Future Thinkers' Awards recognises Christian-Yves David Amato-Ali's success at addressing climate impacts through agricultural research
The Future Thinkers' Awards program is pleased to share the outstanding work that Christian-Yves David Amato-Ali has achieved so far. Under the project titled "Reducing food loss in Tonga Taro farming systems through Taro system innovation," Christian has made significant progress in his research and implementation efforts.
The Future Thinkers’ Award has given Christian an opportunity to strengthen farmers' perspectives on food chain systems by providing a platform to share their knowledge and experiences, and by examining the regional landscape of both on-farm and postharvest management to combat food loss.
Christian's internship placements in Samoa and Tonga, each lasting three weeks, have provided invaluable practical experience. During his work placement with SROS in Samoa and environmental NGO MORDI TT in Tonga, Christian engaged with stakeholders and taro farmers, conducted surveys with farmers on Tongatapu and Upolu, and witnessed various commendable projects. The work placements Christian-Yves engaged in through the Future Thinkers’ Awards have had a transformative impact on his research path. These valuable experiences have not only broadened the scope of his research but also reshaped the structure of his thesis, augmenting it with three additional chapters.
Significant headway has been made on Christian's thesis, with several chapters already completed. His research work has garnered attention, resulting in the acceptance and presentation of one of his abstracts at the esteemed 1st Family Farming, Lifestyle, and Health in the Pacific Conference in Vanuatu. Christian has also received positive reviews and valuable recommendations for further presentations to the Ministry of Agriculture in Tonga based on his fieldwork findings.
Throughout his journey, Christian-Yves has embraced the opportunities provided by the Future Thinkers' Awards, which have enabled him to cultivate a range of skills that have been crucial to his success. He emphasises the importance of project management, budgeting and financial management, communication and networking, and flexibility and adaptability. By remaining open to new perspectives and readily adjusting his research approach, Christian-Yves has successfully overcome obstacles and capitalised on emerging opportunities.
Christian's Future Thinkers' Award emphasises capacity building and collaboration. As part of his award, he will be undertaking internships at the University of Melbourne and UniSC in Australia over the next three months, allowing him to explore how farmers achieve resilience in their systems and compare their practices with those in Samoa and Tonga, broadening the scope of his research project and deepening his expertise.
The Future Thinkers' Awards program looks forward to sharing updates on Christian's continued progress. For more information about the Future Thinkers' Awards and Christian's research project, please visit https://www.passcrprogram.com/passcr-future-thinkers-initiative