MSU assistant professor is using smart solutions in agriculture to combat changes from climate change
Print
EmailDaniel Uyeh wants to continue to develop smart solutions to combat challenges from climate change.
Published: January 19, 2023
Farmers are faced with the impacts of climate change. They used to depend on historical knowledge to make farm decisions, but climate change is forcing them to adapt more quickly to changes.
Daniel Uyeh, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) and wants to continue to develop smart solutions to combat challenges from climate change. Uyeh joined Michigan State University (MSU)'s BAE Department in January 2023.
Uyeh has always known academia was his career choice. He was inspired by his father, who was a vocational teacher in Nigeria during Uyeh's childhood. Uyeh began his academic career in South Korea, where his research supported his exploration of his idea of developing smart solutions in agriculture caused by the impact of climate change. Climate change has brought about many changes in a short period, such as erratic weather patterns. This led to research and later publications and the creation of livestock feed ration algorithms.
Growing up in rural Nigeria, said Uyeh where my dad was a teacher of vocational skills and agriculture is the predominant industry inspired me to pursue an education that would enable me to solve problems in the food value chain.
These feed ration algorithms are designed to give the producer a higher level of control over variables, such as what reduction in cost or feed efficacy is allowed. This would allow a producer to fine-tune their ration.
Our data-driven research which would include artificial intelligence, sensing systems, and system modeling, would be adopted to develop climate-smart decision support systems. said Uyeh. These systems could help improve agricultural decision-making and precision in the application of inputs thereby leading toward better adaptation and resilience to climate change by reducing emissions while promoting profitability and overall sustainability.
This impacts many producers worldwide, especially where many feed components are imported due to a lack of land or poor growing conditions. By giving farmers the capability to fine-tune their ration with what is available or cost-effective, they can still produce a ration that meets their needs without sacrificing cost or efficacy.
