European experts on economic impact of agricultural science meet at Aberystwyth

Members of IMPRESA meeting at Aberystwyth University; (left to right) Myriam Doghmi, Euroquality; Davide Viaggi, University of Bologna; Dominique Barjolle, FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture; Danielle Barret, CIRAD, France (Project Advisor); Abdoulaye Saley Moussa, UN Food and Agriculture Organization; Peter Midmore, Aberystwyth University; and Simone Sterly, IfLS - Institute for Rural Development Research, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt

A team of international scientists are gathering at Aberystwyth University this week for a meeting on an EU-wide project, IMPRESA, hosted by the School of Management and Business in the University’s Medrus conference suite. 

The €2.1m IMPRESA project is led by Professor Peter Midmore of the School of Management and Business at Aberystwyth University.

The project is funded through the European Union’s Framework 7 programme over the period 2013 to 2016, and is studying the economic impact of scientific research on agriculture across Europe. 

The project team includes academics and scientists from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy,  Spain and Switzerland, as well as from Aberystwyth University.

UK research, undertaken by academic researchers in the School of Management and Business at Aberystwyth University as part of the project, focuses on the impact of the creation of the Dairy Fertility Index over the last 15 years. 

Other projects are looking at products to combat varroa mites in bees, renewable energy for biogas, conversion to organic rice production, optical crop sensors for precision agriculture and integrated pest management for olive oil production.

Professor Peter Midmore said: “This is an important project which is beginning to develop some clear conclusions for improvements in the way in which the European Union and its member states assess the contribution that scientific research on agriculture leads to wider economic benefits over the medium to long term. We will be looking at preliminary findings from a fascinating spread of case studies of how scientific research has improved agricultural practice and effectiveness in different countries – from the UK to Bulgaria.” 

Professor Andrew Henley, Institute Director for Management, Law and Information Science, and a member of the Aberystwyth IMPRESA team said: “We are delighted to welcome such a distinguished team of researchers and scientific advisors to Aberystwyth for this meeting of the IMPRESA project. This a very significant project, in terms of its likely impact across Europe, and it is an indicator of the esteem in which Professor Midmore is held in the field of agricultural economics in Europe, that he was chosen to lead this programme of research at Aberystwyth University. It is exciting to see the quality of the work that is beginning to emerge from IMPRESA”.

The scientists are in Aberystwyth for three days, from Wednesday 18th until Friday 20th November. They will also meet Professor Mike Gooding, Director of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences who will provide an introduction to the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus, and visit the National Plant Phenomics Centre at Gogerddan.

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