Sanya Cowal

GFI Fellow - Class of 2022

Graduate student, environmental studies
UC Santa Cruz

DESCRIPTION

2022-23 GFI student ambassador fellow

Sanya will identify sustainable agricultural practices, using research as a platform to empower communities through equitable and ecologically sound food access, and disseminate research to inform farm management and policies at different scales. Her research questions involve understanding the influence of local and landscape factors on beneficial insects to support natural pest control services as an alternative to chemical inputs. She is interested in coffee producer knowledge systems and the relationship between information sources, perceptions of climate change, and farm management. She hopes to explore the role of home gardens in coffee producer food security and their impact on ecosystem services, as well as gender-differentiated differences in farm management and adaptive capacity.