Are agricultural economists losing their relevance and significance in research on sustainable food systems? Could the world thrive without the contribution of agricultural economists? How could agricultural economists have more impact in addressing the grand challenges of our time? In this paper we address these questions by reflecting on the field of agricultural economics and re-examining the role and impact of agricultural economists. We argue that agricultural economists could raise their impact through better collaboration with other disciplines, stakeholder engagement and the adoption of a more systematic approach to the grand challenges, the innovation pathways and their disrupting developments in the data economy. We outline key topics in the economics of food systems on which agricultural economists could make major contributions and key areas in which methodological innovations are needed.

中文翻译：

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可持续粮食系统：农业经济学家有作用吗？

农业经济学家是否正在失去其在可持续粮食系统研究中的相关性和重要性？如果没有农业经济学家的贡献，世界会繁荣吗？农业经济学家如何在应对我们这个时代的重大挑战方面产生更大的影响？在本文中，我们通过反思农业经济学领域并重新审视农业经济学家的作用和影响来解决这些问题。我们认为，农业经济学家可以通过与其他学科更好地合作、利益相关者参与以及采用更系统的方法来应对重大挑战、创新途径及其在数据经济中的颠覆性发展，从而提高他们的影响力。