Agricultural economics · EU policy · Data

Economic evidence for agricultural policy.

Independent research, data analysis and AI document tools for the European Commission, the EIB and the consultancies that work with them. PhD in economics, 14 years in the field.

Aerial view of arable fields crossed by a tree-lined track
Arable land, aerial viewPhoto: Unsplash

Commissioned by and delivered with

European Commission European Investment Bank FAO IFAD EU CAP Network FMO EY PwC Ecorys ADE Frankfurt School Cogea Oréade Brèche
14+
years in agricultural economics and EU policy
11
European Commission DGs and agencies served
25+
studies and advisory projects since 2022
p < 0.05
the only threshold I never lower

Services

What I do

Three kinds of work, often combined in one project.

Policy research and evaluation

Economic analysis and advisory work for policymakers and researchers, with a focus on evaluating the Common Agricultural Policy and consulting the people it affects.

  • CAP & PMEF evaluation
  • Impact assessment
  • Stakeholder interviews & surveys

Example: EU CAP Evaluation Helpdesk, DG AGRI

Data analysis and modelling

Quantitative pipelines built for agricultural data, from raw statistics to econometric models and the dashboards that explain them.

  • Econometrics
  • Statistical modelling
  • Dashboards & visualisation

Example: Farm Practices Explorer

AI document analysis

Turn thousands of PDFs, such as regulations, evaluation reports and programme documents, into a structured, searchable database.

  • Large-scale PDF extraction
  • Text classification
  • Custom scrapers & dashboards

Example: Regulations Affecting Farmers database, DG AGRI

Selected work

Studies, reports and papers

A selection of advisory projects, then publications, most recent first.

Selected projects
  1. 2026

    Screening CAP Strategic Plans for digitalisation content

    EU CAP Network thematic working group · DG AGRI

    AI-driven classification of every intervention in the 28 CAP Strategic Plans against a farm digitalisation taxonomy, backed by verbatim evidence, delivered as a searchable dataset.

  2. 2026

    Financial instruments for sustainable agri-food supply chains

    European Investment Bank · EAFRD study

    Scientific advisor on methodology and co-author of the final report on how value-chain finance can support competitiveness, the green transition and small farms.

  3. 2025

    Regulations affecting farmers: inventory of requirements

    DG AGRI, European Commission

    Custom AI extraction tools built a database of 27,000 requirements from the CAP and national rules, then classified them by theme, economic aspect and type of action.

  4. 2024

    Evaluation of the Nitrates Directive: cost modelling

    European Commission

    Compliance and administrative costs of the Nitrates Directive for farmers and authorities, modelled with the Standard Cost Model.

  5. 2023

    Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”: impact dashboard

    REA, European Commission · Horizon Europe

    Built and maintained the analytical dashboard that tracks the impact of the Mission Soil’s activities.

  6. 2022

    European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP

    DG AGRI, European Commission

    Evaluation advisory on method, data and economic analysis: guidance on evaluating income support, a database of CAP interventions, and good-practice workshops.

  7. 2022

    Impact modelling of agri-food value-chain investments

    FMO, Dutch entrepreneurial development bank

    Review of the Joint Impact Model behind FMO’s employment and value-added projections, with recommendations to improve its results.

Publications
  1. 2024

    Assessment of result-based unit amounts or interventions

    European Commission, DG AGRI

    Thematic report on the potential and implementation of result-based payments under the CAP.

  2. 2023

    Risks and vulnerabilities in the EU food supply chain

    Joint Research Centre

    With Bertolozzi-Caredio, Severini, Zinnanti et al.

  3. 2022

    Agricultural grain markets in the COVID-19 crisis

    Sustainability (MDPI) · peer-reviewed

    A GVAR model of grain market dynamics during the pandemic. With Gutierrez and Sabbagh.

  4. 2022

    Agri-food imports and EU supply chains

    European Commission

    The role of agri-food imports in EU supply chains and their strategic implications.

  5. 2021

    Weather shocks, traders’ expectations, and food prices

    American Journal of Agricultural Economics · peer-reviewed

    How weather shocks shape trader expectations and food prices. With Letta and Montalbano.

  6. 2020

    Financial needs in agriculture: EU summary

    fi-compass (EIB / European Commission)

    Financial needs across the agriculture and agri-food sectors of the EU, plus a country report for Belgium.

  7. 2020

    Crisis prevention and management in agriculture

    European Commission

    Final report on criteria and strategies for crisis prevention and management in the agricultural sector.

  8. 2019

    Cross-country maize market linkages in Africa: integration and price transmission across local and global markets

    Agricultural Economics · peer-reviewed

    A global VAR model of how price shocks spread across 27 sub-Saharan African maize markets. With Kaminski.

  9. 2018

    The effect of the National Food Reserve Agency on maize market prices in Tanzania

    Review of Development Economics · peer-reviewed

    Time-series evidence on whether a public grain reserve’s buying and selling moved regional maize prices. With Pauw and Magrini.

Guillaume Pierre

About

Guillaume Pierre

I’m an agricultural economist. For 14 years I’ve worked on EU agricultural policy, food markets and rural finance, for institutions that need the numbers to hold up.

My work ranges from peer-reviewed econometrics, such as weather shocks and food prices in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, to CAP evaluation guidance for DG AGRI and financial-needs studies for the EIB’s fi-compass platform.

I work independently or as part of consortia with firms such as Ecorys, EY and PwC, in French and English.

Angel syndicate

AgImpacts Ventures

A syndicate of business angels, set up with BeAngels, investing in startups that build tools for farmers.

We back early-stage companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and France whose tools help farmers tackle one of four challenges.

  • Soil health
  • Biodiversity
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Water use and pollution
Ticket
From €25,000 per startup, pooled across members. No minimum individual contribution.
Criteria
Fit with the impact thesis, the founding team, traction and roadmap, and how widely the solution applies.
Portfolio
RegenRate · Ponda Bio · Cearitis (acquired by AgriOdor)

Open tools

Free, interactive resources built from this work.

Farm Practices ExplorerBrowse sustainable farm practices and their effects
Ecosystem MapInvestors and startups in European agtech and sustainabilityWork in progress
CAP Post-2027What the proposals for the next CAP changeWork in progress
CAP SimulatorTest how payment scenarios play outWork in progress

Have a policy question that needs numbers?

Tell me what you’re evaluating, investing in or deciding. A short call is usually enough to see whether I can help.

Book a discovery call → guillaume@agimpacts.com