Justus Wesseler

Justus Wesseler (* 25 March 1963) is a German agricultural economist and professor of Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Justus Wesseler received his PhD 1996 in agricultural economics, focussed on economics in agricultural, environment and nature resources at the University of Göttingen. His dissertation covered the subject "The Economics of Introducing Fruit Trees into the Highlands of Northern Luzon, Philippines". In 2000 Wesseler received an assignment as an assistant professor Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group at Wageningen University. In 2005 he was appointed as associate professor. In 2010 Wesseler spent a two-month sabbatical at LICOS, Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. In 2011 he received an appointment to professor for Agriculture and Food Economics, at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan of the Technical University Munich. In January 2014 he was appointed as Full Professor and Head of the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy Group at Wageningen University.

Justus Wesseler lives in Belgium. He is married and has three children.

Justus Wesseler is known for his research on economic relevance of the bioeconomy. The emphasis is on the consideration of sustainability of the assessment of new technologies and public interventions in the market using the theory of real options. Significant contributions are an indicator of measuring the sustainability of the use of transgenic plants (Maximum Incremental Social Tolerable Irreversible Costs, MISTICs), considering the uncertainties andthe potential irreversible costs and benefits of the technology thus enabling an application of the precautionary principle during the evaluation. Modelling economic assessment of the coexistence of the cultivation of transgenic and non-transgenic plants are other scientific contributions.

Research, educational and travel grants, awards

Since 2001 Wesseler took an active part in various international mostly multiannual research projects, partly as project coordinator. These projects include among other things:

Projects of the European Union:

• 2012 GRACE - Verification of GMO risk assessment elements and review and communication of evidence collected on the biosafety of GMO. http://www.grace-fp7.eu/
• 2012 INBIOSOIL -Innovative biological products for soil pest control aims at providing concrete and measurable environmental, social and economic improvements by developing innovative formulations and novel eco-efficient technologies using sustainable, environmentally friendly biological control agents (BCAs) to control soil borne crop pests as an alternative to conventional chemical pesticides. 15 Partner. http://inbiosoil.uni-goettingen.de/
• 2011PRICE-Practical Implementation of Coexistence in Europe. 14 Partner. http://price-coexistence.com/
• 2007EXIOPOL, ANew Environmental Accounting Framework Using Externality Data and Input-Output Tools for Policy Analysis, 6th Framework Programme, Priority 6.3, Global Change and Ecosystems.
• 2007CASES, Cost Assessment for Sustainable Energy Systems. 6thFramework Programme, Priority 6.1.3.2.5, Programme "Integrating and Strengthening the European Research Area" Sustainable Energy Systems.
• 2006 TransContainer, Developing efficient and stable biological containment systems for genetically modified plants, 6th Framework Programme, Priority 5, Food Quality and Food Safety. http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=proj.document&PJ_RCN=8820547
• 2006 DIABR-ACT, Harmonise the strategies for fighting Diabrotica virgifera virgifera. 6th Framework Programme, Area 8.1.B.1.2, Tools and assessment methods for sustainable agriculture and forestry management.
• 2005RECREATE Restructuring higher education in resource and environmental economics in East-Asian transition economies.
• 2002 ECOGEN: Soil ecological and economic evaluation of genetically modified crops. 5th Framework, Subject: Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources.

Other research projects and seminars Wesseler coordinated or at which he took part were initiated by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG), the University of Nanjing, Nederlandse Organisatie vor Weetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), The Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The NetherlandsMinistryofAgriculture, NatureManagement and Fisheries, Wageningen Institute for Environment and Climate Research (WIMEK) and other institutions.

Justus Wesseler is a member of the International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR): (http://www.icabr.org/) and coeditor of AgBioForum (http://www.agbioforum.org/). He is instrumental in the introduction of the masterprogram Life Science Economics and Policy (http://www.mslep.wzw.tum.de/index.php?id=2) at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich.

• Beckmann, Volker, Claudio Soregaroli, Justus Wesseler (2006): Co-Existence Rules and Regulations in the European Union. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5):1193-1199.
• Beckmann, Volker and Justus Wesseler (2007): Spatial Dimension of Externalities and the Coase Theorem: Implications for Coexistence of Transgenic Crops. In W. Heijman (ed.) Regional Externalities, 215-234. Berlin: Springer.
• Demont, Matty, Justus Wesseler, Eric Tollens (2004): Biodiversity versus transgenic sugar beets – the one Euro question. European Review of Agricultural Economics 31(1):1-18.
• Wesseler, Justus, Sara Scatasta, Eleonora Nillesen (2007): The Maximum Incremental Social Tolerable Irreversible Costs (MISTICs) and other Benefits and Costs of Introducing Transgenic Maize in the EU-15. Pedobiologia 51(3):261-269.