Andres Mesa, graduate student in rural sociology, was selected for the 2022 Dissertation Research Award at the 84th Rural Sociological Society (RSS) annual meeting in August. His proposal was titled “Forming supply chains framed within agroecological principles: Possibilities for the Andean blueberry in Antioquia, Colombia.”

Mesa is using agroecology as an approach to explore the possibilities to form supply chains by smallholders for the Andean blueberry case in Colombia to understand how they can be empowered to act and participate in the formation of this chain, and how it can help to balance power relations in agri-food systems.

The RSS Dissertation Award seeks to promote and enhance research leading to a degree by students working in substantive areas relevant to rural sociology. The awards are designed to stimulate research with national or international impact that will help develop the careers of future rural sociologists and support the broader mission of the Rural Sociological Society.