By Ricky Robertson (IFPRI)
During the week of April 20 to 24, many of the crop modelers and social scientists for the Global Futures and Strategic Foresight program gathered at ICRISAT for a continuation of the previous training conducted in January. The participants reviewed the basics of running the Mink gridded crop modeling system, then learned more advanced techniques and worked on issues of direct interest to their research.
Compared to the January training, participant representation in this session broadened across several dimensions. Representatives came from CGIAR centers (CIMMYT, CIP, ICARDA, ICRISAT and IFPRI), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) and the University of Florida. The crops investigated included chickpeas, groundnuts, maize, potatoes, rice, soybeans and wheat. Additionally, better gender balance was achieved with four female participants out of a total of twelve participants. This mix of representation allowed for continued strengthening of both official and unofficial linkages between institutions.
Participants from left to right: Kindie Tesfaye (CIMMYT), Mariella Carbajal (CIP), Thanasis Petsakos (CIP), Rubi Raymundo (University of Florida), Ricky Robertson (IFPRI), K. Bhuvaneswari (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), Sika Gbegbelgbe (CIMMYT), G. Srinivas (PJTSAU), S. Nedumaran (ICRISAT) Prakash Dixit (ICARDA), D. Krishna Kumar (TNAU)) Dakshina Murthy Kadiyala (ICRISAT).
