Associate Research Fellow & Consultant

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List of Publications (ResearchGate)

Markus studied organic agricultural sciences at the University of Kassel (B.Sc.) and a double degree master program in sustainable international agriculture at the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel (M.Sc.). He holds a doctoral degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Hohenheim (Dr. sc. agr.).

Prior to his academic career, Markus worked as an intern on certified organic and agroecological farms, and in rural development projects in Germany, Asia, and Latin America. Between 2009 and 2015 he was research assistant and international academic project manager at DITSL. From 2015 to 2019 he was research associate at the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering of the University of Kassel and coordinated the Volkswagen Foundation’s postdoctoral fellowship program for African researchers. From 2020 to 2023 Markus was grantee of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and conducted his doctoral research at DITSL. Between 2023 and 2026 he was postdoctoral researcher of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) at the Research Institute for Natural Resources, Agroecology and Rural Development (IRNAD) of the National University of Rio Negro (UNRN) in Argentina.

Currently, Markus is adjunct professor of organic farming and certification systems, and transdisciplinary research at UNRN, associated research fellow at IRNAD and DITSL, and idenpendent consultant. As an international research and evaluation expert, he conducts project evaluations, studies, and consultancies for the international scientific research and development cooperation.

Markus’ main research interests are in agri-food innovation systems and transition studies, approaches proposed to understand and facilitate sustainability transformations in agriculture and food practice. Using social-ecological and actor-oriented perspectives, his research contributes to the development of methodological approaches for transdisciplinary research and process facilitation in advisory practice. It provides empirical insights into agroecological innovation, and how practitioners and organisations can strenghten their capacity to develop, implement, and scale new social, economic, and technological practices.

Markus Frank has long-term experience in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and India; and short-term experience in Costa Rica, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, and Spain.