John Yaxley

John Yaxley

Future Leaders 2026
The University of Western Australia
Western Australia

Focus are

Australia in Asia

About me

Through my work in international development, I have met with many rural communities around the world and witnessed both the beauty and hardships that come with subsistence farming. With the Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship, I aim to deepen my understanding of smallholder farming systems in the Asia-Pacific and explore how technology can support farm planning decisions to ensure harvests that are sufficient, reliable, and nutritious. I like to dream of a future where all landscapes are lush and rich and the smallholders that occupy them are thriving. It is a big dream, but I believe that the adoption of agroecological principles, coupled with good farm management, will help us get there. When I have the time, I try to put this theory to practice, cultivating a subtropical food garden on my own block.
I aim to create a digital tool that models the nutritional output of any given farm or garden. This tool will evaluate how the food system contributes to the household’s dietary needs and identify opportunities for introducing new or alternative crops to fill nutritional gaps.

My passions

  • Gardening
  • Agroecological farming
  • Indigenous foods and farming practices
  • Science communication
  • Antique tools and technologies