Ms. Sinoxolo Magaya | Organic Farming | Best Researcher Award

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,  Netherlands

Sinoxolo Magaya is a PhD researcher in Environmental Geography at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, focusing on sustainable nutrient management in organic agriculture. Her current thesis explores the potentials and constraints of recycled phosphorus product use across the EU. She holds a cum laude MSc in Geography & Environmental Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand, with prior degrees in Geography and Hydrology.

Profile:

• Google Scholar

🎓 Education:

• PhD in Environmental Geography (2021–Present)
  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Thesis: Potentials and constraints of recycled phosphorus in EU organic farming

• MSc Geography & Environmental Studies (Cum Laude) (2019–2021)
  University of Witwatersrand
  Thesis: Indigenous Knowledge in agricultural management

• BSc Hons Geography (2018–2019)
  University of Witwatersrand

• BSc Geography & Hydrology (2014–2016)
  University of Zululand

🧠 Research Focus:

• Recycled phosphorus use in agriculture

• Indigenous knowledge systems & climate adaptation

• Urban food systems modeling

• Nature-based solutions & sustainability transitions

🧪 Skills & Tools:

• Ethnographic research | Policy analysis | Stakeholder engagement

• GIS (QGIS & ArcGIS) | R Studio | Atlas.ti | Microsoft Office | Data mining & analytics

🗣️ Conferences & Presentations:

• 🧾 ReCap Conference, 2024 – Poster on phosphorus distribution in organic farming

• 🧪 NERM Workshop, 2024 – Fertilizer-based phosphorus research

• 🎙️ Panelist – Language Policy in Higher Education (Wits Symposium, 2019)

💰 Research Funding:

• Moses Kotane Institute – R120,000

• National Research Foundation – R75,000

• CSIR – R100,000

👩🏽‍🏫 Teaching & Outreach:

• Guest lectures on GIS, nutrient mapping & environmental science

• PhD representative (Marie Curie project, 2021–2025)

• Poster Prize Winner, 2024

• Golden Key Honour Society Member, 2021

Publication Top Notes:

• Approaching positionality in research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems

• Phosphorus removal and use in organic crop farming in the EU

• Indigenous Knowledge Systems cues essential in agricultural management and tracking seasonality in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, South Africa

• Food systems modelling to evaluate interventions for food and nutrition security in an African urban context

• Use of recycled phosphorus products in organic farming in EU member states: Theoretically supported but practically restricted