Date: Wednesday 17 July 2024
Time: 10.30am-12.30pm (lunch will follow presentations)
Venue: The University of Western Australia, Science Common Room, Agriculture Central Building

Annually, the UWA Institute of Agriculture hosts an industry forum. The forum is a half day event attracting growers, researchers, and the wider industry. This year the event will be on Wednesday 17 July and the theme for the forum is: ‘Can agriculture reach Net Zero?’

RAID Network and Crawford Fund WA, in collaboration with Ag Institute Australia, will be hosting a networking event prior to the industry forum to take advantage of agricultural researchers/students who may attend the industry forum, as well as provide a networking opportunity for UWA students and affiliates who are interested in research in agriculture for international development. Two researchers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Balwinder Singh and Hasnein Tareque, will present on their research related to agricultural development internationally.
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SPEAKERS

Hasnein Tareque

Hasnein is an experienced researcher and technology leader with a proven track record spanning over 20+ years in R&D, specializing in climate and system modelling, and geospatial data science. He has adeptly applied data analytics, decision support tools, and AI to address complex challenges. In leadership roles, Hasnein has steered research teams across global scientific institutions, contributing his expertise to diverse industries such as mining, environment, and agri-anlytics. His extensive experience includes managing research projects, conducting modelling and geo-statistical analyses, and leading studies on environmental and agricultural management issues. Throughout his research career, Hasnein has been dedicated to developing sustainable solutions tailored for end-users and stakeholders, emphasizing the integration of technology for improved governance and the sustainable utilisation of finite resources.

Balwinder Singh

Balwinder (Bally) is experienced system modeler, aiming to use system models in an intelligent way to explore the profitability, sustainability, and risk reduction potential of technological options under contemporary and future climate scenarios. Bally has more than 15 years’ experience of to provide leadership for agricultural research for development projects in Australia and South Asia that aim to build climate resilience and environmental sustainability while enhancing profitability and productivity. The thematic focus of project he led ranges from developing precision farming concept for smallholders to strategies for coping with climate variability, optimizing tradeoffs at the food-energy-water nexus, and developing ‘big data’ reconnaissance networks and geospatial analysis for technology targeting and investment prioritization. His core technical skills include field agronomy, cropping system modelling, and environmental information systems to enhance decision-making in agriculture. Bally served as valued member of global initiatives such as Agricultural Model Intercomparison Project (AgMIP), CGIAR Excellence in Agronomy (EiA), CGIAR Digital Systems initiative, Global Yield Gap Atlas (GYGA) which aim to apply, and share, state-of-the-art knowledge and analytical methods to climate change and agronomy and sustainability challenges. He has secured research grant funding from prestigious funding agencies like GRDC, CRCs, ACIAR, AUSAid, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, UKAID. Balwinder has authored more than 50 papers in high impact journals including Nature, Science, Global Change Biology.