Global Institute launched at workshop on Agri-Tech Economics

Posted 21 October 2019

Dr David Llewellyn opens the workshop

Harper Adams University hosted a workshop on Agri-Tech Economics bringing together world leading experts and researchers at the forefront of the field for a two day knowledge sharing event. The workshop, hosted in partnership with the International Network For Economic Research (INFER) and the Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics (GIATE), was officially opened by Harper Adams University Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Llewellyn.

In his opening address Dr Llewellyn welcomed guests and speakers, saying: “The best way to predict the future is to create it, and that’s what we’re doing now at the threshold of the fourth industrial revolution. This workshop is about making sense of the road ahead in this industry, exactly what good economics and social science should do.”

Dr Llewellyn was followed by keynote speaker Professor James Lowenberg-DeBoer who spoke on how agri-tech economics is essential to strategic planning. On his keynote speech Professor Lowenberg-DeBoer said: “I hope everyone now realises the importance of agri-tech economics. There’s a lot of people out there in agriculture who rely on the insights that we can provide but in order to provide them we all have to work together.”

Professor Lowenberg-DeBoer was pleased with how they workshop unfolded saying: “The presentations have all been impressive and it bodes well for the future of collaboration in the sector.”

The two day workshop featured a variety of talks and breakout sessions hosted by leading experts including a second keynote speech by Associate Professor Soren Marcus Pedersen on the Economics of Individual Plant Management for Field Crops and a tour of Harper Adams’ Hands Free Farm facilities.

Speaker Dr Jordan Shockley from the University of Kentucky presented his paper on autonomous machinery in the United States and after the event said: “The workshop is great for getting an understanding of what people across the world are working on in agri-tech economics and how they’re solving problems. The networking opportunities have been fantastic.”