He will investigate the efficacy of adaptation strategies in
minimizing those effects by combining computer-simulated data with real-world
evidence of farmers’ adaptation behaviors using field data. His NCAR research
project, titled “Climate Change, Adaptation, and Welfare Implications: A Study
of US Agriculture,” is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
A primary goal of the Innovator Program is to address
complex research problems by building partnerships between NCAR scientists and
early career faculty.
“I am very excited and truly honored to receive this grant,
because it would improve our understanding of, and ability to predict,
agricultural impacts of climate change – especially by strengthening a critical
link (currently a weaker link) in the climate-agricultural, production-food
security causal chain–farmer adaptation behavior,” said Lachaud. “Winning this
grant would not have been possible without the motivation and inspiration of my
colleagues, the support of Florida A&M University, CAFS, and especially my
family.”
Lachaud has been at FAMU since 2017, he began his career as
a research assistant and professor at the University of Connecticut where he
earned his Ph.D in Agricultural and Resource Economics on a Fulbright
Scholarship.
Lachaud also received the 2019 Outstanding Young
Professional Award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
(AAEA) in recognition of early career contributions to teaching, research, and
service in agricultural economics and agribusiness.
He was recently selected as a 2021 Innovator in the National
Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Innovator Program.