AEFM University of Newcastle Department of Agricultural Economics and Food Marketing

Address :
Kings Walk
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 7RU
United Kingdom

Main objectives :

The department of Agricultural Economics and Food Marketing (AEFM) is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and a recognised centre of research excellence in the UK. It comprises over 20 established teaching and research staff, supplemented by further research fellows and officers, and 40 postgraduate students. The quality of both teaching and research activities in the Department have been rated as excellent in recent national quality assessment exercises. The department holds an international reputation for agricultural policy analysis and mathematical modeling and has specialist expertise in the analysis of food markets and consumption behaviour within the European context.
In terms of research strengths, the traditional focus of the Department has been on agricultural and food issues both in the UK and abroad, with an established reputation in agricultural policy analysis, economic modelling, marketing and market analysis and food consumer behaviour. More recently, new strengths in rural and environmental policy analysis have been developed with the Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) providing a focus for teaching and research into countryside change and rural development in the UK and Europe. The multi-disciplinary nature of researcher profiles in the Department, from economists, marketers and policy analysts to rural sociologists and geographers, is a further feature of this unit. The result is a range of studies which examine diverse aspects of the agrifood and rural sectors, at almost every stage in the supply chain.

Researchers working on PDO and PGI :

• Mitchell Ness
• Angela Tregear

IERM University of Edinburgh Institute of Ecology and Ressources Management

Address :
West Mains road
EH9 3J6
EDINBURGH
United Kingdom

Main objectives :
IERM (Institute of Ecology and Resource Management) is involved in academic research and teaching in Scotland, Europe and worl-wide. The IERM team will contribue to WP 2 and WP 4 and will work in close liaison with the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Specifically, contrasts will be drawn between OLP and "conventional" products and distribution systems, indicating areas where the distribution nature of OLPs are both enhanded and subverted by the system. Particular how will be made on the potential impact of Agenda 2000 is likely to have on the production systems and marketing chains of OLPs. In WP 4, consumer and industry issues and trends will be analysed for markets for mainstream and PDO/PGI products. This will significantly increase the knowledge base in the UK in these areas and anhance the market opportunities for OLPs.
In 1998, it received public and private found (by government, industry and private sector) for provide relevant and up-to-date research in the agro-food sector and rural sustainability current research reflects the institute's substantial link with agricultural and rural sustainability. Projects such the European beef and lamb marketing for example, are looking at innovative ways for stimulating markets for these quality meats in Europe by research on the consumer : supply chain issues, quality assurance and communication in marketing in Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, England. Many successful research projects involving IERM have been multidisciplinary and multicultural in nature.

Researchers working on PDO and PGI :

• Ron Wilson
• Kate Corcoran

Welsh Institute of Rural Studies - University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Address :
Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth,
Ceredigion, SY23 3AL
Wales, United-Kingdom

Ph :
Fax : +44 1970 611264
e-mail : irs-enquiries@aber.ac.uk
http://www.irs.aber.ac.uk/index.shtml

Main objectives :

We are one of three partners in the Aber BioCentre (ABC), a ‘virtual institute’ designed to offer a multidisciplinary and collaborative framework for a spectrum of land-based research across the life and social sciences. The ABC was created in 1998 and combines the complementary research skills and expertise of two Aberystwyth University departments -- the Institute of Rural Studies (IRS) and the Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS) -- with those of the long-established Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER), located nearby. Within this framework, our research activity takes place through four research groups and involves both IRS and IBS staff working in the following areas: Animal Science; Crop Science and Genetics; Agroecology (including Organic Farming); and Rural Economics and Development. Although some projects are undertaken on a within-group basis, many involve staff from a range of disciplines, and there are key partnerships between research groups in a number of important fields.

Researchers working on PDO and PGI :

• Professor Peter Midmore
• Ms. Carolyn Foster
• Ms. Suzanne Padel
• Dr. Nic Lampkin

Rural Restructuring Research Group - School of Natural & Environmental Sciences (Geography) - Coventry University

Address :
Priory Street
Coventry CV1 5FB
United Kingdom

Ph : +44 (0) 24 76888 403/ 444
Fax: +44 (0) 24 76888 447
e-mail :
http://www.nes.coventry.ac.uk/newnesweb/research/ogrp002.htm

Main objectives :

Research into agricultural change, farm business behaviour, farm diversification and regional speciality food and drink products is well-established and internationally recognised under the leadership of Professor Brian Ilbery. The Research Group has worked closely with colleagues in the University, researchers from other academic institutions and a range of external agencies including the National Rural Enterprise Centre, Horticulture Research International, Henry Doubleday Association, MAFF, ADAS and the European Commission. The research has been supported by significant research and consultancy income from such bodies as the European Commission, MAFF, Economic and Social Research Council, Nuffield Foundation and Department for International Development. European Funding in excess of £1,000,000 has been received for four international research projects exploring problems facing agriculture and rural development in the lagging regions of the EU; the last of these (RIPPLE) was co-ordinated in Coventry by members of the Research Group. Two new European Commission-funded projects have just been approved, examining integrated tourism and food supply chains and SMEs in lagging EU regions.

Complementing this research is a range of other projects on aspects of rural change. These include farmers' markets in the UK, the production and consumption of smallholding in rural Britain, the geography of organic farming in England, rural industrialisation in accessible and remote rural areas, tourism-related diversification in the Cotswolds, the commodification and consumption of cultural identities, and rural tourism in the Celtic periphery.

Researchers working on PDO and PGI :

• Professor Brian Ilbery, email: b.ilbery@coventry.ac.uk
• Dr Philip Dunham
• Dr Lewis Holloway
• Dr Moya Kneafsey

Agricultural Economic and Business Management Research Section
Imperial College at Wye

Address :
Ashford, Kent TN25 5AH, United-Kingdom

Ph : (+44) (0) 20 758 95111
Fax: (+44) (0) 1233 813320
e-mail :
http://www.wye.ic.ac.uk/AgEcon/index.html

Main objectives :

Four of these coincide with the units into which the Research Group is organised:

• Agrarian Development
• Agricultural Policy
• Farm Business Management
• Food Industry Management

The remaining two areas combine activities across units:

• Environmental Economics and Natural Resource Management
• Economies in Transition

Researchers working on PDO and PGI : http://www.wye.ic.ac.uk/AgEcon/rgroup.html#staff