IAD Graduate Symposium speaks to Global Food System Challenges

On June 2, IAD graduate students gathered at the University of California, Davis for the annual IAD Graduate Symposium, an afternoon dedicated to sharing thesis research and connecting with students and alumni working across the food and agriculture sector.

The first round of student talks covered a wide range of topics: Tamar Crump presented on the effectiveness of nutrition education programs for caregivers in Uganda and Kenya, Heather Lyon spoke about the barriers and opportunities for farmyard manure management in Nepal's mid-hills, Ben Olinger shared his work mapping lime amendments and distribution across East Africa, and Nyah Mallak joined virtually to discuss how cacao systems in Colombia compare across small- and large-scale farms.

In the second session, Alexis Heather presented his research examining how Sri Lankan rice farmers' practices influenced their yield recovery following the country's 2021 organic mandate, and Sooyoung Choi shared findings on everyday agency and agricultural practice among women with disabilities in post-conflict northern Uganda.

Taken together, these projects speak directly to some of the most pressing global food system challenges of our time: strengthening smallholder resilience to climate and policy shocks, improving soil health and nutrient management, closing gender and disability inclusion gaps in agriculture, and building more equitable value chains for farmers. This work aligns closely with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), underscoring how IAD students are contributing real, field-based evidence to these global priorities.

The symposium closed with an alumni panel, "Opportunities for Collaboration in International and Domestic Food Systems," featuring Ronit Gerard, Linda Fernandez, Hussain Sharifi, and Lauren Pincus, and moderated by current IAD student Alexis Heather. The panelists shared career insights spanning USAID, academia, consulting, and the nonprofit sector, highlighting the different directions students can take after graduation, all grounded with a similar mission and meaningful experiences in their position. The panelists reflected on their journey and provided guidance to graduates, speaking with hope about the future of international development and the need for IAD-type thinking in the professional world, before the event wrapped up with a closing happy hour.

It was a great showcase of the breadth of research happening within IAD and the future career prospects for graduates, and we're already looking forward to continuing the tradition next year.