Future Thinkers' Awards winner Christian-Yves Amato-Ali research explores how reducing food loss through system innovation improves farming systems' climate resilience.
The Future Thinkers' Awards is an initiative led by ACIAR. It was launched in 2022 to enrich PASS-CR scholars' capacity and funding opportunities, empowering them to integrate climate change research into their Masters and PhD projects. Recently, Christian-Yves David Amato-Ali concluded his participation in the Future Thinkers' Awards program, submitting his final report. We are delighted to share Christian's outstanding contributions, which explore the links between food loss and climate resilience within food systems of Samoa, Tonga, and Australia.
Through the support of the Future Thinkers' Award program, Christian undertook a research journey to strengthen farmers' perspectives 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 research was enriched by a range of research skills he developed during the program, notably collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and areas of expertise. Noteworthy among Christian's engagements were his internships with organisations such as the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS), Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation (MORDI) Tonga Trust, and NorVicFoods in Victoria, Australia. Additionally, Christian gained invaluable insights from key-informant interviews with farmers within the Murray Dairy Valley of Victoria, shedding light on the interplay between climate change and its repercussions on agricultural practices, particularly concerning the price and availability of livestock feed in Australia.
The multifaceted study spanning Samoa, Tonga, Australia, and Fiji offered Christian insights into how climate change exacerbates food loss across various supply chain stages, including production, distribution, and consumption. Reflecting on his observations, Christian remarked, "I observed how fluctuations in temperature and humidity can accelerate the decay of taro corms, a phenomenon directly linked to climate change."
Christian commented on the transformative impact of the Future Thinkers' Award on his academic journey, “it’s crucial to acknowledge the pivotal role played by the Future Thinkers’ grant in re-shaping the trajectory of my academic journey.” Due to the extended funding, capacity building, and networking that Christian undertook for his award, he was able to successfully upgrade of his candidacy from a Masters to a PhD program. This upgrade highlights the Future Thinkers' project alignment with Christian's thesis and research goals and underscores the promising long-term benefits for his academic and professional pursuits. Christian is expected to complete his PhD research project by the end of the year.