Peter Ako Larbi

Dr. Peter Ako Larbi is an Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in Agricultural Application Engineering with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR; 2018-present) and an affiliated faculty member of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC-Davis (2019-present). He is the principal investigator and director of the Agricultural Application Engineering Program headquartered at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. He provides regional leadership in agricultural engineering extension and applied research with a focus on spray application engineering. Dr. Larbi’s research focuses on developing, evaluating, and deploying spray application technologies, techniques, and decision support systems, aimed at improving agricultural productivity while reducing the impact of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals on the environment. His extension efforts seek to promote best practices for safe, economical, and environmentally sound pesticide spray application. His other research interests include precision agriculture, machinery systems, remote sensing, and sensor technology. He has to his credit several publications and presentations, and a U.S. patent.

Prior to joining UC, Dr. Larbi was an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Systems Technology at Arkansas State University with a joint appointment in the Division of Agriculture at University of Arkansas (2014-2018). He also held postdoctoral researcher positions at the Washington State University Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (2012-2014) and the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center (2011-2012). Dr. Larbi earned his Ph.D. in agricultural and biological engineering from the University of Florida, and a M.Sc. and a B.Sc. in agricultural engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana.