Hanoi, June 19th 2013 – MDRI continued its monthly development workshop series by a roundabout discussion named “Changes in Greeness Index, a proxy for agricultural productivity in Vietnam”
The workshop attracted international experts as well as Vietnamese specialists and policymakers on geography, agriculture and development. This time, MDRI was delighted to welcome a special guest speaker: Mr. Magnus Andersson, assistant professor from Lund University.
The discussion started by a delivering speech about overall picture of agricultural productivity in Vietnam. From satellite-based perspective, the guest speaker introduced the application of satellite images in topography and agriculture. Information obtained through regular satellite images taken over times can be used to calculate Greeness Index, which associates with a number of different environmental characteristics and is particularly useful in studying economic development. He explained its advantages as well as constraint and demonstrated its potential application in Vietnam, which covered a wide range of areas, from environmental monitoring to agricultural productivity study.
This approach received substantial attention from both academic scholars and policymakers. The debate focused on clarifying the characteristics of the index and how the concept could fit in Vietnamese condition. Throughout the debate, the workshop had provided many interesting opinions and valuable insights, which can be helpful for policymakers in shaping future policies and planning development programs and for companies in improving agricultural productivity.