J-PAL launches new agriculture lab in Morocco
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) partner to launch the UM6P - J-PAL Agricultural Lab for Africa (UJALA).
Tavneet Suri, co-chair of agriculture at J-PAL, says, "UJALA will further J-PAL’s agenda in agriculture by working with key private sector partners on the African continent to conduct rigorous research aimed at improving food security for small-scale farmers, scale successful programs, and broadly use evidence in decision-making. Through this collaboration, we will address gaps in the policy and research landscapes on topics critical to food security for low-income individuals across sub-Saharan Africa."
Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director of J-PAL, notes “J-PAL is committed to finding solutions to the most pressing issues facing our world and society; food security, agriculture, and climate are chief among these, making this partnership important and timely. With the launch of UJALA, we look forward to extending our partnership with UM6P to build new research for African agriculture.”
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT has announced that it is partnering with University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) to form the UM6P-J-PAL Agricultural Lab for Africa.
Hosted at UM6P in Morocco, the lab will work to design and implement rigorous impact evaluations of policies and programmes that improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership was announced on the sidelines of the recent World Bank Group annual meetings in Marrakech.
With an initial grant from the OCP Foundation, the UM6P-J-PAL Agricultural Lab for Africa (UJALA) will fund research that rigorously evaluates agricultural technologies and practices that are designed to increase small-scale farmers’ food security, productivity, and profitability. Randomised evaluations will be conducted across sub-Saharan Africa with a clear goal to scale up effective programs. UJALA will be chaired by MIT Sloan School of Business Professor and J-PAL Agriculture Sector Co-Chair Tavneet Suri.