Hassnain Shah
01 Sep 2018

Shah will focus his research on the ‘Economics of Critical Moments–Adaptations in Agriculture in the Himalaya Mountains and Floodplains”. The study intends to analyse crop-specific critical moments (CM) and time-specific climate hazards that pose vulnerabilities at different stages of a given crop cycle and affect farmers’ livelihood.

Developing evidence of CM from literature and field studies from three agro-ecologies across the Indus Basin in Pakistan through:

  • estimations of their impacts on livelihoods,
  • assessment of farmers’ adaptation choices within the context of their adaptive capacity, and
  • measurements of their impacts under different climate scenarios, is expected to support efforts in climate-resilient farming.

The research on CMs will be the entry point for the appraisal and classification of adaptation options and for the pathways and the inclusion of stakeholders’ adaptive capacities. Estimates of losses due to CMs and their thresholds will be further explored through crop-simulation modelling to predict potential vulnerabilities under different scenarios for the prioritisation of adaptation measures. Proposed activities of the studies are designed to integrate top-down and bottom-up climate research by incorporating information on field-level vulnerabilities in scenario simulations. The study is targeted at improving resilience at the production level.

After completing his MSc (Hons) in Agricultural Economics from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Shah started his research career in 1999 as a Research Associate at the same university, followed by a short assignment at International Water Management Institute, Lahore, as a Research Assistant in a project on conjunctive water management.