Dr. Johnny LangfordA recent recruit in the Agribusiness Research stream Griffith Asia Institute (GAI), funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Knowledge Partnership Program.
The research will develop computer-vision and machine-gravity tools to conduct ground-truth of production assessments using satellite imagery analysis, oceanographic measurements and farm production diaries to monitor seaweed production, and explore community perceptions of climate variability and their resilience strategies to identify interventions. .
Seaweed farming is Indonesia’s largest marine aquaculture industry, but the variability of sea conditions and the impact of rainfall on seaweed production mean that it is an industry characterized by risk. Because seasonal patterns are difficult to predict, widespread seaweed mortality and significant losses of production are becoming more common, affecting the 62,000 coastal households currently involved in the industry.
„Despite the importance of seaweed farming for coastal livelihoods, accurate national production data by location and month is not available, which hinders evidence-based policy making. Satellite imagery is well established for monitoring land-use change, but is not yet feasible for marine aquaculture except in small areas,” Dr. Langford said in a press release. said.
He added: „Our multidisciplinary team has expertise in machine learning, agricultural economics, remote sensing, qualitative and quantitative social research and biophysical research required for an integrated approach.”
Dr Langford is a new addition to the GAI agribusiness team and has recently been awarded a post-graduate fellowship for a project examining technology-driven change in Indonesia and the Pacific.