A  graduate of the University of Guelph’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) has won a prize for her master’s thesis on African emergency aid from a national agricultural association.

Megan Egler, a master of science graduate, was announced as a co-winner of the 2016 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES) Outstanding Master’s Thesis prize.

Egler, who graduated in 2015, was recognized for her thesis entitled “The Effects of Emergency and Non-Emergency Food Aid Flows on Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Despite receiving high levels of aid and maintaining high growth rates in the last decade, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still suffer from high rates of poverty. Egler investigated whether emergency and non-emergency food aid flows had different effects on poverty alleviation in the region.

She found that emergency food aid had no effect on poverty, while non-emergency food aid was associated with lower poverty levels in SSA.

“I am thankful for my time in FARE, and for the insight and critical lens it provided me to view issues in natural resource management and international development,” said Egler, who now works for the City of Edmonton on environmental initiatives.

Since 2005, eight FARE graduate students have won or co-won the CAES master’s or doctoral thesis award.

“The recognition our students have received over the last decade is a reflection of the high quality of students we attract to our programs and a testament to their hard work,” said John Cranfield, chair of FARE.