Today we welcome the esteemed Nicholas Brozovic, Director of Policy at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. Our host Adrian delves into the critical work of the Daugherty Institute, focusing on research, policy development, communication, and education to address the complex challenges surrounding water use and food security. With a growing global population and climate change intensifying weather extremes, access to water for irrigation becomes pivotal for maintaining food security.
Nicholas shares practical examples of the Institute's work, from supporting smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to collaborating with ag-tech startups in the United States. The Institute's interdisciplinary approach, combining engineers, agronomists, economists, political scientists, journalists, and artists, reflects the complexity of water and food issues.
The conversation explores the challenges of ag-tech adoption, validating new technologies to meet farmers' needs, and managing risk exposure. Nicholas highlights the significance of behavioral science in promoting sustainable practices and the delicate balance between education and regulation to drive positive change in water management.
The episode also sheds light on California's water dilemma, where stringent policies have sparked innovation to optimize water usage and prioritize the most productive applications.
As we unravel the critical role of technology in managing water resources, Nick's insights leave us inspired and eager to embrace innovative solutions for a more sustainable agricultural future. Join us
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Nicholas Brozovic -
Zac Gazit -
Asad Sarwar Qureshi -
Adriano Battilani
- Climate change and population growth pose challenges to maintaining food security, and access to water for irrigation is crucial.
- The institute works on research, policy development, communication, and education to improve water and food security.
- The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute was founded in 2010 at the University of Nebraska, focusing on water and food security worldwide.
In this series
He has over twenty years of experience working on water management issues worldwide. Nicholas strives to influence the way managers, decision makers and funders view and implement policies to sustain water use in agriculture. He and his team partner with many kinds of stakeholders to understand, test and validate new technologies and business models. He has mentored a growing community of students and young professionals dedicated to improving water and food security globally.
Zac Gazit is constantly looking for ways to combine his passion for technology and innovation with his desire to make our world a better place. His experience in developing and growing high technology companies and his work with internationally renowned companies led him to start ALVÁTECH, an award winning AgTech company that is rapidly growing worldwide. Zac is a keen advocate of green change and is working with governments and organizations to make a global impact and form a green legacy.
Before joining the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in 2014, he worked at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in different scientific and management capacities in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Central Asia, and Bangladesh. He has about 30 years of experience in action research aimed at finding agronomic and engineering solutions geared towards mitigating the incipient water logging and salinity problems of irrigated areas and developing conservation strategies for the water-scarce regions of the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Central Asia.
A member of the Director’s staff and appointed representative by EU Institutions and international organizations of the Italian National Association of Land protection and Irrigation Consortia (ANBI), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Euro-Mediterrannean Irrigators Community (EIC). He has more than 40 years of experience as researcher and project manager in the fields of irrigation, fertigation and cropping system’s sustainability. Since 1990, he has been involved as principal scientist in EU research projects and as scientific responsible for projects financed by public bodies and private institutions, industries and stakeholders.
