Page - 21 - in options, Volume summer 2018

americas 21 regional focus www.iiasa.ac.at summer 2018 ◼ options Crowdsourcing has become a popular method for politicians, social groups, and private businesses to engage people. In the social media age, businesses and other groups can quickly, effectively, and inexpensively collect information, opinions, and even money from a wide audience that was previously inaccessible. Now, scientists have utilized the power of crowdsourcing in a new app that aims to empower farmers in Mexico with comprehensive, real-time data that will hopefully lead to increased crop yields. The Agrotur app allows farmers to register parcels of land and log relevant agronomic information such as crop management practices and yield performance to share with others. Collaboratively produced by IIASA and the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico, the Agrotur app relies on user-supplied data. Once basic information is entered, the app provides users with crop- and location-specific information on weather, yields, income, utilities, and costs. The app features both historical data and forecasts, which will help farmers to better prepare for planting and fertilizing crops. By allowing users to contribute detailed information on soil characteristics and agricultural management, the app’s creators hope that the app’s future recommendations will become even smarter. “Sustainable intensification of agricultural production is key to achieving food security while avoiding environmental damage due to As crude oil production from shale in North America has increased, so too have spills from rail accidents as the railways bear the extra burden from an insufficient pipeline network. A new model developed at IIASA with collaborators at Johns Hopkins University, can help determine the best crude oil transport policies to reduce the risk. Unlike previous analyses of domestic oil supply and demand, the North American Crude Oil Model (NACOM) is a multimodal partial-equilibrium model that can look at the interplay between available transport modes including pipelines, rail networks, river-going barges, and ships. The researchers compared four scenarios using NACOM: one in which rail flows from some areas are restricted, one with increased pipeline capacity, one in which the crude export ban is lifted (the analysis was started before the ban was lifted in 2016), and one in which all three measures are implemented. excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides,” explains Juan Carlos Laso Bayas, a researcher in the IIASA Earth Observation and Citizen Science Center. “The Agrotutor app aims to disseminate best agricultural practices to farmers in a tailored and timely manner, with specific recommendations suitable for geo-located parcels and crops.” JS Crowdsourcing information to help farmers in Mexico increase crop yields Further info Oke O, Huppmann D, Marshall M, Poulton R, & Siddiqui S (2018). Multimodal Transportation Flows in Energy Networks with an Application to Crude Oil Markets. Networks and Spatial Economics. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/15106] Daniel Huppmann huppmann@iiasa.ac.at Removing the export ban increases rail flows, while pipeline investment reduces them. It was however the combination of methods that resulted in the lowest rail flows, the lowest environmental and safety risks, and the greatest revenues for operators. “Looking at one mode only when assessing risks and regional price effects for crude oil and products may be misleading, because efficient markets will just divert production and flows to other regions or modes of transport in response to new policies and regulations. The work is a good illustration that a mix of policies often yields the best outcome in complex and interdependent systems,” says Daniel Huppmann, one of the researchers who worked on the project. HT Further info www.iiasa.ac.at/projects/Agri-Support Juan Carlos Laso Bayas lasobaya@iiasa.ac.at Mitigating risks from crude-by-rail transportation