AgMIP Women-Led Agricultural Modeling Community
AgMIP Women-Led Community Webinar Launch
November 16, 2026, 10:00-11:15 AM ET
AgMIP’s Women-Led Agricultural Modeling Community aims to attract and empower women in agricultural modeling, especially early-career scientists, by strengthening their expertise, fostering a more diverse and inclusive field, and supporting members as they navigate challenges specific to women and non-binary scientists.
Speaker Bios
Dr. Dilys MacCarthy
University of Ghana
Dilys S. MacCarthy is a Professor of Plant Nutrition at the University of Ghana and a former Head of Soil & Irrigation Research Centre at the University. She obtained her bachelor degree in Natural Resources Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. Her Masters and PhD degrees were obtained at the University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Her background is Plant Nutrition, Soil Fertility and Agronomy. Her research focuses on integrated nutrient management in cereals under smallholder systems. She is also involved in climate change risk and impact assessment in smallholder systems in West Africa and leads the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) West African team. She serves as editorial board member for three peer review journals namely; Frontiers in Food Systems, Forest and Agricultural Meteorology and CABI Agriculture and Biosciences and reviews manuscripts for several reputable international journals.
Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University
Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig is Senior Research Scientist at NASA GISS, Adjunct Senior Research Scientist at the Columbia University Climate School and a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Barnard College. She heads the Climate Impacts Group at NASA GISS whose mission is to investigate the interactions of climate (both variability and change) on systems and sectors important to human well-being. In 2019, Dr. Rosenzweig was Coordinating Lead Author of the Food Security Chapter for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land. She was named as the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate.
Dr. Heidi Webber
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Brandenburg University of Technology
Dr. Heidi Webber is a system agronomist with a focus on climate risk management in the context of smallholder farming systems. Her research uses a combination of on-farm experimentation, process-based crop model improvement and model-based climate risk and change impact assessments at field, farm and regional scales. Her model development expertise is in the consideration of multiple abiotic stressors on crop growth, particularly the interaction of temperature and drought stress controlling canopy temperature. Her research also explores the integration of bio-physical and bio-economic modelling approaches to assess climate risk to cropping systems. Heidi co-leads the Agricultural Landscape Systems’ Research Area at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and holds the Professorship of Integrated Crop System Analysis and Modelling at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany.
Main Contacts for Initiative
Madina Diancoumba: madina.diancoumba@zalf.de/ dinasira.dianc@gmail.com
Natalie Kozlowski: njk2153@columbia.edu
Heidi Webber: webber@zalf.de
Dilys MacCarthy : dmaccarthy@ug.edu.gh
Cynthia Rosenzweig: crr2@columbia.edu
Brief Description of the Community
The Women-led Community aims to attract and empower women in agricultural modeling, especially early-career scientists, by strengthening their expertise and fostering a more diverse and inclusive field. Scientific output has been shown to be partly related to the size of a scientist’s collaboration network, making access to strong professional networks essential for building a lasting career. By offering mentorship programs, providing support networks to help overcome professional challenges as well as those linked to family responsibilities such as motherhood and caregiving, and increasing the visibility of women in agricultural modeling, this initiative will equip women with the confidence, knowledge and skills needed to succeed and remain in the field. The Community will build on AgMIP’s inclusive culture by supporting members as they navigate challenges specific to women and non-binary scientists.
Objectives
- Pair up early-career researchers with more experienced ones for guidance and support
- Make women’s research and contributions more visible in the field of agricultural modelling
- Connect women partners for joint research and projects
- Share job and funding opportunities, conferences, and other useful resources
AgMIP6 in Montpellier, France, 2016
AgMIP7 in San José, Costa Rica, 2018
Who Are We?
We are a group of female scientists from the agricultural domains, working in research institutions and universities in different countries. We have been using, applying or developing crop models and related tools for many years, to study how crops respond to climate, soil, water and management, and to support decisions in farming and policy. Our backgrounds cover agronomy, plant physiology, soil science, agrometeorology, agricultural economics and data science. We came together to share knowledge and experience, strengthen collaboration across countries and disciplines, and make the work and expertise of women in crop modelling more visible.
Whom Do We Target?
We welcome women at all career stages who work with, or want to learn about, crop models and agricultural modelling, from students and early-career researchers to established scientists. We especially want to reach younger scientists who are looking to learn directly from senior colleagues through exchange, mentoring and hands-on work. We also aim to support women who need more visibility for their research, want to build their professional network, or are looking for guidance and encouragement in their careers.