On the afternoon of December 15, Professor You Liangzhi, Director of the Macro Agricultural Research Institute (MARI) at Huazhong Agricultural University, presented a talk titled “Unlocking Insights from the Sky: Machine Learning for Welfare Mapping in Myanmar” at the MARI Seminar.

Professor You Liangzhi introduced the research, which focuses on using machine learning methods to fill knowledge gaps regarding poverty and welfare indicators in geographic areas not covered by surveys. The study leverages high-frequency survey data, high-resolution imagery, and other geospatial data collected by the Myanmar Agricultural Policy Support Organization (MAPSA) to train machine learning algorithms. These algorithms generate timely predictions on welfare indicators in Myanmar and provide targeted resource allocation orientations and policy recommendations.

During the interactive session, Professor You Liangzhi explained the criteria for selecting welfare indicators and elaborated on the impact of time on the dataset and the quantification process. He also engaged in discussions with faculty members on the differences in research approaches between natural sciences and economics.