MRPI
Categories: Collaborative
Funded in 2021 by the University of California Office of the President Multi-Campus Research Program Initiative, the Labor and Automation in California Agriculture (LACA) assembles interdisciplinary researchers to solve food system resilience and human-centered agriculture technology to transform the workforce and environment of the future. This MRPI includes researchers from University of California Merced, Berkeley, Davis, and Riverside.
The LACA team is focused on four research thrusts:
- AgTech: developing cutting-edge technology systems to monitor and manage resources and applications
- Labor Impacts: engaging socio-economic factors for incorporation of new technologies
- Environmental Impacts: create an agricultural model that incorporates data from AgTech for more sustainable farming practices
- Underlying and Emerging Problems: deals with policy and labor related issues that may arise during the course of the LACA research
LACA offers day camps for middle school students. The day camps include STEM activities (based on the CITRIS Robotics curriculum) and are coordinated by the LACA Education Director in collaboration with a non-profit educational outreach organization 4Venir.org, founded by UCM graduate students for children of migrant workers.