The James Hutton Institute

This page is no longer updated. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute joined forces with SCRI on 1 April 2011 to create The James Hutton Institute.

Please visit the James Hutton Institute website.

Agricultural Economics Unit (Department of Animal Production and Food Science)

The research-teaching staff of the Unit are: Dr. MANRIQUE, Emilio. Dra. MAZA, Maria Teresa Dra. OLAIZOLA, Ana. Dr. SAEZ, Angel. Dr. BERNUES, Alberto (currently postdoctoral fellow in IERM-University of Edinburgh).

The group has teaching activities in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy, Farm and Agro-industry Management and Agricultural Marketing. The research activities are mainly focused on the study of farming systems in LFAs (mountain and semi-arid) with special attention to the relationships with the socio-economic environment.

The last two research projects we have been involved in are: - Farming systems analysis and modelling: implications for the land use in rural areas in Mediterranean Less Favoured Areas (European Commission: CAMAR n¼ 8001-CT90-0002). -Community Agricultural Policy and agricultural re-organisation. Analysis of the possibilities of extensification and global management in sheep farming systems of semi-arid regions. CICYT (Spanish Goverment) Summary: The Community Agricultural Policy questions the economic viability of cereal crops in extensive areas of semi-arid lands, such as those in the middle Ebro Valley. This is leading to the abandonment of vast surfaces that in the past were used for cropping. The purpose of the project is to investigate the possibilities and conditions of sheep farming as an alternative economic activity in these areas, particularly, those with more extensive systems. The analyses were carried out both from the point of view of profitability of the farm and the impact on the physical environment and the agricultural resources. First, we typified the sheep and cereal producing systems, by multivariate statistical methods. After that, some hypothesis are intended to be studied on the characterised systems by optimisation and simulation models. Pleases, do not hesitate to contact us is need further information.

Ana Maria Olaizola Tolosana
Unidad de Economia Agraria (Dpto Produccion Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos)
Universidad de Zaragoza.
(Spain)