Sustainability Assessment and Agricultural Management
The ‘Sustainability Assessment and Agricultural Management’ Research Division works in an interdisciplinary and system-oriented manner. The Division’s research projects aim to better understand and anticipate operational decisions and their effects on economic, ecological and social aspects. The social developments and effects of changed constraints and operational decisions are analysed and recommendations are derived. Based on the comprehensive evaluation of process-engineering, operational or sectoral developments, the further development of all pillars of sustainability is a further important concern of the Research Division aimed at improving the performance of the Swiss agricultural sector. In addition, the farm-, sector- and product-focused models and tools are further developed in various interdisciplinary research projects in such a way that further aspects of the agriculture and food system can be depicted and evaluated with the aim of providing nutrition and health policy recommendations.
Head
Deputy
Research Groups
Index
Socioeconomics
The ‘Socioeconomics’ Research Group deals with the social dimension of sustainability in agriculture, setting it in relation to economic factors. In addition to conducting interviews and surveys, work economics, with its systematic recording of working-time requirement on farms, plays an important role here. The Group works methodically with time measurements and quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
Managerial Economics
The ’Corporate Management and Value Creation’ Research Group is the Swiss federal centre of excellence in the field of microeconomic data for agriculture and collects accountancy data for this purpose. The Research Group conducts the annual income monitoring survey of the Swiss agricultural sector on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. Its research encompasses business and microeconomic analyses of agricultural production and topics at the interface of economics and ecology.
Digital Production
The ‘Digital Production’ Research Group makes use of information and communication technologies to solve a wide variety of challenges in the agricultural sector. The Group develops new data-based solutions for improving the efficiency and sustainability of production systems. In addition to the understanding of agricultural production processes, our core competencies lie in computer vision, demanding data analyses and modelling.
Life-Cycle Assessment
The ’Life Cycle Assessment’ Research Group investigates environmental impacts and sustainability assessment in the agriculture and food sector. It develops methodologies, data and tools, applying them in projects concerning agricultural production systems, farms, or the agricultural sector with a view to improving agricultural products, foods, diets, nutritional scenarios, and agricultural policy measures.
Economic Modelling and Policy Analysis
Called upon to ensure the population’s food supply, the preservation of natural resources, the upkeep of the cultivated landscape, decentralised settlement and animal welfare, the Swiss agricultural sector reconciles the contradictory demands of various societal expectations. The ‘Economic Modelling and Policy Analysis’ Research Group uses economic models and empirical methods to evaluate the impacts of agricultural policy tools on societal objectives and highlights trade-offs.