Ana Marta-Costa

Ana Marta-Costa is an Associate Professor with habilitation at the Department of Economy, Sociology and Management within the School of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) in Portugal. She is also a researcher at the Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD) and has authored over 175 scientific publications in rural and sustainable development, with emphasis on sustainability assessment and farm management systems.

Her educational background includes:

• Zootechnical Engineering degree from UTAD (1998)
• PhD in Agri-social Sciences from UTAD (2008)
• Agregação (Habilitation) from UTAD (2021)

Marta-Costa's research focuses on rural and sustainable development across multiple dimensions of agricultural sustainability. Her work spans environmental, economic, and social aspects of farming systems, with particular expertise in multicriterium decision approaches for agrarian sustainability. She has conducted extensive research on sustainability assessment frameworks applicable to diverse agricultural contexts including viticulture, sugarcane production, and family farming systems in Portugal, Angola, and Mozambique.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on developing and validating sustainability assessment tools, particularly the Sustainable Wine Assessment Tool (SWAT), which provides a hierarchical framework for measuring sustainability performance in the wine industry. Her research demonstrates growing international collaboration, with significant work on African agricultural systems and systematic reviews of sustainability indicators across multiple sectors.

Marta-Costa actively participates in academic leadership as Coordinator of the Agribusiness and Sustainability PhD Program, a consortium between UTAD and the University of Évora. She serves on the General Council of UTAD and is a member of the Board of the Portuguese Agricultural Economy Association (APDEA).

Her research is supported by numerous national and European grants including:

• Ecossistema Agroalimentar, Gestão Ativa do Território e Desenvolvimento Regional (2023)
• RN21 – Inovação na Fileira da Resina Natural (2022-2025)
• Vine & Wine Portugal – Driving Sustainable Growth Through Smart Innovation (2021-2025)
• Vin, Innovation et Compétitivité Internationale (2019-2023)
• Contributo para o desenvolvimento da fileira do castanheiro (2019-2024)

Marta-Costa leads research initiatives at CETRAD where she collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to address complex agricultural challenges. Her work integrates academic research with practical applications for agricultural policy and sustainable development across multiple geographic contexts.