The three days in Leuven have been extremely interesting for me as an emerging researcher gradually trying to understand more of the field of research within agricultural economics and meeting the skilled and knowledgeable people that animate it. I had the opportunity to be the first presenter in one of the first sessions which meant I could then fully focus on what was offered to us by the other researchers. I was being sponsored by the Agricultural Economic Society to enable me to attend the conference and I thank them for their support.
My presentation focused on the fact that in the last 20 years Welsh Hill farming has faced many challenges; the long-supported specialisation in beef and sheep production systems has been called into question as the policy focus shifted and markets offered poor returns. Drivers of evolution changed and some near-extinct enterprises reappeared in the Welsh hills (dairying, poultry…) linked to market and policy changes. Two in-depth agrarian diagnoses in upland and hill areas of North Wales (Bala and the Vale of Clwyd) show a differentiation of production systems. The seemingly homogenous pastoral landscape now sports different levels of management and land use intensity (in fodder output, stocking rates, livestock types,...). Farms have become increasingly polarised depending on their business opportunities, and this farmed landscape in Wales is changing rapidly. With the Brexit process and in the context of Covid, changes have intensified as the farming sector seeks to adapt and plan. We assess the likely impact of possible Welsh and UK governments’ future policies, combined with the emerging market context, to understand their likely impact, using the typology of production systems in the landscapes studied. On this basis, we expect the trend of polarisation in the Welsh hills to continue, raising some challenges for those future policies.
I got some valuable feedback on my research in terms of other trends taking place in similar landscape, methods that are comparable or relate to the ones I was using. My research interests are broad, and I take a holistic approach towards agricultural economics integrating the different sides of it into a blended approach. As a result, I was particularly interested in the sessions on Ukraine, the nitrate debate, diets, trade or climate change that relate with my current works on Wales.
Those conferences are also an opportunity to get a sense of how other parts of Europe and of the UK are evolving in those challenging times. The presidential address with its focus on indicators of agricultural support policies was particularly interesting questioning how to adapt it in the current context and in a trade agenda.
If you would want more details on any of the elements in the program feel free to contact me directly.
Théo Lenormand
07/04/2022
