Raffaele Zanoli is Full Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Faculty of Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Marche (Ancona), where he has been lecturer since 1991. He  teaches Appraisal at the same Faculty, while he teaches Agro-Food Marketing at the Faculty of Agriculture.

Born in 1961, M.Sc. Economics University of Ancona (1986); Ph.D. Agricultural Economics & Policy University of Modena (1992). In 1989-90 he has been visiting student at the University of Reading (UK).

Working with Alessandro Bartola, he has studied applied production analysis, with special application to farm input taxes (pesticide and fertlisers tax). His experience in agro-environmental policy is widely recognised: in 1991 he was one of the corresponding authors of the Wageningen Memorandum for the Reform of the CAP, which was inspired and signed by the former EC agricultural commissioner Sicco Mansholt. In 1987 he participated in the preparatory work of the Marche Regional Agricultural Plan, while in 2000 he coordinated the working group that wrote down the Marche Rural Development Plan and laid down the framework for the new Agricultural Sector Plan. He also participated to the Concerted Action AIR3-CT93-1164 "Policy measures to control environmental impacts from agriculture", coordinated by Prof. Arie Oskam.

By coordinating the research unit of the University of Ancona, he has participated in many research project on organic farming,  some of which financed by the European Commission, :

• Concerted Action AIR3-CT94-2143 "European Network for the Scientific Research Coordination in Organic Farming (ENOF)", of which he was sub coordinator for legal & economic aspects;
• FAIR-CT96-1794 "Effects of the CAP-reform and possible further developments on organic farming in the EU", coordinated by the University of-Hohenheim (Prof. Stephan Dabbert), of which he coordinated the scenario analysis sub-task;
• QLK5-2000-01418 "Strategies of weed control in organic farming" (WECOF), coordinated by the University of Bonn (Prof. Ulrich Köpke), of which he is the partner responsible of the micro and macro-economic analysis workpackage.
• QLK5-2000-01124 "Organic market initiatives and rural development" (OMIaRD), coordinated by the University of Aberystwyth (Prof. Peter Midmore), of which he is the partner responsible for the consumer analysis workpackage.
• QLK5-2002-00919 "Further Development of Organic Farming Policy in Europe, with Particular Emphasis on EU Enlargement" (EU-CEOPF), coordinated by the University of Aberystwyth (Prof. Nicholas Lampkin).
• QLK5-2002-02400 "European Information System for Organic Markets" (EISfOM), coordinated by the University of Aberystwyth (Prof. Nicholas Lampkin).
• Naturadapt Project: Origin food product of Marche & Umbria, of which he coordinated the Marche research unit;
• AMAB: Study on the quality and orogin attributes of two organic DOC wines (Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi e Rosso Piceno) for a better market positioning, of which he was the coordinator;
• Ente Sviluppo Agricolo nelle Marche (ESAM): Organic farming in the Marches: structural and scenario analysis, of which he was the coordinator;
• Marche Regional Governemnt: "New approaches to the marketing and promotion of regional  organic products in a rural development perspective", of which he was the coordinator;
• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, BIOINPUT - Supply and demand of the intermediate inputs for organic farming: a market analysis.

He has been initiator and is currently president of GRAB-IT, the Italian Research Group for Organic Farming.

On the topics of agricultural policy and agro-food marketing he teaches in many post-graduate courses on organic farming. Among others:

• Master of Science in Mediterranean Organic Agriculture, at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (network CIHEAM);
• Master of Science in "Organic Farming" at the University of Barcellona (coord. Prof. Sans).

Together with Alessandro Segale he has studied the economic and marketing aspects of agro-tourism, at the regional and national level.

Between 1998 and 2000, with Prof. Segale and Prof. Adele Finco, he has written the Mount Conero Natural Park Agricultural Plan.

Working with Prof. Mario De Grassi and  Berardo Naticchia, he has participated to the research activities for the Marche Regional Territorial Plan, which has been approved in 1999.

Between 1996 and 2000, due to his expertise in project appraisal and environmental economics, has been member of the Marche Regional Project Appraisal Committee.

In 2001, the Swiss Federal Agricultural Office has appointed him president of the special scientific committee for the peer review of the Swiss Organic Agricultural Research (which produced the confidential report "Evaluation of RTD in organic farming in Switzerland").

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