Fall 2022 CALS Global Scholar, Anubhab Gupta, to Conduct Research for World Food Programme Cambodia

Dr. Anubhab Gupta, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been named the Fall 2022 CALS Global Scholar. This signature program of CALS Global aims to provide faculty the opportunity to continue to expand their international research portfolio.

This semester, the Global Scholar award will be used to build connections with the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, the World Food Programme, to support the research needs of the Cambodia Country Office. As the CALS Global Scholar, Gupta will work with WFP Cambodia to understand the economic impact of rice fortification and help construct a framework to analyze the economic costs and benefits of rice fortification. PhD candidate Yoonjung Lee will work with Dr. Gupta on this research project.

Gupta’s research focuses on understanding and measuring the direct and indirect impacts of development and agricultural policies. He focuses specifically on the competitiveness in agricultural markets, the effects of climate shocks on migration, education, and agriculture, and on the economic impacts of hosting refugees. This is the first time that Dr. Gupta’s research will focus on nutrition, however, he recently conducted a cost-benefit analysis for WFP headquarters on food assistance for assets programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

This CALS Global signature program will support an international organization to build global, reciprocal relationships with partners that are creating an impact on the human condition, as well as to create opportunities for faculty to diversify and build their international research portfolio.

“The CALS Global Scholar award will contribute significantly to building my research program and maintaining my relationship with international policymakers”, Gupta shared. He went on to say, “As a leading public university in the US, it is extremely important for Virginia Tech and the CALS to cultivate and build long-term relationships with international organizations such as the WFP. These relationships will provide the opportunity for VT faculty and students to work on current global policy issues and bring cutting-edge research to help design future international policies.”

Dr. Gupta holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Davis, a double M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Arizona and in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and a B.S. in Economics from University of Calcutta, India.