Violet Lasdun
PhD Candidate in Environmental Economics, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
Biography
Violet is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Economics, working on a project to support public sector seed development with the Alliance of Diversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a CGIAR research canter. Using a novel phenotyping technology developed by Mineral at Google X, Violet is investigating the interactions between farmer management decisions, climate, and crop variety performance. Her research is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Supervisors: Dr Charlie Palmer, Prof Ben Groom.
When not in London, Violet is based in Arusha, Tanzania, where she works with crop breeders developing climate-smart varieties targeted to smallholder production environments. Before joining the London School of Economics, Violet completed an MSc in Agricultural Economics at McGill University in Montreal, where she developed and tested a digital platform for farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing in Tanzania. She also has a BA in Philosophy and Economics from McGill University, and spent a semester studying Philosophy at Kyoto University in Japan.
Awards
Mitacs Research Training Award.
McBurney Latin America Award.
Positions Held
Senior MEL Associate – One Acre Fund Tanzania
Research interests
Violet’s research interested include:
- Carbon-negative agriculture
- Soil stewardship
- Technology adoption
- Sustainable intensification in smallholder farming systems
- Participatory AI
Key Publications
COVID-19, climate shocks, and food security linkages: evidence and perceptions from smallholder farming communities in Tanzania.
Environment and Development Economics (2022)
Peer Learning in a Digital Farmer-to-Farmer Network: Effects on Technology Adoption and Self-Efficacy Beliefs (working paper).
Social Science Research Network – PRE-PRINT
