XVI Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists, EAAE
by Ľubica Bartová
Theme: Raising the Impact of Agricultural Economics: Multidisciplinarity, Stakeholder Engagement and Novel Approaches
20-23 July 2021 Online
Organizer: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
Co-organizer: Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
Congress website: http://www.eaae2021.org/
Congress programme: http://www.eaae2021.org/en/programme-virtual-platform
The food system faces the challenge of feeding a growing and increasingly prosperous population while respecting planetary boundaries and addressing multiple societal demands. 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 we, as a profession, raise our impact and contribute more effectively to the resolution of important societal challenges? This is the question analysed during the congress by exploring several promising avenues. Improvements in methodologies and new sources of data create opportunities for generating new impact and measuring societal outcomes more accurately. Sustained interactions with other disciplines in the natural and social sciences hold promises to enhance our understanding of complex systems and phenomena. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial to identify relevant issues, develop appropriate solutions and ensure the use of scientific knowledge in decision-making throughout society.
The XVI EAAE Congress aims to foster discussion of those issues and stimulate interaction among scholars, businesses, policy makers and representatives from civil society, which will eventually improve farming and life in Europe and beyond.
The Local Organising Committee and Programme Committee are striving to arrange a stimulating and innovative programme consisting of keynote plenary presentations complemented by a variety of sessions (invited panels, organised sessions, contributed papers, organised panels, posters) and field trips. In particular, we encourage policy makers, representatives from civil society and agribusiness to contribute through organised panels, which have a free format and do not require the submission of scientific papers. We hope that the XVI EAAE Congress in Prague will provide an interactive platform for researchers and representatives from non-academic institutions.