JULY 22, 2021
The agricultural sector is undergoing a period of rapid transformation, driven by the powerful and interconnected impacts of climate change, demographic transitions and uneven economic growth around the world. In this context, the expectations placed on scientists, including agricultural economists, by policy-makers, research-funding bodies, academic institutions, the private sector and civil society are changing. Knowledge creation, the provision of policy advice and formulation of general recommendations are no longer sufficient on their own. Instead, the societal impact of the profession needs to be amplified by demonstrating and communicating effectively the outcomes of research. How then can the agricultural economics profession raise their impactand contribute more effectively to the resolution of important societal challenges?
The XVI EAAE Congress hosted discussions of these issues and stimulating three days of interactions among scholars, businesses, policy makers and representatives from civil society. After its postponement due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Congress took place on 20-23 July, 2021.
During the seminar, Gero Carletto, LSMS Manager, presented his reflections based on the article: "Better data, higher impact: improving agricultural data systems for societal change". The article reviews recent developments in the agricultural data landscape, highlights existing constraints to further progress and argues for agricultural economists to take responsibility for building agricultural data systems equipped to respond to the diverse needs of a changing world.
Resources
· Read the journal article
· Access the presentation
· Link to the XVI EAAE Congress website
