Violet is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Economics, working on a project to support public sector seed development with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a CGIAR research center. She is investigating the interactions between farmer management decisions, climate, and crop variety performance, using a novel phenotyping technology developed by Mineral at Google X. When not in London, Violet is based in Arusha, Tanzania, where she works with crop breeders developing climate-smart varieties targeted to smallholder production environments. Her research is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Before LSE, Violet completed an MSc in Agricultural Economics at McGill University, where her research looked at  information sharing in a digital farmer-to-farmer network. She also has a BA from McGill University in Philosophy and Economics, and spent a semester studying philosophy at Kyoto University in Japan. Her interests include carbon-negative agriculture, soil stewardship, and technology adoption and sustainable intensification in smallholder farming systems. 

Research interests

- Carbon-negative agriculture
- Public sector seed systems
- Agriculture extension
- Technology adoption
- Integrated soil fertility management

Publications
Lasdun, Violet, et al. "COVID-19, climate shocks, and food security linkages: evidence and perceptions from smallholder farming communities in Tanzania." Environment and Development Economics (2022): 1-19. Read paper. 

Lasdun V., Harou A., Magomba C., Guerena D. (2022) Peer Learning in a Digital Farmer-to-Farmer Network: Effects on Technology Adoption and Self-Efficacy Beliefs. Working Paper – Presented at OARES; PacDev 2022 Conference; The Cornell Conference on 100 Years of Economic Development; the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA); the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society; and accepted to Oxford CSAE 2023 Conference for Economic Development in Africa. Read draft.

Awards
Mitacs Research Training Award; McBurney Latin America Award

Positions held
Senior MEL Associate – One Acre Fund Tanzania

Supervisors
Dr Charlie Palmer
Prof Ben Groom