Virginia Tech® home

Ella Kirchner

Research Associate
Ella Kirchner
311 Hutcheson Hall
250 Drillfield Drive, Mail Code: 0401
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va 24061
ellak@vt.edu

Ella’s research focuses on how to efficiently and effectively integrate earth observation and crop modeling into responsive financing for agricultural producers (e.g., social protection programs and agricultural insurance). Under the auspices of NASA Harvest, she is working with a combination of remote sensing, ground, and survey data to enhance the effectiveness of indexed financial services for farmers.

Expertise

Agricultural Economics, Development Economics

Education

  • M.Sc. Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 2021
  • M.Sc. Agricultural Economics, University of Hohenheim, 2021
  • B.A. Business Administration, Berlin School of Economics and Law, 2017

Ella's Ph.D. research - completed at the University of Göttingen's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development - primarily focused on the socioeconomic dimensions of agricultural index insurance, including analyzing insurance adoption dynamics and farmers' preferences for product designs. In her current role, she draws on this background, focusing more intensively on the technical details of index design for index-based crop insurance programs.

She is affiliated with the NASA Harvest research consortium, which aims to advance the use of remote sensing data for global food security, agriculture, and resilience. As part of this international research consortium, she collaborates with industry and research partners from institutions across the United States and worldwide.

Experience

  • Research Scientist, Department for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Göttingen, July 2021 - Sept. 2024
  • Consultant (STC), Environmental, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice, World Bank, Sept. 2021 - Jun. 2024

Awards and Fellowships

  • “Best Ph.D. presentation” award at the AES annual conference, UK, 2023
  • Graduate Student award for best master's degree at the agricultural faculty (Studienpreis Universitätsbund Hohenheim e.V.), University of Hohenheim, 2022

Peer-reviewed journal articles

  • Musshoff, O., Ölkers, T. & Kirchner, E. (2024). A note on the discussion regarding terrorism and land use in agriculture. Land Use Policy. Vol. 144: 107236. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107236
  • Kirchner, E. & Musshoff, O. (2024). Be happy, Be Loyal? Exploring Drivers for Renewal of Mobile-Delivered Index Insurance. The Journal of Development Studies. Vol. 60:6, pp. 831-847. DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2024.2312830.
  • Kirchner, E. & Musshoff, O. (2024). Digital opportunities for the distribution of index-based microinsurance: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment in Mali. Journal of Agricultural Economics. Vol. 75, pp.794-815. DOI: 10.1111/1477-9552.12584
  • Ölkers, T., Kirchner, E. & Musshoff, O. (2023). Terrorism and land use in agriculture: The case of Boko Haram in Nigeria - a replication attempt of the paper by Adelaja & George (2019). Land Use Policy. Vol. 134:106933. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106933

Working papers

  • Kirchner, E., Sarfo, Y. & Musshoff, O. (2024). The interplay of gender norms and education in male farmers' adoption of index-based insurance in Mali.
  • Kirchner, E., Ölkers, T. & Musshoff, O. (2024). A typology of Malian farmers.
  • Benami, E., Kirchner, E., Hobbs, A., Carter, M. & Jin, Z. (2024). Get in the Zone: The Risk-Adjusted Welfare Effects of Data-Driven vs. Administrative Borders for Index Insurance Zones.