Dr Ourania Tremma
Dr Ourania (known as Rania) Tremma grew up in the city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece.
Rania studied at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, qualifying in 2008 with a BSc in Agricultural Economics. She followed on to obtain her MSc. and a further Masters in 2011 in International & European Economics. In parallel to her final Masters, Rania completed her PhD in Agricultural Economics in 2018, her research focus was on ‘’Price relationships in the EU Pork and Broiler markets’’.
Her career path has provided her with strong relationships and insight having worked as a research assistant in the Department of Economics in Aristotle University, as a statistical interviewer for the Hellenic Statistical Authority and as an external researcher for the National Documentation Centre Athens, Greece.
In 2017 she moved to the United Kingdom as a Senior Lecturer in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis for Harper Adams University in Land, Farm and Agribusiness Management. Her involvement in research culture was extensive from tutoring students and working as a researcher on funded projects for The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Livestock and The Farm Retail Association. She previously held the position of the Director of Studies for PhD students and was a member of the Research Ethics Committee at Harper Adams University.
In March 2023 she took up a position in University College Dublin in the Department of Agriculture and Food Science as a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Food and Agricultural Economics.
See below for Research Challenges
Current Research Challenges
The challenge and objective of Dr Tremmas research is to more fully understand the market players, those who gain, those who lose, from the producers to the wholesalers to the retailers.How the whole market operates is something she wants to continually explore and research.
Rania is an Agricultural Economist passionate about data analytics, policy development, and food commodity pricing. She aims to understand price allocation and provide information to improve market efficiencies. Rania researches the entire market, from producers to retailers, to explore how it operates and evolves when faced with factors such as climate change and pandemics.
Her research supports her ongoing work in building engaging and informative teaching modules related to Economics and International food marketing.She integrates her findings into her teaching, explaining retail strategies, farmer challenges, and technology adoption in the food chain. Price transmission, or how pricing is distributed along the supply chain, is central to her work.
Rania has open collaborations in place with institutions in the UK and Greece and currently co-supervises research on food authenticity and fraud. She aims to create a transparent supply chain, motivating students to understand and participate in it, whether in farming, wholesale, or retail. ‘’A fair transparent supply chain is important so everyone can have equal benefits. My research supports and motivates students to be part of the supply chain’’.
Currently, Rania and her PhD student are working on their second publication about price allocation among olive oil producers in the EU. Her recent research on the UK milk supply chain reveals that retailers, not producers, determine milk prices, using it as a loss leader due to differing contracts. She plans to expand her research to other products, focusing on perishability and price sensitivity to the retailer.
The biggest challenge in Rania's work is data availability. Acquiring average prices and including data from big supermarkets is difficult. Identifying the optimal price of milk, for example, could balance producer and consumer welfare and help monitor retailer contracts, empowering producers and farmers. The goal is fair trade across the supply chain, but the lack of comprehensive data is a significant hurdle.
A comprehensive database covering all supply chain levels, including producers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, is essential. Without it, economists can only provide trends instead of concrete facts, leading to biased results.
The Researcher
What matters most to Rania is creating a fair food system centred on ethical trade, local sourcing, and price transmission. She aims to improve farmers' income stability, supply chain and market efficiency, and the welfare of both consumers and producers.
In discussion with her she emphasises the importance of mitigation and adaptation strategies, aligned with the European Green Deal, to enhance resilience and maintain productivity in agribusiness. ‘’Resilient agricultural systems can better withstand shocks and ensure food security. I educate my students on these strategies, helping them make informed decisions in academic projects, research, and real-world scenarios’’.
Her deep data analysis skills support decision-making in sustainable production and consumption, considering social, economic, environmental, and political disruptions. Her research contributes to the redesign of future policies.
Rania credits her family and mentors for their confidence, and support which have greatly influenced her career. Her proudest moment to date is the day of her PhD defence in allowing her the opportunity to showcase her work and the recognition received from that. She is also proud of receiving the Teaching Excellence Award - Aspire Excellence Award 2019 from Harper Adams University. In her free time, Rania enjoys music, especially Greek music, singing, swimming, and plans to swim in Irish coastal waters soon.
Future Aspirations
Rania is eager to collaborate on projects at the national or international level to understand the market for dairy products and livestock in Ireland across the entire food chain. She is also interested in studying consumer willingness to adopt a more sustainable diet and is evaluating data sourcing partners from universities and research institutions, including Teagasc and An Bord Bia.
As a principal investigator, her next step is to focus on securing more grants, building on her past successes, particularly within Ireland. Her work supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Zero Hunger, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Affordable & Clean Energy through precision agriculture. In her teaching, she encourages critical and creative thinking, fostering innovation and problem-solving in agribusiness.
Her future research interests lie in the Irish sector, particularly understanding consumer willingness to purchase ethical and fairtrade products. She aims to explore why consumers, despite being willing to pay more for fairtrade goods, often do not follow through, addressing the attitude-behaviour gap. These findings would benefit Fair Trade Organisations, retailers, and brand marketers by raising awareness.
Rania aims to use her skills and knowledge to contribute to a sustainable economy and affect the change she hopes to see in the world. She is also interested in studying Irish consumers' willingness to purchase locally sourced food and products, emphasising the importance of ethnocentrism and its impact on the local economy.
Related Links
Linkedin (opens in a new window)https://www.linkedin.com/in/rania-tremma-6a43a23b/
Research Gate (opens in a new window)https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ourania-Tremma