Research to Action for Resilient Agriculture Webinar Series

We’re incredibly excited to invite you to join ATAI & DAISI for an upcoming webinar series, “Research to Action for Resilient Agriculture”, exploring evidence-based agricultural technologies and practices that promote climate resilience while supporting sustainable resource use. Small-scale farmers in low- and middle-income countries are critical to ensuring global food security, yet their welfare and livelihoods are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. Over three sessions, we will highlight innovative research, strategies, and programming that strengthen small-scale farmers’ climate resilience.

Session 1, October 1st: 9-10am PT | 12-1pm ET | 4-5pm GMT | 7-8pm EAT

Leveraging Digital Technology to Address Weather Based-Risk

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Small-scale farmers are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Unpredictable climate events like droughts and floods threaten livelihoods where agriculture serves as the primary source of both food security and economic opportunity. The growth of digital technologies offers new opportunities to provide timely, tailored, and low-cost digital services to farmers. This session will explore how digital interventions can deliver genuine improvements in farmers’ lives, while advocating for rigorous measurement and evaluation strategies to understand what works, why it works, and who benefits from digital solutions.

Speakers: 

• Fiona Burlig, Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago | The Value of Long-Range Forecasts: Experimental Evidence from India
• Berber Kramer, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI | Picture-based Crop Insurance (PBI)
• Tetyana Zelenska, Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning | Digital Green

Session 2, October 9th: 9-10am PT | 12-1pm ET | 4-5pm GMT | 7-8pm EAT

Recording coming soon

Biofertilizers and Cold Storage: Climate-Resilient Technologies for Farmers

Food supply chain activities produce nearly one-third of human-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Strategic investments in innovations and infrastructure can enable agrifood systems to transition from a major contributor of environmental harm to a pillar of climate-resilient, inclusive growth. Rigorous evidence is crucial to understand pathways and social impacts of these investments. This session will explore two climate-resilient investments that address, respectively, production and post-harvest stages: biofertilizers and cold storage.

Speakers:

• Tavneet Suri, Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management | The Promise of Microbial Fertilizer for Affordable and Sustainable Food Production in Africa
• Shweta Bhogale, Postdoc, J-PAL | The Impacts of Cold Storage Infrastructure on Agricultural Outcomes and Trade

Session 3, October 23rd: 9-10am PT | 12-1pm ET | 4-5pm GMT | 7-8pm EAT

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Balancing Small-Scale Irrigation Solutions with Sustainable Groundwater Use

With freshwater supplies under increasing pressures, agrifood systems must adapt if they are to continue to support productive food systems. Despite this need for adaptation, small-scale farmers are often under-resourced and lack access to water-efficient technologies and, without proper pricing mechanisms, have little economic incentive to conserve groundwater. Drawing on rigorous research from Gujarat, India, where extensive groundwater extraction threatens water security, this webinar will explore one technological and one policy-oriented approach to balance small-scale irrigation with sustainable groundwater use.

Speakers:

• Ram Fishman, Senior Lecturer, Tel Aviv University | The Challenges of Using Remote Sensing Based Irrigation Recommendation Technology on Smallholder Farms in India
• Nick Hagerty, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, Montana State | Price Incentives for Conservation: Experimental Evidence from Groundwater Irrigation