Stephen Thornhill

Stephen Thornhill is a part-time Lecturer and Research Fellow at University College Cork, and the part-time Project Manager of AgriDiet.  Stephen is also a freelance consultant on Agri-food market and policy issues, with recent projects including the development of food security certification guidelines for the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, and advising and training the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture on establishing a national agricultural market information system under a World Bank project.

Stephen studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading, becoming Senior Economist and then Director of Marketing and Economics at the UK Home-Grown Cereal Authority for 10 years, before becoming a freelance consultant on agri-food market, policy and development issues, conducting projects around the world for the EU, World Bank, IADB, OECD, FAO, ACP Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat, national governments, trade associations, agri-food companies and NGOs.

Stephen has an MSc in Rural Development and is currently completing a PhD at University College Cork. His research interests are biofuels, food security, agri-food marketing information systems, sustainable and ethical agri-food standards and certification systems, agri-nutrition linkages and agri-food trade and support policies.

As AgriDiet Project Manager, Stephen is leading Work Package 9, involving project workshops, governance, contracts, schedules and budgets.