Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Paul Wilson, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director of the Centre for Food Policy and Foresight at the University of Nottingham is the new President of the Agricultural Economics Society.
Professor Wilson was given the 2025/26 Presidency of the Agricultural Economics Society at the society’s 99th Annual Conference in Bordeaux, France, where during his address he outlined the need for sustainability assessment to be at the heart of future Food System policy making.
The Agricultural Economics Society (AES) is one of the world's leading associations of professional and academic agricultural economists. Founded in 1926, the AES has some 600 members in 65 countries throughout the world.
Professor Paul Wilson
The AES promotes the study and teaching of agricultural economics and relevant disciplines, and their application to issues in the agricultural, food and related industries, rural communities and the environment.
Professor Wilson said: “In the 1920s the fledging Agricultural Economics profession focused on understanding farm finances and production; today we must develop robust metrics and analysis of financial, social and environmental sustainability to inform national and global farm, food and trade policies”
As President of the Society, Professor Wilson will represent the AES at key national and international events, strengthen the role of the profession in providing independent insights to policy makers, and develop stronger links with the agri-food industry.
Professor Wilson’s address also paid tribute to the often-unrecognised world-wide profession of farm data analysts whose work to collect and collate data underpins the outputs of global organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Professor Wilson added: “As a profession we have access to a wealth of data to analyse the most pressing global issues of our time; we owe a debt of gratitude to those responsible for its collection. Now more than ever, we must ensure agricultural economics analysis is at the heart of evidence-based sustainable global policies in pursuit of our collective Net Zero ambitions”.
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More information is available from Professor Paul Wilson on Paul.Wilson@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 24 in Europe and 15th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, 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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