Dr. Melinda R.S. Moata
Senior Lecturer, Kupang State Agricultural Polytechnic, Indonesia
Dr. Moata holds a PhD in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management from the University of Adelaide, Australia. She has taught and researched at Kupang State Agricultural Polytechnic for more than twenty years specializing in circular economy modelling, dryland management systems, soil sciences, agroforestry and climate-smart agriculture.
Dr. Moata has spear-headed international collaboration, founding the living lab. water Consortium which includes members from Netherlands, Indonesia, Government and NGOs. She has also founded the Climate Smart Agriculture Consortium with Adelaide University, Crawford Fund - Australia, Politani Kupang-Indonesia, government and NGOs.
She leads several programs that collaborate with local NGO’s and institutions working towards climate change adaptation including under NUFFIC (Tailor Made Training in Towards successful partnership on Climate adaptation for food security in East Nusa Tenggara). Dr. Moata is becoming an agricultural consultant for community development based on agro-edutourism in rural villages in West Timor - Indonesia.
Dr. Moata is concerned with deepening the links between academic research, government, NGOs and front-line farmers. As an academic she recognizes the need to understand and work together with farmers to ensure that the best research is able to make a positive impact on the livelihoods of people in Indonesia.
From The GEAReD Blog …
Leveraging Women’s Social Capital
Dr Melinda R. S. Moata is interested in how women use their social capital to achieve food security during crises. She wants to develop a model for optimising women’s social capital to enhance food system resilience in the Nusa Tenggara Timur province in southern Indonesia.
Compassion, Collaboration and COVID-19
Meryl Williams Fellow Dr Melinda Moata is a senior lecturer at State Agricultural Polytechnic of Kupang, Melinda is one of the first Meryl William Fellows and describes her participation in an intensive Gender Equity in Agriculture Research for Development (GEAReD) workshop at UNE in February as "life-changing".