Our research is developing and assessing solutions to improve agricultural productivity, resilience, and profitability, while also supporting farmers and regulators to mitigate the impacts of agriculture land and water use on our natural environment. Our projects span a range of geographic regions in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and are supported by a range of organisations including the European Commission, UK Research and Innovation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation amongst others. We are committed to open science as part of all of our research, and seek to share the datasets and tools we develop freely with researchers and practitioners. Below you will find a summary of our current funded research projects
IrrEO
Expanding and improving irrigation access is vital for climate adaptation and food security across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet, most SSA countries lack up to date or reliable information about existing irrigation systems or how past investments have influenced changes in irrigation areas. The IrrEO project will leverage advances in Earth Observation (EO) imagery and artificial intelligence algorithms to co-develop a set of data products, algorithms, and software that enable high-resolution mapping of irrigated croplands both now and into the future in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Working with local research teams, IrrEO will use new irrigation mapping data and tools to understand the barriers and opportunities for irrigation development, highlighting investment strategies that deliver better results for small-scale farmers. The project is led by Foster's group at Manchester, supported by a £3M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2025 to 2029.
Irrigation as a Service (IaaS)
A key barrier to irrigation development is the costs of investing in irrigation equipment, along with equity gaps that limit ability of marginalised or women farmers to invest in irrigation and other productivity enhancing technologies. Irrigation as a Service (IaaS) offers solutions for scaling irrigation without requiring farmers to purchase equipment. The IaaS project will investigate critical factors affecting IaaS scalability and sustainability, including testing alternative business models, with the goal of informing strategic investments in targeted regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project is led by the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, with partners including Foster's group at Manchester, the International Water Management Institute, and the International Food Policy Research Institute. The project is supported by a £2.6M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2024 to 2027.
TRANSCEND
Worldwide, there is growing competition over scarce freshwater resources challenged by water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change and socio-economic pressures. TRANSCEND will identify and catalyse the adoption of transformational adaptation policies (TAPs) addressing water scarcity, including innovative and robust allocation systems and economic instruments. The project will develop an ecosystem of innovation comprising a knowledge network for stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing, an actionable modelling suite to integrate interdisciplinary socio-ecological science and ensemble forecasting to guide TAP design, and an accounting and monitoring toolbox supporting TAP implementation and enforcement. TRANSCEND brings together a consortium of over 50 researchers and professionals from 15 universities and institutions across Europe, South America, and Asia, coordinated by IMDEA Water in Spain. Foster's group lead WP3 (Monitoring) as part of the project. TRANSCEND is funded by £4.9M grants from UK Research and Innovation and the European Commission between 2023 and 2026.
Just Earth Observation for Conservation (JEOC)
EO data, derived from technologies such as satellites and drones, are becoming ubiquitous in how conservation actions are designed, managed, and monitored. But EO can also be a source of harm to those living in conservation landscapes. JEOC will transform understanding of the risks and benefits of increased use of EO in conservation, through a unique comparative analysis of conservation landscapes in Guatemala, Spain, Kenya, and the UK. The project is co-led by Foster and Dr Rose Pritchard in the Manchester's Global Development Institute and runs from 2023 to 2028, funded by a £2.2M grant from the UK Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC). 
AquaCrop-OSPy
AquaCrop-OSPy is an open-source model for assessing water and climate risks to agriculture, developed from the AquaCrop model of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). AquaCrop-OS has been used researchers, practitioners, and business in 85+ countries for applications ranging from irrigation management, climate risk assessment, and integrated water system planning. We run training workshops on the use of the model for agricultural water management and policy analysis (e.g., Lincoln, Nebraska, USA), and have developed a range of open-source Jupyter notebooks for common use cases. AquaCrop-OSPy has received support from the University of Manchester, University of Manchester Innovation Factory, UK Research and Innovation, the Grantham Institute, and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.