Researcher: Jennifer Zavaleta

Award: U.S. Borlaug Fellows Program in Global Food Security

Amount: $24,000

Project Length: 1 year

Project Location: India

Project Description:

The U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security graduate research grant program supports exceptional graduate students who are interested in developing a component of their graduate research in a developing country setting. Awards are made on a competitive basis to students who demonstrate a strong scientific foundation and leadership potential, propose a well-coordinated research plan that clearly articulates concepts and objectives that are innovative and feasible, and demonstrate a commitment to international development.

Jennifer will continue her research on climate adaptation by learning more about the process of livelihood diversification and its impacts on food security. Though diversification is often lauded as an important adaptive strategy, we still do not know about the process and outcomes of diversified livelihoods. Specifically, Jennifer seeks to learn more on how people choose different livelihood diversification portfolios; the outcomes of different portfolios under different stressors like drought; and how different types of diversification (livelihood and crop) diversification affect food security. She is also interested in learning more about the gendered aspects of food security and livelihood diversification– what are the different opportunities and constraints for women to obtain a diversified livelihood and household food security? Over the course of the next academic year, Jennifer will live in Hyderabad and will travel to six field sites throughout rural India.