AVF project: African farmers face severe agricultural risks from drought, floods and disease outbreaks. Accurate early predictions can save lives. Relief initiatives like famine early warning systems and index-based agricultural insurance rely on satellite images that show farmland or pasture greenness, but do not directly measure photosynthesis – actual plant functioning. The researchers will develop a new framework to improve yield predictions and emergency response systems, using cutting-edge satellite chlorophyll fluorescence that can probe the molecular process of photosynthesis, including stress-induced degradation in crops.

The supplemental grant funds an eight-week summer internship at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where the student intern will analyze data, share findings and learn to collaborate with African cropping system specialists, policymakers and economists. The grant also supports a research symposium in Ithaca, where IFPRI researchers will share cutting-edge research that is addressing global public challenges.