Benjamin Horne
Thesis title: Uneven grounds of soil health: Knowledge, power, and practices in Nepal’s Terai
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 and mental model approaches to examine how farmers and agricultural advisors assess soil health and degradation, how they explain the drivers of soil change, and how these understandings interact with structural and contextual constraints on soil management in Nepal's Terai (lowlands), where degradation has long been a widespread concern. 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?"
December 2025 - British Ecological Society Annual Meeting (Edinburgh, UK). Presentation on "Different ways of knowing soil: mental models of farmers and advisors in Nepal’s Terai".