Congratulations to students Bavan Pushpalingam (undergraduate) and I Younan An (graduate) who are both recipients of the 2024 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) student award.
The SDGs@UofT Student Awards Program supports undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Toronto conducting impactful research aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Bavan's study, titled Land Rights, Fair Trade, and Food Security: Uncovering the Agentic Role of Malaiyaha Tamil Women Tea Farmers through Smallholder Farming in Sri Lanka, investigates the implications of fair trade policies on the food security of Malaiyaha Tamil women tea farmers in Sri Lanka, with a critical focus on land rights and sovereignty as mechanisms for economic independence and gender equity. Utilizing community-based participatory research, the project explores the potential of transitioning from estate-based tea farming systems to smallholder models to enhance food security, environmental sustainability, and economic outcomes.
Bavan: "Receiving the SDGs@UofT student award is a significant milestone in my journey as a researcher focused on addressing systemic inequities within global agri-food systems. It highlights the urgent need to rethink structures like fair trade policies and land ownership that continue to marginalize farming communities. Coming from a family of paddy farmers in Tamil Eelam, I have grown up understanding how farming is more than a livelihood—it is tied to survival, community, and culture. While my family’s experiences are different from those of tea farmers in Sri Lanka, their stories of working the land and navigating systemic barriers have deeply shaped how I approach my research.
This award motivates me to continue exploring ways to create food systems that are equitable and sustainable. It is a reminder that farmers—those who put food on our tables—deserve to be at the center of these conversations. Professionally, it strengthens my resolve to connect academic research with real-world impact, ensuring policy solutions are rooted in the realities of those most affected. For me, this recognition is not just about my work—it is about contributing to a future where farming communities, their resilience, and their knowledge are valued and prioritized in co-creating solutions to global food insecurity."
I Younan's research seeks to understand the dynamics of skills and training policies in Cambodia and Vietnam. It examines the policymaking process through in-depth interviews and reviews of policy documents to assess why developing countries adopt and invest in these policies in response to the growing threats of new emerging technologies such as AI, automation and robots.
I: "For a scholar researching underrepresented countries in academia, this award is invaluable to my research journey. First, it is recognition that this research is needed and important to tackle. It also demonstrates that the academic community values this research, which reinforces confidence and forges my commitment to effectively conducting this research. Moreover, receiving this award shows my research is globally engaged across interdisciplinary fields connecting local issues with global issues related to the sustainable development goals."