EfD Central America arranged two EfD Seminars to share research processes by researchers from North Dakota State University and the University of Idaho. These two events signaled the return of the EfD Seminar series after a pause during the pandemic.
"The aim of the seminars is to provide a platform for disseminating research and exchanging ideas, benefiting both the presenter and the audience," said Pablo Evia, EfD researcher in charge of coordinating the seminars.
"Non-formal and recurrent events like seminars offer additional value by expanding the researchers' network, which can be instrumental in broadening research activities and achieving synergies," he added.
Highly relevant topics
The EfD Seminars took place at the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), the host institution of EfD Central America.
During the first seminar, held on the 3rd of March, Dr. Robert R. Hearne, senior researcher at the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University, shared information about his research project focused on the quality of superficial water in Costa Rica and the treatment of residual waters of selected sources.
On the second one on March 17, Dr. Katherine Lee, associate professor at the University of Idaho, in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, shared the advances of her study valuing biodiversity as part of an ecosystem service to agroecosystems through endogenous production decisions.
Collaborative programs featured in seminars
In the past, EfD Central America organized this type of seminar at the host institution; however, the pandemic interfered with the development. Therefore, organizing this year's EfD Seminars is an important effort to reposition EfD and establish a stable platform for the dissemination and exchange of ideas.
Pablo Evia stated that the EfD Central America coordination team has a goal to broaden the seminar's reach by organizing online or hybrid events and preparing specialized sessions. These sessions will feature the collaborative programs Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCOPE) and the Water Systems subcomponent of The Nature Capital (NatCap), both of which are hosted by EfD Central America.
Written by: Marianela Argüello L.