What would happen, for example, in various European countries if the EU were to eliminate its subsidies for sugar or grain? How would various countries be affected if tariffs were removed for agricultural products from the Third World? Today there are no models to perform such analyses of the consequences of different decisions.
“Three years ago, working with colleagues from the Netherlands and Germany, we started to set up guidelines for a research project to develop the necessary models. At the time many people thought the whole idea was highly unrealistic, considering the many strains within EU agricultural policy.
“But now everybody seems to have recognized that the current subsidies are untenable and that change is overdue. This means that our research project can now almost be seen as having been made to order for the EU Commission,” says Professor Lennart Olsson.
Lennart Olsson directs LUCSUS, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies. LUCSUS is an interdisciplinary research team from the Department of Social and Economic Geography and the Department of Chemical Engineering, and they have been charged with maintaining contact with the EU Commission, national authorities, and various agricultural interests. They are also responsible for the overarching structure of the complex computer-based planning models that are to be developed.
The research project is called SEAMLESS and comprises 31 research teams (agronomists, economists, geographers, computer scientists, mathematicians, etc.) from 15 countries. The project has a budget of more than SEK 100 million and is slated to take four years. The consortium of research groups is led by Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
SEAMLESS is being launched at a major gathering of scientists on January 25–28 in Lund, Sweden.
More information can be attained from Professor Lennart Olsson, phone: +46 46-222 05 11 or cell phone: +46 706-46 27 12, lennart.olsson@lucsus.lu.se, or
Ann Ă…kerman, phone: +46 46-222 80 81 or cell phone: +46 703-89 80 81, Ann.Akerman@lucsus.lu.se
13 September, 2018 - Lunds universitet
In 2010, GAP introduced a new logo, sparking an online backlash and ultimately resulting in the reintroduction of the old logo. A new study from Lund University in Sweden argues that this was the first of many cases where brand creation has had to adjust to a complex, interactive, and sometimes unpredictable online environment. “Looking […]
25 April, 2013 - Lunds universitet
Drinking coffee could decrease the risk of breast cancer recurring in patients taking the widely used drug Tamoxifen, a study at Lund University in Sweden has found. Patients who took the pill, along with two or more cups of coffee daily, reported less than half the rate of cancer recurrence, compared with their non-coffee drinking, Tamoxifen-taking counterparts.
24 April, 2013 - Lunds universitet
The central nervous system’s mop-up crew, microglia, play an important role in protecting the brain against disease and injury.
A research group at Lund University in Sweden has now developed a method that makes it possible to follow the behaviour of these support cells at close quarters. Increased knowledge about the specific role of microglia could open the door to new research avenues on several different neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke.
17 April, 2013 - Lunds universitet
Exosomes are small, virus-like particles that can transport genetic material and signal substances between cells. Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have made new findings about exosomes released from aggressive brain tumours, gliomas. These exosomes are shown to have an important function in brain tumour development, and could be utilised as biomarkers to assess tumour aggressiveness through a blood test.
Expertsvar, The Swedish Research Council, Hantverkargatan 11B, Stockholm SWEDENPhone +46(0)8 546 44 000
P.O. Box 1035, SE-101 38 Stockholm, expertsvar@vr.se
Information about cookies will open in a new window
