Food safety is a critical component of agriculture production and marketing. Agriculture extension services in California disseminate information to growers on effective food safety practices to reduce the risk of illness caused by contaminated produce for consumers and growers. However, there is a diversity of growers in California that have unique characteristics in terms of methods of production and marketing, and diversity in learning preferences and needs. Among the population of producers in California, and in the United States, are resettled refugees. To better understand the particular food safety needs and learning preferences of refugee farmers in California, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with lu Mien, Iraqi, and Nepali/Bhutanese growers in the Sacramento valley. Social Cognitive Theory was then applied as a framework to analyze learning preference responses among growers. The consistent reference of social (peers, family, mentors) and physical (crop health and physical health) factors in learning-related responses validated Social Cognitive Theory's use as a framework for analyzing learning preferences in agricultural extension. Although there was variation among the interviewed refugee farmer groups in terms of food safety awareness and needs, growers prevalently highlighted the importance of safe chemical (pesticide) use and the importance of food safety for consumer and personal (family) health. Additionally, although hygienic practices (at both the farm-level and personal-level) are being followed, interviewed farmers generally did not elaborate or connect why those practices are specifically necessary to reduce pathogen spread and contamination. The findings from the interviews and subsequent analysis was then used to inform the design of a USDA-funded food safety training program, led by the International Rescue Committee, that will be delivered to these same refugee farming groups.

Argentina is home to the largest population of Bolivians outside of Bolivia, the majority of whom have settled within the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). A high concentration of Bolivian migrants practice diversified horticultural family-scale farming within AMBA’s peri-urban zone (the buffer area between urban and surrounding rural areas). Aside from segmented producer organizations, peri-urban farmers are largely fragmented and excluded from opportunities for market integration. This project was a result of a partnership between Dr. Amanda Crump’s Research Group on Agricultural Equity at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Gustavo Tito at Argentina's National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA) and Dr. Percy Nugent at Arturo Jauretche National University. Together, we explored avenues for community and political organizations to promote agroecological market integration in Berazategui, Argentina, located in the southern peri-urban zone of AMBA. Using participatory methodologies, we evaluated existing barriers to market expansion for peri-urban farmers and strategized which social alliances would be essential in improving equitable and agroecological market access. This research was conducted with the following objectives: To assess the current realities of producers as they work to commercialize their products and gain access to local market opportunities, to generate a better understanding of the role of social alliances in supporting commercialization for agricultural producers in Berazategui, and to provide space for producers to exchange ideas on how to strengthen and promote local agroecological market inclusion.

Findings showed that the municipal and federal government must support farmers with basic needs (such as land tenure) as a prerequisite for engagement with agroecology and improved marketing opportunities. Market intermediaries must also be replaced with either direct marketing opportunities or expanded producer organization roles that populate the entire production chain with producer allies and ensure fair prices for all. Finally, consumers can be educated to serve as allies and advocates for producers. This research collaboration supports the goals of INTA’s ProHuerta family farmer program, which promotes agroecology, food self-sufficiency, farmer inclusivity and market integration, especially for vulnerable farmers. INTA hopes to convert AMBA’s peri-urban zone into a “green belt” of agroecology and food production. This goal is increasingly relevant as the impacts of climate change and COVID stress the need for more localized, diversified, and equitable food systems.

While some scientists and policy makers recognize women’s centrality in Senegalese rice production, many among them conceptualize women as unskilled labor rather than as keepers of knowledge. This could not be further from the truth. Women’s expertise represents a deep well of agronomic knowledge about rice, passed down over generations. Ignoring this knowledge not only takes away from women’s power in rice, it also holds modern rice production back from its true potential. National investments in Senegal’s rice sector have primarily focused on irrigated rice production of Oryza Sativa in the Senegal River Valley, but Oryza Glaberrima cultivars bred by West African women for 3000 years can survive in sub-ideal soils, resist drought brought on by climate change, and match local taste and texture preferences. Using a systematic review of 94 secondary sources, this thesis argues in favor of 1) incorporating women’s indigenous knowledge into agricultural research and development; 2) increasing women’s representation in agricultural degree programs; and 3) addressing gender bias in agricultural research as key strategies toward creating a more equitable, ecologically sustainable and economically prosperous future for Senegal’s rice sector. Women’s inclusion is an economic imperative; the indigenous knowledge that women hold on rice cultivars and management practices can make the rice sector financially sustainable by preventing ecological problems like excess soil salinity. The human capital that women represent will be needed to sustain high yields in modern operations, and their power as consumers and decision makers for rice purchases make women gatekeepers of domestic rice profits.

Climate change poses significant challenges to Malawi’s ability to grow maize, its staple food crop, due its heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture and traditional farming practices that largely do not utilize agricultural inputs. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices can help to support sustainable food production given changing climate conditions.

The Government of Malawi’s (GoM) new pluralistic extension policy calls for the delivery of specialized services to farmers by governmental extension providers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private industry. These extension services are intended to support farmers to overcome barriers to increasing production and adapting to changing climatic conditions, yet these multiple actors often provide conflicting messages to farmers. The GoM has emphasized the need to improve coordination among extension providers to reduce inefficiency, redundancy, and confusion.

The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the challenges and successes in communicating climate change adaptation information to maize farmers in Malawi to inform the development of content and delivery of information by extension providers. The study included the following objectives:

• Identify the development of content and methods used by extension providers to educate maize farmers about climate adaptation practices in Malawi.• Evaluate institutional constraints of Malawi’s extension system in providing effective information for maize farmers to adapt to climate change. • I conducted a literature review and nineteen in-depth interviews with individuals who provide agricultural extension services to maize farmers in Malawi.

My findings indicate that there are select organizations that develop messages and are considered experts on climate change adaptation. Government departments were referenced as content developers by the greatest number of participants. In terms of knowledge transfer, eighty-five organizations were mentioned in the dissemination of information throughout Malawi’s extension network. Several high-level government departments, Malawi NGOs, international NGOs, and farmer groups were identified as crucial to the transfer of information within the extension network.

My findings also suggest that Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), trainings, and written materials are the main advisory methods used to educate farmers about CSA practices. ICT platforms often complement one another by providing increased access to information for farmers who cannot afford technology, are illiterate, or require additional information to address agricultural issues. My findings revealed that organizations address climate change by recommending strategies to farmers including being climate informed, good agriculture practices, water conservation, soil management, improved seeds, crop diversification, agroforestry, and reducing diseases and pests.

This study indicates that there is a need for improved integration of organizations from lower governance levels in order to diversify the types of providers operating in Malawi’s core extension network. The increased diversification of organizations within the core network will enhance collaboration and improve the transfer of knowledge among extension providers in Malawi. This study also reaffirms the importance of communicating clear and consistent messages to farmers to address climate change impacts in Malawi.

Abstract In this thesis I describe traditional herding strategies of Fulani transhumants in Senegal, and their adaptations to repeated droughts thought to be brought on by anthropogenic climate change. I also describe unique and novel risks associated with pastoralism in the face of these droughts. Furthermore, I attempt to reconcile these practices with broader arguments about development practices. Specifically, this research addresses these questions: 1. In what ways, if any have pastoralists been affected by climate change-induced drought? 2. What are some of their adaptation strategies and are these strategies effective? 3. What are pastoralists’ views on development? And what do they believe is the way forward? 4. How can this population and their unique experiences with climate change-induced drought inform us of the merits of planned versus unplanned development? Furthermore, I discuss the adaptations of these Fulani in the context of broader development, and I provide information on development history in the Sahel, Sahelian pastoralists, as well as competing theories of Western-led development programs seeking to eliminate poverty. Through my interviews in this study, I found that the pastoralists in question are struggling with a cycle of herd destruction from drought, and they have had relatively little experience with long range migration, unlike other pastoral groups. This is central to arguments about pastoral resiliency as a resource, as long range migration poses a considerable risk to their livelihood. Furthermore, I have found that communal resiliency strategies based around reciprocity, tend to fail in the face of a community wide disaster.

This systematic review examines the best agricultural extension methods in the context of women’s empowerment, centering improvements in agency, achievements, and resources. Agricultural extension programs use projects and trainings to improve a community’s agriculture system by disseminating information through individual or group trainings, focus groups, on-farm demonstrations, or through the transfer of technologies. Many extension programs work in rural, impoverished communities. Unfortunately, extension practitioners often overlook women’s roles, failing to consider how the program may affect them, despite women being the primary farm laborers [2]. In this thesis research, I analyzed studies published since 2000 with the coding assistance of other students and my advisor. The studies included in this systematic review include at least one dimension of women’s empowerment (or disempowerment). In this review, I investigated the extension practices with highest retention rates, adaptability, and consideration for cultural and social realities to understand how agricultural extension empowers women. Most studies in this review involved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia and provided training on the several different types of agriculture topics: irrigation, climate change resilience, inputs and fertilizer, plant breeding, and more. Using online databases like SCOPUS and Agricola, I gathered 62,517 papers and narrowed them down to the 90 final papers analyzed in this systematic review, through an extensive series of reviewing and coding. Using Naila Kabeer’s multidimensional empowerment research [7] as a theoretical framework, I found that most studies that measured women’s empowerment had indicated some level of empowerment while some did have unintended consequences provoking disempowerment while others showed empowerment in unintended areas. In this systematic review, I offer insight to understand women’s roles in agricultural communities and the significant socio-economic implications that may occur as a result from empowerment agendas in extension.

Agricultural extension education traditionally follows a linear format, through a top-down dissemination of academic knowledge and technologies from researchers to extension officers to farmers (Haug, 1999). In this model, there is little space for farmers to play an active role in their own learning development. Shifts in extension methodologies have begun to include farmers in project planning and implementation using participatory tools, such as model farmers and model farm visits. Peer-to-peer learning has the potential to eliminate the hierarchy in the traditional extension approach and enhance learning for farmers on both sides. One organization that works with their farmers using these tools is Yale University’s School of the Environment’s Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI). Since 2009, their Panama program has worked with a Panamanian cattle ranchers association on implementing silvopastoral practices on their cattle farms. The objectives of this study are to investigate the experiences of model farmers in ELTI’s model, determine how these farmers view their role as co-facilitators working with visiting farmers, and explore how ELTI’s participatory model facilitates farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchanges. Our study findings suggest that model farmers do not always view themselves as teachers in a lesson with students, but rather sharers in an informal knowledge exchange with their peers. Here we report on the results of a summer-long phenomenological study of the model and discuss the three themes that emerged in this study: (1) a knowledge exchange among model farmers and visiting farmers is occurring, although it is not exactly a horizontal exchange among peers; (2) model farmers are thinking about, and in some instances applying, some of the practices and cultivos shared with them by the visiting farmers; and (3) model farmers enjoy this knowledge exchange, and are asking for more opportunities to engage with visiting farmers in different settings. Future work in this area should explore ways to increase opportunities for model and visiting farmers to exchange knowledge with one another.

This thesis examines Puer tea as a culturally specific cash product to understand the agricultural transitions occurring alongside a sequence of political and socio-economic changes in China's contemporary history. This research interrogates how Chinese state institutions integrate national food security strategies and local land use policies into the global neoliberal corporate food regime. This thesis also develops a narrative of the financialization of Puer tea based on an in-depth study of the Puer tea trading and resale markets that employ digital platform and blockchain technologies. I argue that China has aligned its food security strategies and agrarian reform policies with the neoliberal food regime by reducing the emphasis on food sufficiency for staple foods and shifting to a moderate food import strategy. Meanwhile, in-country agricultural production favors cash crops as main crops, which are expected to be more profitable for local farmers. The financialization of Puer tea has demonstrated that even though digital and blockchain technologies tend to promote a decentralized democratic economic market structure, their operational mechanisms still perpetuate a form of extractivist capitalism, resulting in highly polarized and unequal wealth distribution in the Puer tea industry. The financialization and potential digitalization of Puer tea creates a distancing effect within the Puer tea industry, exacerbating inequality among farmers and trading intermediaries as more actors become involved.The financialization of Puer tea abstracts the value of food as substance into highly complex commodity derivatives markets and extends the reach of extractivist capitalism beyond material forms into intangible social and cultural heritage forms of value as well.