FOCUS
Food systems affect multiple elements of society, influencing well-being from health, economic and environmental perspectives. In Puerto Rico, recent natural disasters have demonstrated the need for cohesive food systems planning. Nayla studies the sustainability of food resilience strategies in Puerto Rico, such as increasing local food production and expanding highly diverse agricultural systems. The long-term goal of her research is to provide policymakers with relevant information to develop support structures that promote local food system resilience in Puerto Rico by incentivizing agricultural activities that preserve environmental resources, support a healthy food environment, and provide dignified and equitable economic development opportunities. In her research, Nayla applies food system modeling approaches to estimate the land carrying capacity to feed the local population and to estimate the impacts of local food production across environmental, economic, and social domains.
MORE ABOUT NAYLA
Nayla was born and raised in Puerto Rico and has worked within multiple aspects of food systems throughout the United States. She understands that building resilient food systems requires cohesiveness between efforts to achieve sustainable outcomes for people and the planet. She hopes her research can support the development of cohesive policies.
DISSERTATION GRANT AWARDEE — SUMMER 2024
Assessing Agricultural Self-Reliance and Sustainability in Puerto Rico Using Food Systems Modeling Approaches
The overall purpose of Nayla’s doctoral dissertation is to assess the sustainability of food resilience strategies in Puerto Rico (PR), such as increasing local food production and the proliferation of highly diverse agricultural systems. For this work, Nayla uses food system modeling approaches to compare local food availability with dietary recommendations (Aim 1), estimate the environmental impacts of local production of fruits and vegetables under diverse agricultural practices and compare them with the imported counterparts of these foods (Aim 2), and conduct a participatory sustainability assessment with agroecological producers to characterize their operations across social, economic and environmental dimensions (Aim 3). The long-term goal of this work is to provide policymakers with relevant information to develop food security initiatives that consider the local capacity for food production and the needs of consumers in PR.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HPRS DISSERTATION AWARDS, CLICK HERE.
