M. Hichem Amichi

Associate Professor in Agricultural Economics, PURPAN School of Engineering (École d’Ingénieurs de PURPAN), LISST–Dynamiques Rurales, University of Toulouse, France.

Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires (LISST)

Coordonnées

Adresse: Ecole d'Ingénieurs de PURPAN, 75 voie du TOEC - BP 57611 31 076 TOULOUSE Cedex 3 - France
Tél: +33762071583
Mail: hichem.amichi@purpan.fr
Site internet: ORCID 0000-0003-0963-7086

Corps

Associate professor in Agricultural Economics

Discipline(s)

ECONOMIE & SCIENCES DE GESTION, AGRICULTURE

Discipline(s) enseignée(s)

Agricultural value chains and territories — Understanding and analysing agricultural and agri-food value chains, with emphasis on diagnosis, value-added distribution among actors, agroecological transition, and territorial anchoring.
Grand Oral — Developing the ability to argue a position on current agricultural and food issues and controversies, using a well-defined perspective and bibliographic research.
Development economics and International economics— Introducing major economic theories and providing analytical tools to understand the global economy, with a focus on North–South relations and applications to agriculture.
Political and economic environment of the farm — Analysing farm interactions with political frameworks (e.g. CAP subsidies) and economic environments (e.g. market access challenges).
Writing and structuring a professional document— Learning to draft clear, well-argued professional documents tailored to different audiences, highlighting originality and meeting formal requirements.

Thèmes de recherche

My research focuses on land and water management in irrigated agriculture, agroecological transition, and sustainability of agricultural value chains. I am particularly interested in how formal and informal institutional arrangements foster adaptation and innovation, shaping pathways towards more sustainable agri-food systems. My work is grounded in case studies, in particular in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) and France (Occitanie), where I analyse how farmers, suppliers, policy makers, and institutional stakeholders negotiate resilience in agri-food systems.

I have coordinated and co-coordinated several research projects in these regions. Most recently, I led the FAVA project (2021–2024, funded by the Occitanie Region), which examines the resilience of high value-added value chains (hemp, leather, wool). I also co-directed the VIANA project (2018–2022), a Euro-Mediterranean programme exploring the vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of irrigated agriculture in North Africa.

Beyond research, I am committed to mentoring PhD students, building international collaborations, and fostering dialogue between science and society through close engagement with local stakeholders and regional institutions. Since 2018, I have served on the editorial board of Cahiers Agricultures.

Activités / CV

Education and key qualifications
23/11/2023: HDR in Economics. (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, Authorisation to supervise research, the Highest academic qualification in FRANCE. It authorises me to supervise PhD students and to apply for a full professorship). University of Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, France. HDR academic referent: Delcorso Jean-Pierre
03/09/2013: PhD in Agricultural Economics, Department of Economic, Social and Management Sciences, AgroParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences), France. PhD Supervisor: Bazin Gilles
03/12/2007: MSc in Comparative Agriculture and Agricultural Development, Department of Economic, Social and Management Sciences, AgroParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences), France

Current position
2018 - 2025: Associate professor in Agricultural Economics, Department of Human, Economic and Social Sciences, PURPAN School of Engineering in Agronomy (École d’Ingénieurs de PURPAN), Toulouse, France.

Previous position(s)
2015- 2017: Research Fellow, French Association for Water Irrigation and Drainage (AFEID),
Montpellier, France.
2013 - 2015: Post-doctoral researcher, INRAE – French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food
and Environment, Montpellier, France.
2009 - 2013: Research Fellow, CIRAD – French Agricultural Research Centre for International
Development, Montpellier, France.
2008 - 2009: Project Officer, CIRAD – French Agricultural Research Centre for International
Development, Montpellier, France.

Guest Editing of Special Issues
2020-2021— Co-edited a special issue with J. Frayssignes, M.-C. Henninger and A. Buchs entitled “Recomposition of Agricultural Collectives for More Sustainable Value Chains”. Développement durable et territoires, Vol. 12, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.4000/developpementdurable.18052
2014-2015 — Co-edited a special issue with Z. Kadiri, S. Bouarfa and M. Kuper entitled “Innovative Trajectories of Young Rural People in Irrigated Agriculture in the Maghreb”. Cahiers Agricultures, Vol. 24, No. 6. https://www.cahiersagricultures.fr/component/toc/?task=topic&id=664

Research Funding and Project Leadership

Over the past decade, I have obtained funding from international (e.g. ARIMNet2), national (e.g. ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition), and regional agencies (Occitanie Region), for a total of more than €1 million as PI or co-PI.

FADMA – “Co-constructing Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains in the Maghreb” (2021–2025, Occitanie Region, €70k, PI). Coordination of an interdisciplinary consortium (8 researchers, 1 project manager) from France, Algeria and Tunisia, addressing the sustainability of agricultural value chains in the Maghreb.
FAVA – “Supporting High Value-Added Agricultural Value Chains in Occitanie” (2021–2024, Occitanie Region, €300k, PI). Leadership of a team of 11 researchers, 1 PhD student and 1 project manager on the resilience of high value-added regional value chains.
DURFAC – “Sustainability of Agricultural Value Chains in Cooperative Contexts – The Case of the Jeune Montagne Cheese Cooperative in Aubrac” (2019–2023, ADEME, ~€300k, PI). Project on sustainability transitions in cooperative dairy systems, involving 4 researchers, 1 PhD student and 1 project manager.
VIANA – “Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacities of Irrigated Agriculture in North Africa” (2018–2022, ARIMNet2 Young Researchers Programme, €450k, co-PI). Euro-Mediterranean programme; responsibility for WP4 on multi-stakeholder arenas for agroecological innovation, including contributions from 8 researchers, 4 PhD students and 1 post-doctoral fellow.
DAIMA – “Dynamics of Irrigated Agriculture in the Maghreb” (2011–2014, IRD–AIRD Young Teams Programme, ~€20k, PI). Coordination of 5 senior researchers and 7 PhD students from France, the Netherlands, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
TETRAE TAI-OC – “Agroecological Transition and Irrigation in Occitanie” (2023–2027, INRAE–Occitanie Region, €481k total, partner). Contribution to WP2 on the economic and financial factors that influence agroecological transitions.
RARE – “Water Scarcity in Comparative Perspectives” (2022–2025, University of Toulouse, pilot funding ~ €20k, partner). Participation in an interdisciplinary project with parteners from France, Peru and Tunisia on perceptions and governance of water scarcity.
SERVICE – “Ecological and Regional Solutions for the Innovative Valorisation of Whey in a Circular Economy” (2025–2029, TIRIS Programme, University of Toulouse, €315k, co-PI). Interdisciplinary project on the circular bioeconomy, coordination of 5 researchers, 2 PhD students and 4 Master students.