Associate Professor Marit Kragt
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Diversity and Inclusion) and associate professor of agricultural and resource economics, School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia
See Associate Professor Kragt’s full research profile here.
marit.kragt@uwa.edu.au
Research outputs linked to policy change and decision-making
- Western Australian completion criteria and risk-based monitoring (2018–2020). This work with the Western Australia Biodiversity Science Institute was conducted for the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. They created a framework for mine-site rehabilitation completion criteria and risk-based monitoring. As the lead principal investigator, Associate Professor Kragt was responsible for assessing the socio-economic challenges associated with mine rehabilitation and closure as faced by industry stakeholders and regulators. The project involved close collaboration with partners from the mining industry and was endorsed by the department as a guidance document to assist rehabilitation in Western Australia.
- Black soldier fly technology to convert agricultural waste into profitable fertilisers and soil-improvers (2019–2022). This project is funded through the Australian Government’s Rural Research and Development for Profit program, and collaborates with Australian Pork Limited, Agrifutures, Australian Egg Corporation, Dairy Australia, the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, and industry partner Future Green Solutions. Black soldier fly (BSF) farming is an emerging industry that can provide low-cost solutions to manage agricultural waste (e.g. food waste, manure). BSF feed on agricultural waste, and the resulting larvae and frass are rich in protein, which could be turned into livestock feed or fertilisers. This study will test what mixture of agricultural waste will produce the highest-quality protein source, and develop a safe fertiliser product that is easy to handle, transport and apply. As the senior economist on the project, Associate Professor Kragt’s team is responsible for quantifying the financial, health and environmental costs and benefits of using BSF to manage agricultural waste and assess the potential barriers to adopting the novel fertiliser products. This research engages heavily with industry partners and will support them to develop (a) a new waste management strategies for agricultural producers, and (b) a low-cost, tailored fertiliser product that has the potential to increase productivity and profitability whilst safeguarding future food security.
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (2022–2026). The ARC Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption is a collaborative research and training centre targeting the use of behavioural sciences to improve the adoption of technological innovations. The centre is led by the Queensland University of Technology (Professor Uwe Dulleck), with principal researchers at The University of Queensland and The University of Western Australia (UWA). The centre works with 19 industry partners across the agricultural, cyber-security and health sectors to address pertinent questions relevant to their industry. As the lead investigator at UWA, Associate Professor Kragt will lead the research with partners in the agricultural industry around the adoption of novel technologies by Australian farmers.
Current academic employment and positions
- 2010–present: associate professor, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia
- 2020–present: inaugural director of the Centre for Agricultural Economics and Development, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia
- 2016–2021: ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow.
Highest qualification
- 2010: PhD, Australian National University.
Major prizes, medals and honours
- 2021: Quality of Research Discovery Award, Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society
- 2020: Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Durham University, United Kingdom
- 2015: Quality of Research Communication Award, Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society
- 2014: Excellence in Honours Research Supervision Award, Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia
- 2013: Early Career Researcher Best Publication Award, The University of Western Australia
- 2013: Early Career Research Excellence Award, The Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Links with non-government groups or networks
- 2020–present: member, Cooperative Research Centre for Transitions in Mining Economies.
My Projects
Current project
Completed project
NESP RLH, 2021-2027NESP, 2015-2021NERP, 2012-2015TRaCK, 2005-present
