Speaker: Ioanna Mouratiadou, associate professor of agricultural economics at ISARA Lyon (Laboratoire d’etudes Rurales – LER)
The potential of legumes to contribute to production, environmental, and nutritional objectives is well known by science and policy. Yet, low shares of grain legumes are observed in current agricultural systems, which is often attributed to high yield variability and yield gaps in legume production. These limitations can be associated with sub-optimal management practices, occurrence of pests and diseases, limiting pedoclimatic conditions, and insufficient farmers’ experience, knowledge, and attitude in growing legumes. In this study, we explore the role of these different factors on the yields of soya and fava beans and, in particular, the role of the ‘knowledge gap’ as we term the difference between yields achieved by experienced farmers and those achieved by novices. A large-scale farmer survey was conducted in nine European countries in southern (France, Spain), central (Germany, Poland), north-western (Finland, Sweden, Latvia), and north-eastern Europe (UK, the Netherlands). Using correlation analysis and stochastic frontier modelling, the collected responses are analysed to explore the effect of different yield gap factors and evaluate, for the first time, the influence of farmers’ knowledge on yield gaps.
Ioanna Mouratiadou is an associate professor of agricultural economics at ISARA Lyon (Laboratoire d’etudes Rurales – LER). Her research focuses on the interface of agriculture and the environment with an emphasis on inter- and transdisciplinary approaches of impact assessment integrating economics with crop, soil, environmental, and social sciences, and involving stakeholders and land use actors. Before joining ISARA, she worked in numerous institutes in Germany (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Humboldt University of Berlin, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), the Netherlands (Utrecht University), and Scotland (Scotland’s Rural College, University of Edinburgh). Current research interests include the valorization of agricultural practices enhancing agrobiodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. An overview of her publications can be seen here.
Inscription obligatoire pour toute personne extérieure à l’UMR Territoires par mail auprès de Claire Altazin
