Crop diversity has been identified as essential to enhance global food security and adapt to climate change, but high rates of erosion are occurring due to market requirements, the manifestations of climate, change, and agricultural industrialization. Still, many small farmers around the world conserve diverse crop varieties despite the challenges. This talk will provide an overview of various projects across Vermont, Peru, Mexico, and sub-Saharan Africa investigating who conserves crop diversity, their reasons for doing so, and the outcomes they experience.

Daniel Tobin utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to understand the complexities of agricultural development. Basing his research in rural and development sociology, he focuses primarily on smallholder farmers and how they are in dynamic interplay with market forces, policy mechanisms, and environmental changes. He holds a dual-title Ph.D. from Penn State in Agricultural and Extension Education and International Agriculture and Development. Most recently, he instructed and coordinated the International Agriculture minor at Penn State University. As an educator, he is committed to an integrative approach that allows students to engage in critical and systems thinking, opportunities for research and service learning, and the application of scholarly skills.

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