Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Cattolica International

DD SMEA Cremona

AFEPA

The M.Sc. in Agricultural and Food Economics prepares students to analyze the functioning of the agri-food system as well as the impact of agricultural, food and environmental policies on economic agents. In this context, the M.Sc. is part of the AFEPA consortium (European Master’s programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis). For more information on the AFEPA Programme see: https://afepa.eu/

 

The program, organized in the context of the SMEA Graduate School, will prepare students to analyze the agri-food system and to operate in the various functional areas of businesses and organizations. The program will develop professional knowledge and skills with regards to:
  • analyzing traditional problems relating to agricultural markets and food, evaluating the implications of agri-food and commercial policies;
  • managing the liberalization processes and rules of free competition also within an international context;
  • analyzing the behavior of final consumers with respect to agricultural and food products;
  • understanding the different sectors of the agri-food system, the vertical relations and the coordination of the various phases of the system (e.g. agriculture, food processing and food retailing);
  • managing emerging issues in agricultural and food production, including the safety of foodstuffs and the environmental impact of agricultural activities, the role of quality, information and traceability, the management of technical innovations, in particular biotechnology, and of the industrialization of agriculture;
  • dealing with corporate and logistical problems that affect business functions according to the peculiarities of agribusiness companies.
Graduate School in Agricultural and Food Economics
SMEA at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is one of the leading Italian schools in the field with a European-wide reputation. It has a long experience in research concerning agricultural economics and policy, the industrial organisation of the food sector and the analysis of the functioning of the food supply chain. This experience relates both to academic research and to support for policy-makers, since the researchers of the team have developed a long experience of collaboration with international organisations (i.e., European Commission, OECD, FAO and World Bank), government agencies and producer associations.

The UCSC/SMEA team has recently participated in several International Research projects, such as:

  • EDIM – European Dairy Industry Model
  • WEMAC – World Econometric Modelling of Arable Crops
  • FACTOR MARKETS - Comparative Analysis of Factor Markets for Agriculture across the Member States
  • FADNTOOL - Development of modelling tools based on FADN data adapted to assess the dynamic impacts of the CAP
  • TRANSFOP - Transparency of food pricing
  • PRICE – Practical Implementation of Coexistence in Europe
  • SUSDIET - Implementing sustainable diets in Europe

Here a link to the institutional website of SMEA: http://smea.unicatt.it/smea-international-area-about-smea

The 2-year graduate program provides graduates with various professional openings in: Agri-food corporations (multinational food companies, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), retail chains), professional associations of agricultural and food companies, service and consultancy firms for agricultural and food companies, entrepreneurial activities, academic or applied research, and international organizations.