Vitória Cardoso got her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a focus on agribusiness, at São Paulo State University (Unesp), in Brazil. During her undergraduate years, she studied the impact of the National School Feeding Program, which is a public policy, on family farmers’ development. Vitória also holds a master’s degree from the Graduate Program in Agribusiness and Development of Unesp. In her master’s thesis, she analyzed how the rules of Geographical Indications (GI) affect the access of small coffee farmers to the benefits these labels can offer since GI are frequently seen as a way to foster rural development.

She is now starting her Ph.D. in Sustainable Development Policy, Economics, and Governance at UVM, where she plans to continue studying how small farmers respond to rural development strategies, with an emphasis on institutions and certifications for agricultural goods. In order to do so, she will use an interdisciplinary approach by bringing together concepts from rural sociology and economics.

Advisor: Dan Tobin