Digital & ICT for Agriculture
A "moonshot" challenge that I'm working on is how to unlock the potential for big data in agriculture through digital platforms and crowdsourcing. With unprecedented computing power and machine learning tools available, technical capability is no longer the major limiting factor to enabling customized, data-driven decision-making for farmers. Rather, it is the ability to get useful and reliable agricultural data at scale. Farmers are often wary of sharing data that would be useful for such applications. What incentivizes farmers to share data? What data-driven services can create a positive feedback loop and overcome the chicken-and-egg problem common in digital platforms seeking to reach "big data" scale in order to deliver valuable services?
Agriculture, the Environment and Farmers
What is the relationship between agricultural production and environmental health (soil, water, air, etc). How much do environmental considerations shape farmer decisions? Do emerging incentives such as carbon credits impact farmer behavior and encourage adoption of nature-based practices?
My research uses multidisciplinary approaches to solve problems in the farm-food-environment nexus. I use tools from agricultural, environmental and development economics to explore technology adoption, the impact of agriculture on the environment, and the potential of digital technologies to accelerate development, especially in the agriculture sector.
I have worked on solving drinking water challenges in rural Zambia, environmental pollution of two transboundary Israeli-Palestinian waterways, and marketing and advisory challenges among smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Experience
Current
Host, the Feeding Adam Podcast
This weekly podcast is about food, farming and our unending search for Eden. I talk to experts in regenerative agriculture, homesteading and agtech to explore solutions and trends in global food production.
Board Member, Harvard Alumni for Agriculture and Food
I help with outreach and networking activities for the group's 2,000+ alumni members in the agriculture and food sector.
Previous
7/2018 - 10/2022, Business Development, Precision Development
PxD is a fast-growing non-profit based out of Profs. Michael Kremer and Shawn Cole's original research operating in 10 developing countries, working to deliver information, such as high-quality agronomic advice, to millions of smallholder farmers through mobile phones.
1/2017 - 4/2020, CEO & Founder, Farmster
Farmster is a digital platform that links smallholder farmers with local buyers of produce, without requiring internet access. Using an SMS Chatbot powered by natural language programming, farmers can publish their expected harvests, along with their general location, to an App that local buyers can use to find and connect with them.
6/2015 - 11/2017, Postdoctoral Researcher, UC San Diego
I worked with Prof. Jen Burney on several development projects in Zimbabwe, including the Bill $& Melinda Gates Foundation-funded "Farm Buddy" project, for which I was principal investigator.
Education
2008 - 2012, PhD, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
My doctoral research combined multiple disciplines (economics, hydrology, environmental science, agriculture, and policy) to investigate the global drinking water challenge in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, and formulate solutions for "economic water scarcity". The thesis title is "Decision support system for assessing full cost recovery of water development in rural Africa."
2006 - 2008, MSc, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
I studied water resources and management, and my thesis investigated economic demand for environmental improvements to two transboundary streams crossing Palestinian (West Bank) and Israeli populations.
2000 - 2004, AB, Harvard University
Environmental science and public policy
2023-2025 (ongoing), Israel Ministry of Science, "Artificial Intelligence-based Decision Support System to Inform Crop Choices", 500,000 NIS
Scientific Publications
A tale of two rivers: Pathways for improving water management in the Jordan and Colorado River basins
Volume 112, Part A, January 2015, Pages 109-123
Decision support system for economic assessment of water improvements in remote, low-resource settings
Outlining a transition from cost-effective to productive rural water service improvements
Exploring parameter effects on the economic outcomes of groundwater-based developments in remote, low-resource settings
Volume 514, 6 June 2014, Pages 15-29