newsletter

Edition 2/15, 9 June 2015

Volkswagen Foundation promotes new IAMO research project

The Volkswagen Foundation (VolkswagenStiftung) earmarked 0.5 million Euro to fund a new IAMO research project titled “Institutional change in land and labour relations of Central Asia´s irrigated agriculture” (AGRICHANGE). International observers of Central Asia and locals widely agree that economic transformation has progressed slowly since their political independence. In agriculture, failed reform attempts are fairly evident. However, the extent of land reform, the degree of state control and the resulting land and labour relations vary considerably across the region. Therefore, the key idea of the project “AGRICHANGE” is to study these differences empirically. By using the example of two regions with irrigated agriculture, South Kazakhstan and Samarkand in Uzbekistan, the researchers investigate issues of rural planning practices, farm organization and rural entrepreneurship. By promoting the development of theory and integrating local universities in an international scientific network, the project aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of institutional change. “AGRICHANGE”, to start in July 2015, is coordinated by IAMO in cooperation with the Kazakh National Agrarian University in Almaty, the Samarkand Agricultural Institute and other international partners from various social science disciplines.

Contact:
Martin Petrick
Tel.: +49 345 2928-120

petrick(at)iamo.de

IAMO Forum 2015: Climate Change and Agriculture

IAMO Forum 2014. Photo: Michael Deutsch

The IAMO Forum 2015 entitled “Agriculture and Climate Change in Transition Economies” will take place from 17 - 19 June 2015 at IAMO in Halle (Saale). Leading international scientists will address the connections between agriculture and climate change in a three-day conference that is jointly organized by IAMO in cooperation with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations (OA). The IAMO Forum will host five plenary presentations, six parallel sessions and a moderated plenary discussion. While his keynote address at the first day of the conference, PIK director and founder Hans Joachim Schellnhuber will also take on this topic. He will explain the current state of research in climate science and will present solutions, which address the challenges of climate change and the nutrition of a foreseeable worldpopulation of nine billion people. A detailed program and all abstracts can be downloaded from the conference website.

IAMO Forum 2015
“Agriculture and Climate Change in Transition Economies”

17 – 19 June | Halle (Saale)
www.iamo.de/forum/2015

Contact:
Franziska Schaft and Amanda Sahrbacher
Tel.: +49 345 2928-310

forum2015(at)iamo.de

Conference addresses labor shortage in agriculture

Photo: Fotolia

The conference titled “Agriculture: work with a future?” will take place from 17 - 19 February 2016 in Halle (Saale) and meets the challenges of human resources and competence management in agriculture. Organized by IAMO in collaboration with the Centre for Social Research (ZSH) and the agricultural company Barnstedt e.G., the conference aims to raise the scientific view of the shortage of skilled labor in the agricultural sector and to offer possible solutions. Researchers have the opportunity to submit abstracts for the conference until 30 September 2015. These documents can be sent as a two-page summary to fachkonferenz(at)iamo.de and should contain the title, authors, contact dates, as well as question and motivation of the paper, methods, data basis and the main results. Practice reports from an analytic point of view are also welcome. Participation in the conference is free of charge if you register by 31 January 2016. Please visit the conference website for further information.

Conference
„Landwirtschaft: Arbeitsplatz mit Zukunft!?“

17 – 19 February 2016 | Halle (Saale)
www.alfa-agrar.de/en/fachkonferenz/
fachkonferenz(at)iamo.de

Contact:
Martin Petrick
Tel.: +49 345 2928-120

petrick(at)iamo.de

Results of the COMPETE-Project lead to recommendations for policy and economy

Photo: Fotolia

For the final COMPETE workshop, which will be held on 22 September in Brussels, leading representatives from industry, science and practice will come together to formulate target policy recommendations from the project's obtained results. The research project COMPETE started in October 2012 and provides a comprehensive view on the various factors that contribute to the competitiveness of European agri-food supply chains. During the closing workshop the key findings of the project will be presented and discussed on an international level. Together with representatives from science, industry and practice the project's results will be used to discuss the derived policy recommendations for the sustainable improvement of competitiveness. The event takes place under the patronage of the Ministry for Science and Economy of Saxony-Anhalt. Please visit the website for further information. Registration is possible online until 15 September 2015.

Contact:
Inna Levkovych
Tel.: +49 345 2928-232
compete(at)iamo.de

IAMO und MLU bring researchers together from five Central Asian countries to discuss sustainable water use

AGRIWANET Summer School. Photo: Martin Petrick

As part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded project "AGRIWANET – Agricultural Restructuring, Water Scarcity and the Adaption to Climate Change in Central Asia: A Five-Country Study", from 17 – 18 April 2015 research teams from Central Asia discussed the impacts of water scarcity and temperature fluctuations on agricultural production and rural incomes. In the participating countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) agriculture contributes significantly to economic performance. Irrigated farming is particularly affected by increasing drought from climate change. Transboundary water conflicts between up- and downstream neighbours have led to substantial political tension since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The event, organized by IAMO in collaboration with researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), brought together experts from all five Central Asian countries for the first time in Germany. Moderated by IAMO researchers, the experts used the workshop to exchange information about their countries´ respective experience in water management. Subsequently, junior researchers from all five participating countries came together, for a week long workshop in Halle (Saale). Further information can be found in the project description.

Contact:
Martin Petrick
Tel.: +49 345 2928-120

petrick(at)iamo.de

Science and Politics in dialogue

Photo: Fotolia

In connection with the event series “Leibniz im Bundestag”, on 21 and 22 April 2015 the Leibniz Association mediated talks between scientists and members of parliament. IAMO researchers also took the opportunity to enter into dialogue with politicians. Of central concern during the talks, which were held by IAMO Director Thomas Glauben with Hendrik Hoppenstedt, member of the Subcommittee on European Law and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection, were the Ukraine crisis and the related agricultural sanctions on Russia. The necessity of regulating land markets was discussed by IAMO Director Alfons Balmann with Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, who has been a member of the Committee for Agriculture and Food since 2013. IAMO researcher Michael Kopsidis addressed the historical causes of the structural growth weakness of southeast European countries and the consequences for Europe with Hendrik Hoppenstedt and Klaus-Peter Willsch, member of the committee of economy and energy. Agricultural economist Judith Möllers met with the Member of Parliament Karl-Heinz Brunner, to talk about the causes of the current wave of migration out of Kosovo and pointed to conceivable intervention. A continuation of this dialogue is being considered as part of the discussion group Southeast Europe of the SPD parliamentary group. The event series “Leibniz im Bundestag” was held for the eighth time.

New IAMO website online

IAMO Website. Photo: Ralf Kircheis

The new IAMO website makes information about the research institute easier to access. In addition to refreshed design and navigation, the site has been enhanced with new content. The new website offers a clear overview about the institute and its employees, departments and research interests as well as research projects and publications. As before, IAMO Policy Briefs, IAMO Discussion Papers and IAMO Studies are available on the website for download. Also, you can subscribe on the site to receive the publication series regularly as print or PDF files. The latest news from the institute can now be obtained simultaneously with publications via RSS Feed. The design of the site was developed by the agency DesignRing and the technical implementation of the TYPO3-based website was carried out by websight GmbH.

Contact:
Britta Paasche
Tel.: +49 345 2928-329

presse(at)iamo.de

US scientist Steven E. Wallis visits IAMO

Steven E. Wallis. Photo: Steven Wallis

In the context of the Fulbright Specialist Program, US researcher Steven E Wallis visits IAMO from 31 May - 8 July 2015. As Director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Social Theory (FAST) and Adjunct Faculty at Capella University, his scholarship is focused on the rigorous analysis of formal conceptual systems (e.g. theories, policy models and strategic plans). By objectively quantifying the structure of theories and policies, he can estimate how effective they will be in practical application and therefore has the opportunity to improve them so individuals or organizations can achieve their highest goals while working within a reasonable budget. While at IAMO Wallis plans to offer lectures and workshops on systems theory, ethics and Integrative Propositional Analysis, a method for analyzing conceptual systems. A summary of all courses can be found at the following link. The Fulbright Specialist Program annually supports about 400 US scientists in realizing worldwide stays abroad at academic institutions.

Contact:
Vladislav Valentinov
Tel.: +49 345 2928-228

valentinov(at)iamo.de

Member of IAMO's China International Research Group honored by Chinese government

Quiran Zhao. Photo: Zhanli Sun

Qiran Zhao has been granted “The 2014 National Award for Outstanding Self-financed Chinese Students Study Abroad” by the China Scholarship Council for his excellent academic work. The prize has been awarded since 2003 and honors Chinese students studying overseas who were able to achieve outstanding performance in their PhD studies. Each year just 500 scientists are concerned with this award worldwide. Zhao's thesis “Essays on education and pension policies in rural China” was created in collaboration with the Chinese Center of Agricultural Policy (CCAP) and was partially embedded in the framework of the Rural Education Action Project, which aims to promote education in China's rural areas. At present Zhao is lecture of agricultural economics at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. In addition he is member of IAMO's China International Research Group.

Contact:
Stephan Brosig
Tel.: +49 345 2928-222

brosig(at)iamo.de

Vacancy

Photo: Fotolia

For the project „Institutional change in land and labour relations of Central Asia's irrigated agriculture (AGRICHANGE)”, IAMO seeks a PhD student who will conduct research on institutional change in Central Asian agriculture beginning 1 July 2015. The Application deadline is 20 June 2015. The full job posting can be found on the IAMO website.

Contact:
Martin Petrick
Tel.: +49 345 2928-120

petrick@iamo.de

Personalia

Photo: Fotolia

Former IAMO researcher Ramona Teuber became appointed as an assistant professor at the department of Food and Resource Economics at University of Copenhagen on 1 June 2015. Since 2010 she was working at IAMO in the Department of Agricultural Markets. She will continue to coordinate the IAMO research project “Consumers´willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for anthocyan-containing cereal products”. +++ On 26 May 2015 Saltanat Naimanova, CAREC Activities Support Department Manager from the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) started her four-week administrative internship in the Department Administration of IAMO. She is working with the Press Office, will get an insight into external fund acquisition and will assist with IAMO Forum organization.

New Publications

Policy Briefs. Photo: Gesine Böttcher

all publications

IAMO Annual 2015 Download (German)

IAMO Studies

Kimhi, A., Lerman, Z., (2015): Agricultural Transition in Post-Soviet Europe and Central Asia after 25 Years - International Workshop in honor of Professor Zvi Lerman. Studies on the agricultural and food sector in transition economies, Vol. 79, Halle (Saale): IAMO. Link

Further selected publications

Baisakova, N., Herzfeld, T. (2015): Aspekte der Agrarpolitik 2014, German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Jg. 64, Nr. Supplement, S. 1-7.

Balmann, A. (2015) Sonderstellung der Landwirtschaft hinterfragen. DLG. Link

Balmann, A. (2015) Braucht der ostdeutsche Bodenmarkt eine stärkere Regulierung? Agra-Europe (13/15): 49-56.

Bruschi, V., Shershneva, K., Dolgopolova, I., Canavari, M. and Teuber, R. (2015), Consumer Perception of Organic Food in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Agribusiness. Link

Curtiss, J., Škarabelová, S. (2015) Rural Non-profit Organizations and Their Functions in Communities and Local Governance: Survey Results from Vysočina and South Moravia Regions. In: Špalková, D., Matějková, L. (Eds.): Proceedings of the 19th International Conference - Current Trends in Public Sector Research (Šlapanice, 22-23. Januar, 2015), 368-376: Masaryk University Press.

Djuric, I., Götz, L., (2015) Landwirtschaft unter Krisenbedingungen. Agrarzeitung (10.04.2015). Link

Djuric, I., Götz, L., Glauben, T. (2015): Are Export Restrictions an Effective Instrument to Insulate Domestic Prices against Skyrocketing World Market Prices? The Wheat Export Ban in Serbia, Agribusiness: An International Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 215-228. Link

Dolgopolova, I., Teuber, R., Bruschi, V. (2015) Consumers' perceptions of functional foods: Trust and food-neophobia in a cross-cultural context. International Journal of Consumer Studies.

Gingrich, S., Niedertscheider, M., Kastner, T., Haberl, H., Cosor, G., Krausmann, F., Kuemmerle, T., Müller, D., Reith-Musel, A., Jepsen, M.R., Vadineanu, A., Erb, K.-H., 2015. Exploring long-term trends in land use change and aboveground human appropriation of net primary production in nine European countries. Land Use Policy 47, 426-438. Link

Grethe, H., Christen, O., Balmann, A., Bauhus, J., Birner, R., Bokelmann, W., Gauly, M., Knierim, U., Latacz-Lohmann, U., Nieberg, H., Qaim, M., Spiller, A., Taube, F., Weingarten, P., Martinez, J., Tenhagen, B.-A., Schmidt, T. (Hrsg.) (2015): Wege zu einer gesellschaftlich akzeptierten Nutztierhaltung, Endbericht, BMEL, Berlin. Link

Kopsidis, M., Bruisch, K., Bromley, D. W. (2015): Where is the Backward Russian Peasant? Evidence against the Superiority of Private Farming 1883-1913, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 425-447. Link

Kraemer, R., Prishchepov, A.V., Müller, D., Kuemmerle, T., Radeloff, V.C., Dara, A., Terekhov, A., Frühauf, M., 2015. Long-term agricultural land-cover change and potential for cropland expansion in the former Virgin Lands area of Kazakhstan. Environmental Research Letters 10, 054012. Link

Kuemmerle, T., Kaplan, J.O., Prishchepov, A.V., Rylsky, I., Chaskovskyy, O., Tikunov, V.S., Müller, D., 2015. Forest transitions in Eastern Europe and their effects on carbon budgets. Global Change Biology. Link

Kvartiuk, V. (2015): Osteuropa als Quelle für landwirtschaftliche Fachkräfte in Deutschland? Länderstudie Russland, Research in Development Economics and Policy No. 1, Halle (Saale).

Liu, W., Zhang, J., Bluemling, B., Mol, A., Wang, C. (2015): Public participation in energy saving retrofitting of residential buildings in China, Applied Energy, Vol. 147, pp. 287-296. Link

Mertz, O., Pasgaard, M., Müller, D., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., Sun, Z., Sikor, T., van Noordwijk, M., Hett, C., Castella, J., Bruun, T., Pflugmacher, D., Danielsen, F., 2015. Lessons for REDD+ from complex mosaic landscapes. Newsletter of the Global Land Project 11, 34-35. Link

Perekhozhuk, O., Glauben, T., Teuber, R., Grings, M. (2015) Regional-Level Analysis of Oligopsony Power in the Ukrainian Dairy Industry. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (1): 43-76. Link

Pfister, U., Kopsidis, M. (2015): Institutions vs. Demand: Determinants of Agricultural Development in Saxony, 1660-1850, European Review of Economic History. Link

Unay Gailhard, I., Bavorova, M., Pirscher, F. (2015): Adoption of Agri-Environmental Measures by Organic Farmers: The Role of Interpersonal Communication, Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 127-148. Link

Unay Gailhard, I., Bojnec, S. (2015): Farm size and participation in agri-environmental measures: Farm-level evidence from Slovenia, Land Use Policy, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 273-282. Link

Wandel, J., Valentinov, V. (2014): The nonprofit catallaxy: An Austrian economics perspective on the nonprofit sector, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, Vol. 25, No. 1, S.138-149. Link

Published by:

Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO)
Theodor-Lieser-Straße 2
06120 Halle (Saale)
Germany

Editors:

Public Relations
Email: presse(at)iamo.de

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