wider debates about technology and agriculture across Africa. For UWC, a public institution with a long record in social-science scholarship, the project offers a platform to examine how digital tools — from data-driven finance to digital supply chains — intersect with land access, labour and rural livelihoods.
For students and early-career researchers based in Cape Town, the scholarships present a rare opportunity to pursue comparative fieldwork that spans East and Southern Africa, while benefitting from European research networks. The focus on questions of ownership, corporate power and social relations also dovetails with ongoing policy debates in South Africa about land reform, food security and the governance of agricultural data.
Practical information for applicants
- Applicants should prepare a clear doctoral research proposal that aligns with one of the three thematic areas.
- Academic qualifications and the quality of the proposed topic will form the basis for selection.
- Candidates will be registered at UWC and will conduct research primarily from Cape Town, with planned exchanges in Cologne.
Prospective applicants should consult UWC’s Faculty of Graduate Studies or the Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies department for the full application requirements, closing dates and details about supervision and funding arrangements.
The Digital Agrarian Futures project illustrates how universities in the Western Cape continue to position themselves in transnational research collaborations while tackling questions that have direct consequences for rural economies across the continent.
