Lainey Deitrick Celebrates a Successful Poster Presentation

Author: Lainey Deitrick | Majors: Finance and Economics | Semester: Spring 2023

My name is Lainey Deitrick and I am a Finance and Economics major with a minor in International Economic Development. My project’s objective was to collect data from random Mauritian citizens through IRB approved surveys to determine their milk consumption with one survey and their level of food security in the other. The milk consumption survey used randomly generated pictures and prices of milk to determine at what price range people were willing or not willing to purchase fresh milk. The food security survey asked questions about food consumption pre and post Covid-19 pandemic to determine the level of food security across the country. For my research project, I was sent to Mauritius. Small island nations, such as Mauritius, have a growing problem with food insecurity due to importing essential food, such as dairy products. One of our main goals is to discover a profitable way for local farmers to supply dairy directly to the consumer industry on the island.The results of this study indicate how a country classified by the World Bank as “high income” is still vulnerable to food inflation and highlights the importance of government subsidies of staple crops.

In February of 2022 food inflation in Mauritius was estimated at 16 percent relative to the previous year. Some of this can be attributed to macroeconomic policies (inflation was estimated at 9 percent over the same period) and some to increased food prices. Regardless of the cause, Mauritians are either paying more for the same consumption bundle, altering their consumption, or simply eating less food. In 2019, the World Bank estimated that 8.3% of the Mauritian population were “severely” food insecure, a number which has likely risen given domestic inflation and rising global food prices. We conducted a survey, which mimicked the USDA Food Security survey, of over 400 Mauritians to gauge how food consumption patterns changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. We found that 20% of those surveyed went from “food secure” to “food insecure” during the pandemic. Further, we found that a majority of those surveyed relied more heavily on government subsidized staple crops during the pandemic. The results of this study indicate how a country classified by the World Bank as “high income” is still vulnerable to food inflation and highlights the importance of government subsidies of staple crops.

I traveled to the Southern Agricultural Economic Association (SAEA) Conference in Oklahoma City from February 4th-8th. While at the SAEA conference, I had the opportunity to present a poster over my team’s results from the “Food Security in Mauritius” survey given last summer. This conference not only allowed me to present my research, but it also allowed me to meet like minded professors and students. After attending several speakers at this conference, I was able to broaden my understanding on current and upcoming innovations in agricultural economics. I am extremely thankful I had the opportunity to attend this conference, and I hope to return next year.