GERARD E. D'SOUZA

Professor Agricultural & Resource Economics Program

Division of Resource Management West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6108 ! Morgantown, WV 26506
(304) 293-4832 ext. 4471
gdsouza@wvu.edu

Previous Postitions

July ‘84 - Associate Professor (1992-99), and Assistant Professor (1984-92),
April ‘99 - Agricultural & Resource Economics Program, West Virginia University.
Fall ’99 & ‘00 Visiting Professor, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix.
Aug ’96 Visiting Economist, Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, San Jose, Costa Rica, on a VOCA research project.

Education

Ph.D. Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, 1983.
M.S. Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, 1980.
B.S. Agricultural Sciences, Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India, 1977.
Fall ‘91 Visiting Scholar, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Greenbelt, MD.

Research Focus

Applied economics research dealing with aquaculture, forage-livestock systems, local food systems and organic farming. Aquaculture research focuses on a comprehensive economic analysis of various aspects of the industry including production, processing, consumer preferences, economic development impacts and waste disposal. Ongoing work examines the profitability, risk and economic development impacts of alternative system combinations including: (a) various cool and cold water species (e.g., trout, HSB, Charr), (b) traditional and non-traditional production environments (e.g., tanks, raceways, mine water), and (c) diversified market outlets (e.g., food fish, recreational and direct marketing). The idea is to provide baseline information for stakeholders and policy makers that can ultimately lead to the sustainable development of an aquaculture industry in West Virginia and Appalachia.

Top Two Critical Issues

• Increasing the number of producers/entrepreneurs and
• Niche market development