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.
The XVI EAAE Congress aimed 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.
Within the congress the Organized session “Agricultural service cooperatives” chaired by William H. Meyers, University of Missouri, Axel Wolz, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) and Jiri Hejkrlik, FTA CZU was prepared.
Two members of the group presented their research: Samuel Ahado presented his research “Does cooperative membership impact the yield and efficiency of smallholder farmers? Insights from potato farmers in rural Mongolia”, and Tetyana Sokolska the topic “The Role of Transformational Leadership in New Agricultural Cooperatives in Ukraine”.
