Laura Romero is a first-year MPA/ID student at Harvard Kennedy School. She was accepted into the Growth Lab's 2022 Fall RA Program and contributed to our Initiative on Agriculture where the work included developing a framework to determine products that are suitable for smallholder farming agriculture and its integration into markets.
Why did you apply?
I applied to the Growth Lab RA program because I wanted to enrich my experience as an HKS student with some research experience. I wanted to apply some of the concepts and skills that I am learning outside of the classroom.
What did you work on?
I worked on the Initiative on Agriculture: Smallholder Complexity & Putting Collective Land to Work, where my main goal was to contribute to answering the question of how to measure complexity for smallholder farmers around the world. My work included literature review, data analytics, programming, and developing a general framework to identify existing capabilities in different economies using comparative advantages.
In what ways were you challenged?
It was challenging to think about smallholder farmers as one population target, as they are heterogeneous in different regions of the world. Moreover, it was an arduous task to gather information from different sources, including agricultural national censuses and surveys, and putting all the evidence together to tell a story. On a personal level, this project was my first exposure to research at Harvard, while being a graduate student. It was challenging to manage both roles at the same time.
What was your most exciting/surprising experience?
My most exciting experience was learning about agriculture databases in FAOSTAT and getting to code functions that last over time. Applying my previous knowledge of agriculture in Colombia to this project was also thrilling, as well as being able to get a better understanding of the issues affecting smallholder farmers around the world.
What advice would you give future Growth Lab interns/RAs?
First, dare to apply! Once you are in, try to learn everything you can, you are encouraged to ask questions and be curious. Compliment all the theory you learn in class with hands on research or experience in real world problems.
What’s next for you?
I still have to complete my second year in the MPA/ID program. This summer I will keep working in research, as I will be doing an internship in Innovations for Poverty Action based in Mexico City. This RA role further fueled my interest in agriculture and food security, and I hope to continue working on these topics after graduating the MPA/ID program.