Investigating the roles of data, digital agriculture and resilience in agricultural performance

PhD (Confirmed 2023): Basharat Ali

Supervisors: Assoc Prof Peter Dahlhaus, Prof Helen Thompson and Dr Nathan Robinson

Research overview

Based on the 2050 projection of agriculture production and the evaluation of environmental impacts of substitute ways to meet the future food demand, it has been established that the environmental implications of meeting this demand depends on the mechanism adopted by global agriculture. Maximisation of yield during a particular season is not the only target to achieve but the soil health and ability to cater the future needs. It’s a balance to achieve between the two desired but incompatible features i.e. temporary profit maximisation and risk evaded long-term business.

Certainly, there are multiple factors associated with agriculture performance. Considering the specific nature of agriculture and other associated factors to it like; increased production demand in future, its “cause and effect” correlation with the climate change, dependency on the natural resources, future environmental, social and agroecological challenges and the importance of agricultural data in today’s world, this research will empirically investigate the moderating and mediating roles of FAIR data and resilience on the relationship between precision conservation agricultural practices and agricultural (operation & business) performance in Australia.