Emma Dillon

Senior Research Officer - Economist National Farm Survey

Research Interests

Emma has a multi-faceted role in terms of survey design, data analysis and reporting of key trends in contemporary Irish agriculture. Primarily through policy modelling at the farm level, research areas of interest include developing sustainability indicators for policy monitoring and evaluation, and examining structural change on Irish farms.

Emma is currently leading research on advancing sustainability metrics in the National Farm Survey, generational renewal and gender on Irish farms and assessing the viability and resilience of small farms. An important focus area is the expansion of social sustainability metrics for agriculture.

Other research interests include:

examining the impact of farm technology adoption
assessing farm labour efficiency
exploring land mobility.

Through her role, Emma collaborates and engages with a wide range of stakeholders across the agri-food sector. She is a member of the Agricultural Economics Society Executive Board and has recently been appointed to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Commission on Generational Renewal

Current Projects

MEASURE: Modelling Estimates for Agricultural Sustainability Using Real Evidence - Project Co-ordinator, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

GENFARMS: Gender and Generational Factors in Agricultural Resource Management for Sustainability - Project Co-ordinator, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

Tools4CAP: Innovative Toolbox empowering effective CAP governance towards EU ambitions - Project Partner, Horizon Europe

MEF4CAP: Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks for the CAP -Project Partner, Horizon Europe

FARM: Feasibility Assessment for Organic Feed Milling - Project Partner, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

OILPRO: Investigating the Feasibility of Oilseed Processing in Ireland - Project Partner, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

ENACT: Evaluating National And EU Comprehensive Targets in Organics - Project Partner, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

TRIPLE IA: Steps towards developing a framework to establish the economic and structural impact of potential invasive plant pest introductions in Irish Agriculture - Project Partner, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine

Education

Ph.D. Economics, Trinity College Dublin.
B.A. Single Hons. Economics, Trinity College Dublin.
Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership, Dublin City University

Professional Membership

Executive Member Agricultural Economics Society (UK) - 2021 – present

Honorary Secretary Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland - 2009-2016

View Emma's publications on:

Google Scholar | Orcid

National Farm Survey Reports - Presentations

People Power - Incorporating the Social Dimension in Assessing Sustainability (pdf)

Economic and social dynamics amongst upland farmers (pdf)

Outlook 2025 - Economic Prospects for Agriculture

Holly Mullan (Ulster University): A cross-border analysis of key stakeholders’ perceptions of the drivers and barriers to generational renewal in Irish agriculture