In the summer of 2023, Sylvia conducted her MDP field practicum along Kenya’s coast in partnership with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Her research explored gender dynamics in artisanal billfish fisheries, to understand the involvement of women in this fishery. Using a mixed-methods design, she collected data through expert surveys, and semi-structured interviews and group discussions with participants involved in artisanal fisheries value chain activities in Kilifi County. A gender analysis framework guided the study, with all data sex-disaggregated and analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis, and thematic analysis. Her findings highlighted the characteristics of individuals, their roles along the artisanal fisheries value chain (including billfish), the challenges they face, and opportunities for more equitable and sustainable participation. Sylvia’s practicum report can be found here in the MDP Repository (link). This project has also led to a multi-author publication in Frontiers of Marine Sciences journal (forthcoming).  

As part of his MDP Field Practicum project, Innocent is working with the UF/IFAS Global Food System Institute (GFSI) (whose mission is to advance knowledge and improve the global food systems through the promotion of evidence-based solutions) to evaluate Nigeria’s peanut value chain, existing export constraints, and potential for nutritional improvement. The study focuses on mapping the peanut value chain while identifying technical and institutional gaps that hinder productivity as well as food safety, and comparing policy interventions to address production and export competitiveness. By integrating secondary data, field observations, key informant interviews, and market assessments, the project aims to generate evidence that supports farmers, processors, and exporters in meeting both local and international demands.  

Over the summer, Innocent visited two key peanut producing states of Kano (North-West) and Nasarawa State (North Central) of Nigeria to understand the different nodes of the value chain, including production, aggregation, grading, sorting by traders, processing, bulk packaging, testing and export readiness. By collaborating with relevant Nigerian institutions, this GFSI supported project contributes to identifying practical interventions and policy solutions that improve peanut quality, facilitate technology transfers for value addition and improve food safety in Nigeria. 

Born from participation in the Sahel Research Group, Brandon began to research themes of youth and their aspirations in the African context. In Fall 2023, Brandon was awarded a grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research’s University Scholars Program to research the political participation of African youth under the mentorship of Dr. Renata Serra. The project began with a review of qualitative literature on African youth with emphases on the concepts of “waithood”, youth political and economic marginalization and their political participation in Africa. Following the literature review, Brandon performed a regression analysis of Afrobarometer survey data to assess how aspects of one’s political, economic, and social perceptions alongside one’s identity may influence the political participation of African youth. The findings of the literature review and regression analysis have led to the writing of a journal manuscript, which is currently under review. 

During the summer 2024, Rosemary completed a field practicum in Gainesville, Florida, in collaboration with Zero Waste Gainesville and The Repurpose Project. Her work focused on assessing local waste management models. She identified challenges and opportunities to reduce landfill use through composting, recycling, and reuse initiatives, key strategies for lowering methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. Using a mixed-methods approach that included community surveys, stakeholder interviews, and public engagement, she examined barriers and pathways to advancing sustainable waste management, with a particular emphasis on food waste diversion and zero-waste adoption. As key outcomes, she developed a comprehensive final report, and a policy brief shared with the City of Gainesville to inform local decision-makers on strategies to strengthen zero-waste programs in alignment with the city’s 2040 climate and sustainability goals. 

Ylian Gassmi, a student intern at the Sahel Research Group from March to May 2025, worked on organizing literature bibliography for the MINERVA research project for a planned book publication. Under the guidance of Dr Leonardo Villalon (PI for the project), Ylian organized the literature files into different folders by themes and study sites in Dropbox. Then, he updated all the literature on Zotero to allow the future writers of the book to easily locate and cite the needed references. He shared his learning about bibliographical databases and Zotero software in a presentation to other students in the lab.