Benchmarking Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability Performance
Firms and farms in agri-food supply chains have to compete on world markets, requiring low cost prices, while at the same time they need to comply with an increasing number of sustainability challenges. Producing efficiently and sustainably is essential for firm and farm survival in the long run.
Research within this theme uses benchmarking techniques such as Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis to assess the economic, environmental and social sustainability performance of firms and farms in agri-food supply chains. The research draws on firm- and farm-level data sources, including ORBIS and the European Union's Farm Sustainability Data Network. Applications focus on a wide range of sustainability issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, nitrate and phosphate excretion, and animal welfare.
The research also aims to make methodological contributions to the wider discipline by developing new approaches to measuring dynamic and environmental efficiency. The findings provide farmers, business owners and policymakers with insights into opportunities for improving sustainability and the potential pathways for achieving these improvements.
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Research themes
Economics of animal health, plant health and food safety
Economics of animal health, plant health, and food safety studies how diseases, pests, and contamination affect agricultural productivity, trade, public health, and economic stability.
Benchmarking Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability Performance
We research how farms and firms in agri-food supply chains can stay competitive while becoming more sustainable. It measures how efficiently they perform in economic, environmental, and social terms using data and benchmarking methods.
Risk and Resilience in Agri-Food Supply Chains
We look at the risks faced in food and agribusiness, such as bad weather, diseases, and political uncertainty. It studies how these risks affect farms and food supply chains.
Business Economics
Business Economics, led by Alfons Oude Lansink, performs research and teaches across a wide range of aspects of agricultural business economics and food supply chains.
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