David Meredith

Background

About David Meredith

I am the Head of the Agri-Food Business and Spatial Analysis Department at Teagasc – the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority – where I lead a nationally distributed team of researchers and technical staff based in Athenry (Co. Galway) and Ashtown (Dublin 15). Our department works at the interface of science, policy, and practice, collaborating with national and international partners across the Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation System to co-design evidence-based solutions for social, economic, and spatial challenges in farming and rural life. As a research leader within Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme, I provide strategic oversight of interdisciplinary research supporting more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems. I place strong emphasis on scientific excellence, engaged scholarship, and delivering research that informs policy and supports rural stakeholders. Our work has contributed to national strategies on farm safety, social sustainability, generational renewal, land mobility, and rural digitalisation. I am currently Principal Investigator on SafeHabitus (ERC, 2023–2026), a project examining how social and institutional relationships shape farm safety cultures. I have led major interdisciplinary projects including Behaviours for Safer Farming (DAFM, 2018–2024),*ReNew*(DAFM, 2019–2023), and the Rural Futures network (IRC–ESRC, 2019–2022). I hold a BSc and MLitt in Geography from University College Dublin and a PhD from Maynooth University. I have secured and led projects funded by the ERC, DAFM, EPA, SFI–IRC Pathways, and ESRC, involving cross-sector collaboration in Ireland and across the EU. I have published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, alongside book chapters, policy reports, and commentaries. I serve as Associate Editor for the Journal of AgroMedicine and review for leading journals including Journal of Rural Studies, Sociologia Ruralis, and Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension. I supervise PhD students at UCD, UCC, and Ulster University and contribute to national and EU-level research coordination, including Horizon Europe initiatives on rural sustainability and agricultural health.