Benjamin Horne
Thesis title: Soil health in Nepal’s Terai region: exploring perceptions and practices
Background
Ben Horne is a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh's Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems (GAAFS) and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). His research draws on political ecology to examine socio-environmental pressures on soil management in Nepal's Terai (lowlands), and how farmers and agricultural advisors perceive and manage cropland soil health in the region. Ben previously worked for six years in the international development sector as a project manager, specialising in public sector governance programmes, with a focus on South Asia. He holds an MSc in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BA in Archaeology with a Year Abroad from University College London (UCL).
Conference details
August 2025 - Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute for British Geographers) Annual International Conference (Birmingham, UK). Presentation on "Soil degradation in Nepal: Are policymakers missing the bigger picture by blaming farmers?"
(upcoming) December 2025 - British Ecological Society Annual Meeting (Edinburgh, UK). Presentation on "Challenging the knowledge deficit: Farmers’ and advisors’ mental models of soil health in Nepal’s Terai".