Thursday, 15 May 2025
A food policy expert from the University of Nottingham will play a key role in a DEFRA review to help find solutions to boost farm profitability.
Paul Wilson, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director of the Centre for Food Policy and Foresight at the University of Nottingham has been invited to contribute to the DEFRA Farm Profitability Review led by Baroness Minette Batters.
Baroness Batters, an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham’s Food System Institute, will lead the review and will focus on providing a combination of short, medium and long term farm profitability recommendations and actions for both Defra and the farming industry.
Defra has said the review will help develop its food strategy, farming roadmap and Land Use Framework and will cover all sectors of the farming industry. Then review will engage with farmers and growers and other government departments whose work impacts farming.
Professor Wilson, who was personally invited by Baroness Batters to join the review, will draw on his 30 years’ research experience into the drivers of farm profitability and farm efficiency, plus his policy advisory experience, by providing evidence and insight to the review.
Professor Wilson said: “With the changes to support structures across English farming sectors, the drive to facilitate improvements in farm profitability has never been greater”
As former Principal Investigator of Defra’s Farm Business Survey contract for England, Professor Wilson additionally has a depth of understanding of the variation in farm profitability across sectors, and over time, which will be helpful for the review.
Data and evidenced informed policy making is a central pillar of our work in the Centre for Food Policy and Foresight. It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the Defra Farm Profitability Review and to help ensure the review benefits from independent insight and research-driven outcomes.
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More information is available from Professor Paul Wilson on Paul.Wilson@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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