Iman Raj Chongtham

I am a researcher in agroecology, specializing in cropping systems and sustainability. My research focuses on identifying pathways for a swift transition to sustainable food (and feed) systems, with particular attention to crop diversification practices and the interactions between actors within the value chain. This interest stems from the recognition that current agricultural practices, which heavily rely on external/synthetic inputs and intensive resource use, are unsustainable in the long term.

My work explores how various agroecological management practices in both organic and conventional farming systems can address key challenges such as climate change, low economic incentives, declining ecosystem services, and biodiversity loss. At present, I am involved in several projects examining the benefits of crop diversification, both spatially and temporally. One example is investigating intercropping of legumes with cereals and oilseeds to create more diversified, productive, adaptive, and agroecological cropping systems in Northern Europe.

I also have experience conducting agrarian diagnostic studies in middle- and low-income countries, including India, Romania, South Africa, and Uganda, providing valuable insights into the local context of agricultural practices and sustainability challenges.

Additionally, I have a strong interest in multi-criteria sustainability assessment tools. These tools are integral to my research, teaching, and supervision of student theses, where I guide students in evaluating sustainability from multiple perspectives.

Ongoing research projects

• Horizon Agroecology Partnership Project: Agroecological Living Labs To Gather Experiences for the Transition of Horticulture through Education and Research: ALLTOGETHER (2026-2030)- Principal Investigator
• Horizon Europe Project: SOIL Practices Assessment and Transition for Health: SoilPATH (2026-2031)- Principal Investigator
• Horizon Agroecology Partnership Project: Green Biorefineries as Catalysts for Agroecological Transitions and Circular Value Chains: GBR-ACT (2026-2030)- Participant
• Strengthening the Nordic Food System through “Nordic Agroecology Education and Research Network" - funded by NKJ (2026-2028)- Principal Coordinator
• Unlocking the Power of Crop Diversification: Transforming Organic Arable Cropping in Sweden- funded by Carl Tryggers Foundation (2025-2028)- Principal Investigator
• Strip cropping of oilseed rape and wheat -funded by Swedish Research Council, FORMAS (2022-2027)- Principal Investigator
• Horizon Project: IntercropVALUES (2022-2026)- Participant
• Multifunctional strip cropping using legumes for ecological weed control – funded by Ekhaga Foundation (2024-2026)- Participant
• Towards sustainable preparedness in Swedish agriculture -funded by Swedish Research Council, FORMAS (2023-2026)- Participant
• Holistic assessment of crop diversification on productivity, plant and soil health and socio-economic feasibility – a study based on an existing long-term field experiment in Alnarp – funded by LTV faculty’s seed money (2022-2025)- Principal Investigator

Completed Projects:

• Intercropping for more sustainable oilseed rape production -funded by SLF (2022-2025)- Participant
• Sweden-India Collaboration in Food-Environment Nexus (2022-24)- Principal Investigator
• Long-term benefits and trade-offs of crop diversification in two organic crop rotations in Scania - Principal Investigator
• Multi-criteria sustainability assessment of farms in Southern Sweden- Principal Investigator
• Horizon Project: DiverIMPACTS - Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains towards Sustainability- Principal Investigator
• Horizon Project: Agroecology for Europe- AE4EU- Participant
• Horizon Project: ReMIX: Redesigning European Cropping Systems based on species Mixtures (https://www.remix-intercrops.eu/)- Participant
• European Project: LEGATO: Legumes from the agriculture of tomorrow  (http://www.legato-fp7.eu/) - Participant

1. Study Director of MSc program in Agroecology (https://student.slu.se/en/studies/courses-and-programmes/masters-programmes/agroecology/)
2. Course leader of the PhD course in “Cropping Systems Diversification” (https://www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/course/P000073/F0001.2425/Cropping-Systems-Diversification/)
3. Coordinator of the MSc thesis course of the Agroecology program.
4. Course leader for "Agroecology and Sustainability of Production Systems," which is offered at the MSc level.
5. I represent SLU at the European Network of Organic Agriculture Teachers (ENOAT) and teach organic agriculture to trans-European course organised by ENOAT
6. Beyond these roles, I also contribute to a variety of courses in crop production systems, agroecology, and agrarian diagnostic studies, both at SLU and in collaboration with universities across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

MSc in Desert Studies, specializing in Agriculture and Biotechnology for Sustainable Dryland Development, 2006. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

MSc in Sustainable Agricultural Development, 2008. University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Master de Sciences et Technologies, Agronomie- Agroalimentaire, Montpellier SUPAGRO, France

PhD in Agronomy, 2016. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

Post-doc in Cropping systems ecology, 2017. Department of Biosystems and Technolgy, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp.