SUS-CHAIN









Partner 5

Ghent University
Department of Agricultural Economics

Coupure Links 653
9000 Ghent
Belgium

Tel: ** 32 9 2645925
Fax: ** 32 9 2646246

Web site:
· Ghent University: http://www.UGent.be/
· Faculty of Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences: http://fltbwww.UGent.be/
· Department of Agricultural Economics: http://allserv.UGent.be/~jdeuninc/


About the Department of Agricultural Economics

The Department of Agricultural Economics consists of three divisions:
· Agricultural economics, agricultural policy and rural environmental economics mainly focusing on the relation and interactions between the farm and the political and rural environment and the consequences of these external interactions for the management of the farm.
· Agro-marketing and consumer behaviour concerns different marketing problems related to agriculture, horticulture and agribusiness in Belgium, EU and other parts of the world. It involves three main topics: price analysis, consumer behaviour and agribusiness structures.
· Agricultural economics applied to developing countries concentrates on problems in less developed countries, involving studies of agricultural production and the farm systems. Special attention is given to the relationships between the farming systems and the nutritional situation of the population.

Research areas
The research in agricultural economics, agricultural policy and rural environmental economics mainly focuses on the relation and interactions between the farm and the political and rural environment and the consequences of these external interactions for the management of the farm. Research topics are i.a. the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy, the farm economic and structural impacts of environmental and zoning policies, the possibilities for diversification in the agrarian sector, rural policy and rural development. Furthermore, attention is given to financial and succession problems in agriculture and horticulture, as well as the possibilities of restructuring. Operational research techniques such as LP and multi-criteria-analysis are hereby used.
Our staff also supervises a number of Ph D Students from developing countries in their research which mainly focuses on the interaction between policy and the development of the agricultural sector in their home countries.

Perspectives
The above mentioned research is continued but the focus is mainly shifting to research on possibilities of remunerating the agrarian sector for contributions in landscape management and rural development. This can be illustrated by a number of projects on countryside stewardship (financed by the EU), organic farming, innovative commercialisation initiatives, or on the possibilities for relocations of horticultural farms.


Role in the project

The Department of Agricultural Economics of the Ghent University is workpackage co-ordinator of workpackage 3 (Desk study on consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable food products). Together with the scientific co-ordinator (Wageningen University; P1), they will organise an international conference, which will especially be oriented at Commission representatives and policymakers / stakeholders’ organisations from the participating countries. Also they will, together with P1 and P6, edit a scientific book, which will discuss the potential role of new food supply chains in sustainable rural development.


Scientific personnel involved

Prof. dr. ir. Guido Van Huylenbroeck
Prof. dr. ir. Wim Verbeke
Ir. Anne Vuylsteke
Ir. Isabelle Vackier