She had read the theses and studies beforehand. She'd spoken to professors. By all accounts, she came prepared. But as senior Mara Gittleman learned this January when she traveled to Ethiopia to research the country's rapid changes in urban agriculture, there is nothing quite like experiencing something firsthand.
"It was different than expected," Gittleman, a double major in American studies and environmental studies, said. "Before I went, I read lots of theses, but [Ethiopia] is really just completely different from how it was described in them ... The theses didn't talk about how urban agriculture has decreased, which affects food prices in the city."
Gittleman, who traveled to the city of Addis Ababa for two weeks with five fellow students participating in the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program at Tufts, explained that her research focused on the current societal and nutritional upheaval in Ethiopia caused by its incredibly swift transition into the global market.
"Addis Ababa has a history of being agrarian," Gittleman said. "Traditionally, the agriculture has carried most of the economy. Because Ethiopia has relatively little political unrest and is relatively secure compared to most of Africa, it has become a center for international diplomacy, negotiations and trade. It's become competitive in the global market. This means that Ethiopia has had to up the ante ... in order to accommodate all these people. Urban areas are expanding and taking over the agriculture, [but no one] is taking into account the effects on the general population in taking over farmland."
According to Gittleman, the displacement is negatively affecting both food accessibility and senses of community. "They're getting rid of the local food, which is where most of the food has been grown up until now, and this is causing a scarcity that is causing prices to increase -- pretty soon people won't be able to afford fresh produce on a regular basis," she said. "And the new housing is located on the outskirts of the city -- that's poorly placed for job access and also disenfranchises long-established communities where everybody knows one another. There's been an increase in homelessness, poverty and hunger. Nobody's ensuring that these people aren't just ending up on the streets."
When Gittleman returned to the United States, she wrote a paper based on her research, which she submitted to a competition sponsored by SustainUS -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that aims to advance sustainable development and youth empowerment in the United States.
The thematic issues in this year's competition were Africa, agriculture, desertification, drought, land and rural development. Gittleman's study of urban agriculture in Addis Ababa happened to fit the specifications perfectly. She was recently informed that she was a competition winner. By virtue of her success, her paper will be published in the online journal at SustainUS. She will also be speaking at the upcoming United Nations (U.N.) Commission on Sustainable Development, which will be held from May 4 to 15 at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City.
"I'm really excited to be able to speak to [the United Nations Commission], but I'm also excited to have the chance to meet the other students [who won]," she said.
Gittleman praised SustainUS for including younger researchers rather than only extending opportunities to graduate students in the tradition of many organizations. "It's especially important that they include undergraduate and high-school researchers."
Gittleman, who will prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the U.N. commission, has also been working on her own senior thesis, which focuses on urban agriculture and food security in Boston. She said that her work in Ethiopia gave her a solid basis for comparison.
"By traveling, I now have more of a background to compare food systems in the developing world to the systems we have in place here," she explained. "I feel like I have ... a better sense of how local food systems function in cities."
Although Gittleman said that she has always been interested in the environment, she called her shifting interests at Tufts an "evolution," explaining that she never would have guessed she would be involved in her current activities as a freshman.
"I came to Tufts thinking that I was interested in neuroscience and would major in biopsychology," she said. "My interests changed completely."
Gittleman is not yet sure about her plans post-graduation, but she has not ruled out a return to Ethiopia to further her research. She has already formulated several suggestions in order to make life easier, and food more accessible, for the people of Addis Ababa.
"First and foremost, they need to give a lot more authority to the Office of Urban Agriculture. They don't have nearly enough power, and urban agriculture is so important to the people," Gittleman said. She also lauded hydroponics technology: "[It's] expensive, but it's possible to install with cheaper, lower-quality materials, and it's a good investment because it produces more food per acre with intelligent water use."
"The city could provide communal land. A lot of displaced people don't have their own land any more," she continued. "They could put gardens on the roofs of buildings because they're running out of space on the ground ... They could give the farmers who remain better access to loans so that they can invest in improving their farms. Without the equipment and technology, these farmers are in a cycle of poverty."
