After recieving the suggestion to adjust sf’s buildInputs (here) I realised I could adjust the sf buildInputs using the otherOverrides overlay within the r-modules derivation (nixpkgs/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix):
otherOverrides = old: new: {
...
sf = old.sf.overrideDerivation (attrs: with pkgs; {
buildInputs = [ libtiff sqlite gdal proj geos ] ++ attrs.buildInputs;
});
...
}
However, no effect was discernible.