Marco Palma, Ph.D., is interim associate director for Responsive Agriculture at the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture. IHA’s Responsive Agriculture work fosters innovation in agriculture and the food environment to ensure a system that is economically prosperous while providing safe, nutritious and abundant food to promote health and well-being. The Responsive Agriculture hub is dedicated to engaging in translational research that bridges the gap between emerging technologies, innovative practical solutions and behavioral adoption by farmers and consumers. Under Palma’s leadership, the aim is to partner with stakeholders to develop a Responsive Agricultural sector that becomes adaptable, resilient and economically prosperous and increases nutrition security and health.
Palma is a leading agricultural economist and brings over 18 years of expertise cultivated over his career at Texas A&M University in research, teaching and Extension. He has served in professional leadership positions including president of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association and the editorial board of leading journals in the field, including the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Palma is a Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow and Leader of Research for the Department of Agricultural Economics. Additionally, he was a participant in the first cohort of LEAD AgriLife.
Since 2017, Palma has served as co-founding director of the Human Behavior Laboratory at Texas A&M University. The lab is one of the largest facilities in the world dedicated to studying the neurophysiology of human choices with a focus on food and agriculture to better understand, predict and change behavior that improves people’s health and well-being. During his time as director, Palma has led the transdisciplinary faculty and integrated state-of-the-art technology to measure neurophysiological responses of human decision-making.
Dr. Palma first came to AgriLife as an assistant professor and Extension economist in 2006. Dr. Palma’s research investigates the driving forces influencing human decisions. His research has been particularly significant for evaluating existing and emerging technologies and the impact of government, farm and food policy on the production and consumption of food and agricultural products.
Palma began his academic career as an Extension economist specializing in horticulture marketing and economics. He is passionate about helping farmers and consumers create healthy, sustainable relationships and has secured more than $100 million in funding as PI or Co-PI to conduct applied research and outreach efforts, with 114 peer-reviewed publications in many top agricultural and applied economics journals. He has served on the committee of more than 100 graduate students, many of whom have placed in prestigious academic institutions, industry and government. Palma holds a doctorate in food and resource economics from the University of Florida.