My research partner and me!

Author: Caroline Spence | Major: Finance

My name is Caroline Spence, and I am a senior finance major and economics minor in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. During the summer and fall of 2021, I worked with my mentors, Dr. Farmer of the Economics Department and Dr. Nalley of the Agricultural Economics Department, to research the economics of sugarcane farming in Eswatini. After graduating from the U of A in May 2022, I plan to continue my studies in the Masters of Agricultural Economics program as a graduate assistant under Dr. Nalley.

For my research, I was connected to my mentor and project through my academic advisor, Jason Adams. He and Dr. Farmer work closely together within the Walton Honors Program and both help introduce students to undergraduate research opportunities. My thesis research with Dr. Farmer was focused on the economics of sugarcane farming in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. My research took the form of an international internship with the Eswatini Cane Growers Association, which is the national group that represents the country’s sugarcane farmers to the government and purchasers. This internship was originally supposed to be in-person in Africa, but due to the Covid-19 situation, it was moved online over Zoom. This posed significant challenges to my research because my research partner and I were unable to travel to sugarcane farms in-country and we also faced a formidable time difference. However, I was able to adapt to the unideal setting and navigate the new virtual, cross-cultural work environment.

Within the sphere of sugarcane farming, I was specifically investigating the profitability of sugarcane farms in the country. This included both the outright profit and loss of individual farms as well as identifying specific factors (input costs) that were negatively affecting farm profitability. Within Eswatini, there are three primary growing regions: Simunye and Mhlume in the North and Ubombo in the South. I started my research by identifying any statistically significant differences in profitability between the regions and concluded that the Northern growing areas are significantly more profitable than Ubombo. I then conducted an analysis to determine if there were any significant differences in profitability between women-led and male-led farms. Through this analysis, I determined that the women-led farms were significantly more profitable, which was thought-provoking given the highly patriarchal nature of the country’s culture. Finally, I investigated the input costs for sugarcane farming and determined the specific input that was having the most negative impact on profitability for each individual farm. With these conclusions, the Eswatini Cane Growers Association plans to dive deeper into the root cause of the profitability differential by geographic area, given that the land quality is not significantly different. The ECGA also plans to further investigate the differences between male and female-led farms, and they plan to hold farming and business courses to their farmers to aid in the knowledge of input costs and profitability.

While working on my research, I worked especially closely with Dr. Nalley to learn advanced statistical modeling methods and techniques. Through this experience, I developed a passion for international development work which combined my interests in advanced mathematics, horticulture, and business. As a result, I am furthering my education by pursuing a Masters in Agriculture Economics with a concentration in international development at the U of A next year!