John Sumelius is professor in Production Economics and Farm Management. His expertise includes Production Economics, Farm Management, Agricultural Policy, Rural Development, Agri-environmental issues, Econometrics, Food security and agricultural development in the developing world. The expertise covers quite a broad range of issues relating to both farm level and sector level agricultural development and rural development. More specific expertise covers the economic analysis of farms and rural industries, productivity, efficiency, rural livelihoods, food security, rural poverty, renewable resource policies, co-operatives and producer organizations.

He has supervised 12 doctoral theses. He has participated in five EU framework programs projects, has been evaluator of EU research programmes seven times, assessor of the University education of Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Swedish Higher Education Authority 2012-2013, consultant for FAO and AgriCord.  He has participated in five EU framework programs projects (coordinator of one LEAP-Agri project 2018-20219, has been evaluator of EU research programmes. Recent research projects he has been responsible for include  Agricultural externalities and implications for policy of the integration of environmental concerns into production: comparative analysis in Finland and China (Finnish Society for Sciences and Letters),  Co-operatives as a Tool for Poverty Reduction and Promoting Business in Tanzania (Finnish Foreign Ministry).  SARD-CLIMATE Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development with focus on food security within a climate change setting (Finnish Foreign Ministry. He is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry since 2009 and of the Finnish Association of Science and Letters since 2003.