A new effort led from UC Davis is seeking to build on prior USAID-supported research in Nepal to deliver an innovative set of financial tools to small-scale women farmers to reduce their risk of losing crops to weather- and climate-related shocks.

MRR Innovation Lab researchers have developed and tested an economic measure of resilience that quantifies it using commonly available data. This measure makes it possible to identify which households are most vulnerable to shocks and to compare how well different development programs strengthen resilience.

In this Q&A, MRR Innovation Lab principal investigator Mo Alloush discusses some of the relationships between mental health and income, including the kinds of development programming that can support people struggling with both poverty and depression.

MRR Innovation Lab director Michael Carter and his co-authors have just received the Robert I. Mehr Award for their paper that described the technical design for a novel insurance for pastoralist communities in East Africa.

A nutrition-sensitive program in rural Bangladesh improved dietary diversity before major shocks struck participating communities. The research team is conducting a new study to learn whether those benefits sustained and if the program generated resilience.

Two MRR Innovation Lab projects are conducting research to learn more about nutrition, both how to reinforce it and whether nutrition-related programming strengthens household resilience.

Researchers from across the globe converged in Atlanta, Georgia from May 24-25, 2023 to share their work in progress at this year’s MRR Innovation Lab Technical meeting.

In this Q&A, MRR Innovation Lab associate director Tara Chiu outlines some of the key ideas that underpin a powerful business case for insurance companies and microfinance institutions to invest in the future of risk-management tools for smallholder farmers.

New MRR research in Zambia shows that a budgeting activity can stretch maize-farming families' savings, reducing the severity and duration of the hungry season while also unlocking the means to invest more in generating larger crop yields the following year.

Research in Kenya is generating insights on practical ways to encourage farmers to learn about the condition of their soils and appropriate amendments that can increase yields.