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Dr Rieko Shibata

Dr Rieko Shibata portrait

Specialism

Rural and agricultural development

Research in agricultural development, mainly PICSA (Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture)

Areas of interest

  • Smallholder farmers’ decision-making in innovation processes
  • Rural and agricultural innovation systems and extension
  • Inclusivity of innovations and systems
  • Gender and intrahousehold decision-making and bargaining processes in agriculture
  • Adaptation and resilience to climate variability and change
  • Smallholder farmers’ knowledge and information systems and social learning processes
  • Rural poverty, livelihoods and vulnerabilities
  • Sustainable intensification and land use consolidation
  • Institutions and coordination in agricultural value-chains
  • Systems thinking and transdisciplinary approach
  • Policy implications, Linkages between research and development policy/practice

Research centres and groups

-Department of International Development, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Research projects

- Digital Climate Services for Smallholder Farmers in Zambia and Malawi (E-PICSA). Funded by GIZ (2022-2024)

Background

Rieko is a social science researcher and a development practitioner with over 20 years of experiences in rural and agricultural development as well as post-conflict transition in East African and Caribbean regions, particularly in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Suriname. She previously worked at both bilateral and multilateral development cooperation organisations such as JICA and UNDP, and managed and coordinated a number of agriculture, environment and nutrition programs and projects at national policy level as well as community level including fishing, agro-pastoral and forest communities.

Rieko completed her PhD at the University of Reading, with a theme of “Understanding the dynamics and diversity of smallholder farmers’ innovation processes and Agricultural Innovation Systems (AISs) in Uganda”. In 2022, she joined School of Agriculture, Policy and Development as a postdoctoral researcher, and is currently working for further development and digitalisation of PICSA approach alongside Professor Peter Dorward and Dr. Graham Clarkson. Her current research covers climate services for smallholder farmers in Malawi and Zambia.

Academic qualifications

  • PhD in Livelihoods from University of Reading, UK
  • MSc in Agricultural Economics from SOAS, UK
  • MA in International Cooperation Studies from University of Kobe, JAPAN

Publications

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