Research focus
Our research focus is on the quantitative analysis of questions related to sustainability and provision of eco-systems services by agri-food systems from farm to global scale. To do so, our team develops and applies different Economic Simulation Models and related methodologies, often in large-scale applications. The software backbone of our models is the Algebraic Modeling Language GAMS, driven by Graphical User Interfaces implemented in Java. We introduce our graduate students in courses to the tools we apply in our research and foster their application in students' projects.
Specific applications include, for instance, mixed-integer, dynamic and stochastic programming, large-scale non-linear and bi-level programming, mixed complementarity problems and constrained systems of non-linear equations. Drawing on computing servers available at institute level, we apply parallel computing, inter alia for large-scale sensitivity analysis. Our models are hosted on a software versioning system, adhere to coding standards and implement quality management based on test suites.
Cooperations
Our group links via various grant funded projects to the German and European research area, sponsored inter alia by the German Research Foundation and the Research Framework programs of the EU Commission, often jointly participating with other teams from the institute or faculty. A close co-operation with EUROCARE, a consulting specialising in quantitative policy impact analysis, supports the access of graduate students and post docs to applied research projects, and helps transfering our scientific findings to stakeholders.
Current projects
Past projects
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Co-definition and evaluation of SUSTAINable BEEF farming systems based on resources non edible by humans (SUSTAINBEEF), 9/2017 - 8/2020
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| Coordinator: | Dr. Didier Stilmant, Wallon Agricultural Research Center | |
| Team: | Christoph Pahmeyer, Lennart Kokemohr, Dr. Wolfgang Britz | |
| Funding: | EU-Era-Net: Co-funded by the EU DG-Rsrch and the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture |
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| Forests in the global bioeconomy: developing multi-scale policy scenarios (BioEconFor), 6/2015-7/2019 | ||
| Coordinator: | Prof. Dr. Jan Boerner | |
| Team: | Salwa Haddad, Dr. Wolfgang Britz | |
| Funding: | German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (Beratungsgruppe Entwicklungsorientierte Agrarforschung - BEAF). | |
| Modeling structural change and agricultural nutrient flows across scales in regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, 6/2016 - 7/2019 | ||
| Coordinator: | Dr. Wolfgang Britz | |
| Sub-Project: | Regional modeling of structural change in agriculture with an agent based approach under consideration of nutrient exchanges between farms | |
| Team: | David Schaefer, Dr. Wolfgang Britz | |
| Funding: | Ministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Landwirtschaft, Natur- und Verbraucherschutz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen | |
| DairyStruct: Understanding spatial interactions and structural change in the dairy production chain with a dynamic regional Agent Based Model covering dairy farms and dairy processing, 6/2015 - 12/2018 | ||
| Team: | Dr. Wolfgang Britz, Claudia Seidel | |
| Funding: | German Research Foundation | |
News
- Aus unserer Forschung:
Bioplastik im Nachhaltigkeits-Dilemma
Bioplastics in the sustainability dilemma - Best video award of DIGICROP conference for Christoph Pahmeyer : "Fruchtfolge: A crop rotation decision support system"
- Video for LCA conference by Lennart Kokemohr : "Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of beef production in Germany based on a farm level optimization level"
- New H2020 research project BATMODEL, 2020-2024
- Contribution to DFG Excellence cluster Phenorob, 2020-2024
- GTAP research fellow award for Wolfgang Britz
- Aus unserer Forschung: Oekonomische und oekologische Bewertung eines Glyphosatverzichts am Beispiel der Silomaisproduktion in Nordrhein-Westfalen