MAGNET

MAGNET team leader Hans van Meijl meets Dutch minister of agriculture

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On March 6 the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Piet Adema, visited Wageningen University & Research (WUR). MAGNET team leader Hans van Meijl was among the group of WUR researchers that was invited for the meeting.

Source: LinkedIn

MAGNET analysis featured in EU Agricultural Outlook report

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Today, the European Commission published the yearly EU agricultural outlook report, which presents the outlook for major EU agricultural markets, income and environment from now until 2032. This time, the report includes also a short chapter analysing some dimensions of food security using a selected set of indicators, provided also by the MAGNET model (see section 5).

Source: https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/data-and-analysis/markets/outlook/medium-term_en

Economic losses from soil erosion by water

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Soil isn’t the only thing that we are losing from erosion. A new study estimates $8 billion in global economic losses caused by soil erosion reducing crop yields and increasing water usage.

Climate change is making soil erosion worse. And certain countries are paying the price.

Under climate change, there are many more dry days interspersed by heavy rains. This leads to conditions where soil is more easily washed away during the strong rains. Land use change by humans exacerbates soil erosion by water, often by clearing out vegetation that help hold soil together. Steep surfaces (think hills) can also contribute to the problem.

Researchers from the European Union Joint Research Centre coupled two models, RUSLE and MAGNET, to estimate economic losses from soil erosion by water. They found that $8 billion is lost annually from global GDP. Worldwide, food production is reduced by 33.7 million tons of food. The study is unique in that the researchers were able to capture losses from structural economic change as a result of shifts in primary resources, like land quality. Previous studies simply calculated crop less and multiplied it by market values. Moreover, this study was the first to apply this method on a global scale.

Source: Forbes

MAGNET Analysis of Trade Agreements on EU Agri-Food

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Today at the parliament (COMAGRI), Commissioner Wojciechowski will present a report that analyzes the impact of 12 Free Trade Agreements on EU agri-food, based on MAGNET analysis.

According to the new study, the EU trade agenda is set to have an overall positive impact on the EU economy and the agri-food sector. Trade agreements are due to result in substantial increases in EU agri-food exports, with more limited increases in imports, creating a positive trade balance overall. The study also confirms that the EU’s approach to grant a limited amount of lower duty imports (through tariff rate quotas) is the best approach in terms of protecting specific vulnerable agri-food sectors in the EU.

Source: JRC press release