Seminar series on climate adaptation and mitigation for agriculture and water systems

This fall, join MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) for a series of three seminars given by J-WAFS visiting scholars from around the world:

• Chandra Madramootoo, the Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. His research focuses on irrigation and water management engineering, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, and agricultural research for development.
   
•  Joanne Tingey-Holyoak, an associate professor of accounting and professorial lead at the University of South Australia. She uses accounting, financial, and biophysical data to improve agricultural decision-making, including through developing industry-based irrigator decision-making tools.
   
• Neda Trifkovic, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen. Her research interests include development and agricultural economics, contract farming, extreme weather events, and other related areas.
   

The umbrella theme for all three seminars is: Climate and agricultural adaptation and mitigation.
Overview: As the effects of climate change continue to threaten water and food sources around the globe, there is a need for both adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Seminar 1

Date: World Food Day, Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET

Topic:  Is irrigation the answer to agriculture’s climate challenges?

Speakers: Chandra A. Madramootoo and Joanne Tingey-Holyoak

Info: This seminar will look at the interplay between climate change and irrigated agriculture. Madramootoo will focus on the implications of irrigation on greenhouse gas emissions, and Tingey-Holyoak will discuss how an accounting-based decision-making support tool for irrigation can help adapt agriculture to more variable weather patterns.  

Seminar 2

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET

Topic:  Localized approaches to climate resilience and adaptation for water and food security

Speakers: Chandra A. Madramootoo and Neda Trifkovic

Info: This seminar will highlight research about adaptation efforts in very different geographic regions. Madramootoo will focus on managing impacts of climate change on coastal regions, and Trifkovic will speak about impacts to agroforests.

Seminar 3

Date: Thursday, November 14, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET

Topic:  Economic and environmental sustainability for smallholder farmers

Speakers: Neda Trifkovic

Info: In this talk, Trifkovic will discuss how smallholder farmers in Mozambique are adapting to climate change in order to protect their economic livelihoods, and how their strategies fit with broader approaches to agricultural development.
The seminars are free and open to the MIT and surrounding academic communities or anyone interested in these topics.

All three seminars will take place in the J-WAFS conference room (E38, third floor).
 
Register for one, two, or all three seminars today. Advance registration is required.