Nicholas Babin

Nick holds a PhD in agroecology from UC Santa Cruz. His research evaluates the impacts of alternative marketing networks and agroecological farming practices on reducing smallholder coffee farmer vulnerability in Costa Rica.   Partnering with coffee cooperatives, international NGOs, and California-based coffee roasters, results are used to adapt farming systems, improve coffee cupping quality, and develop innovative marketing strategies.  Nick involves students at all levels of this project, having led service-learning field programs to Costa Rica for over twenty years.  He currently directs the Cal Poly Global Program “Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Conservation in Costa Rica”. This five-week program uses the coffee, forest conservation, and ecotourism sectors as case studies for exploring issues of sustainability, justice, and culture. Learn-by-doing and interculturality are emphasized through community-based research projects and farm-household homestays. Nick’s recent research evaluates the obstacles and opportunities for the adoption, maintenance, and diffusion of sustainable agriculture and climate change best management practices in the United States.