RIEL seminar series
Research and development to improve smallholder livelihoods in Timor-Leste: What research questions should we ask?
| Presenter | Prof. Andrew McWilliam, Marcia Exposto e Silva, and Dr Leigh Vial | |
|---|---|---|
| Date |
|
|
| Time |
to
|
|
| Contact person | E: RIEL.outreach@cdu.edu.au | |
| Location |
Yellow 1.1.39 and online Zoom: https://charlesdarwinuni.zoom.us/j/84625342806 |
|
| Open to | Public | |
This seminar will present the achievements to date as part of an ACIAR-funded Small Research Activity (SRA) which precedes a planned larger ACIAR project to improve smallholder livelihoods in Timor-Leste through increased labour productivity with a focus on innovation in soils management and improvement.
The SRA aims to generate research questions that a future ACIAR project will pursue; ACIAR projects are usually commissioned with predefined research questions. The SRA will be undertaken until January 2024. This SRA has chosen six paired locations in three key livelihood zones to generate appropriate agricultural research questions for improved labour productivity and livelihoods.
The SRA is applying a Stages of Progress (SoP) methodology to understand what has driven rural households into or out of poverty over time and how that affects food security and sovereignty. It applies a modified Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) to further characterise the locations, and a participatory research selection process with each community to choose the final research questions.
This seminar will feature Prof Andrew McWilliam (Coresearcher, UWS), speaking on the SoP methodology, Marcia Exposto e Silva (Timor Leader), joining from Dili to describe what was learned about community livelihoods, and Dr Leigh Vial (Project Leader), describing the emerging research questions.
Related Events
Loss of Earth's old, wise and large animals
Read more about Loss of Earth's old, wise and large animalsIn this seminar, Keller will outline that humans have caused a decline in old age-classes of wild animal populations whereby many of Earth’s oldest, often largest, and most experienced individuals have been eliminated from ecosystems.
A biome approach to plot-based vegetation classification in northern Australia
Read more about A biome approach to plot-based vegetation classification in northern AustraliaIn this seminar, Donna will present a floristic plot-based classification of the Australian tropical savanna biome using a composite of vegetation plot-based data sourced from the Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia governments, TERN, and non-government organisations.
Host–pathogen–microbiome interactions
Read more about Host–pathogen–microbiome interactionsDr Chava Weitzman will discuss the relative ease and challenges of studying emerging diseases in two groups of hosts, tortoises and house finches, each impacted by a bacterial Mycoplasma pathogen.
