MF (Maria) Rodriguez Barillas

Im a PhD candidate. I have a MSc in International Agribusiness and Rural Development from the University of Göttingen and the University of Talca. The focus of my research is on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) transition in Costa Rica. My project tries to unravel the multi-level nature of policies in CSA. Second, it makes a broader contribution to questions in sustainability transitions literature such as the policy mix characteristics (e.g., consistency, credibility, and coherence) and their effects on the socio-technical change, specifically with the individual and the resulting feedback influencing the mix.

To unravel the complex dynamics between the macro and micro levels in the Climate Smart Agriculture transition, the study takes the coffee sector as a case study design. In the research, we use the macro-level CSA policy subsystem in the coffee sector as a starting point. First, a policy analysis of the wider CSA enabling policy was conducted (Chapter 1). Second, from the individual perspective, we consider farmers' attitudes and perceptions towards the CSA policy mix and their relation with the acceptance of CSA technologies (Chapter II). Third, we zoom into farmers' intrinsic motivations to explain CSA adoption (Chapter III). Third, we use farmers-context dynamics to understand how these individuals' responses feedback into policymaking (Chapter IV).