Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization
Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization (AFIO) is a research, teaching, and outreach program focusing on competitive issues in the food industry. This is an important area given the ongoing industrialization of agriculture and the consequent effects of contracting, vertical integration, information sharing, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, product differentiation, quality transmission, and the evolution of public policy relating to such issues as industry concentration, captive supplies, contracting rules certification and labeling regimes, mandatory price reporting, intellectual property rights, food safety, agri-environmental regulation.
The AFIO graduate research program distinguishes the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska from other agricultural economics departments, both in terms of number of faculty members with expertise in this area and their productivity. The Center for Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization and the Journal of Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization (JAFIO) encourage and support research in this area and help to distribute research results to policy makers and other clientele who can benefit from it. JAFIO benefits from the support and editorial service of leading AFIO economists in this country and around the world.
The quality of the AFIO research program and its faculty has been affirmed by a recent USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) review that concluded that the program is “noteworthy for its quality disciplinary contributions and for the way in which the researchers have used their acquired expertise to address issues in food and agriculture important to Nebraskans and others.” CAFIO was recently awarded four USDA CSREES National Needs Fellowships to support students interested in pursuing masters degrees in agricultural economics with a specialization in AFIO.
Faculty Involved:
Azzeddine Azzam
Konstantinos (Dinos) Giannakas
Jeffery Royer
Amalia Yiannaka
