A STORY OF TALENT: SANT’ANNA SCHOOL economics doctoral sTUDENT RECEIVES BCFN barilla foundation GRANT FOR improving soil productivity in Ethiopia

Martina Ocelli is the only Italian doctoral student being named a recipient of the “BCFN Yes! 2018” research grant awarded by the Barilla Foundation at the International Forum on Food and Nutrition.  As a grant recipient, Ocelli had the opportunity to be featured as a presenter for her project “The silent revolution: how smallholder farmers’ collective knowledge is shaping soil productivity in Ethiopia”. The 20,000 euros grant will support her research and professional development related to climate change adaptation and new strategies for food security.

In her study, Martina Ocelli gathered data from the Ethiopian region of Gera Gera (Amhara) and Hagere Selam (Tigray) among 300 households. Adopting genetic, agronomic and economic knowledge, it ensures a highly innovative and systemic methodology to evaluate how societal knowledge affects a set of rural performances and enhances small-scale farming responses to climate impact and rural productivity.