Two Eastern Iowa teens to research food insecurity in Kenya as part of prestigious World Food Prize internship

Two Eastern Iowa high school students are traveling to Mbita, Kenya, this summer to study food insecurity as part of a distinguished internship with the World Food Prize.

Divya Ramadugu, from Cedar Rapids, and Siena Brown, from Iowa City, are two of 16 students worldwide selected for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship. The eight-week internships place students at international research centers and developmental organizations to study issues related to global food insecurity and sustainability.

“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the culture, connecting with people on the ground, and seeing firsthand how science and research can make a difference in people’s lives,” Ramadugu said. “I applied for this internship because I’m passionate about understanding how climate change, food security and women’s empowerment are all connected.”

Ramadugu and Brown will be going to the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, which has a mission to use insect science for sustainable development, to ensure food security and improve the overall health of communities in Africa by addressing the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity and environmental degradation, according to the Centre’s website.

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Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, in its 27th year, enables high school and early career college students to engage in projects alongside esteemed experts at top agricultural research and development institutions worldwide.

Students gain firsthand exposure to scientific research, development projects and policymaking related to critical global food security issues. They actively contribute to projects, immersing themselves in lab work, field work, data collection, qualitative research, interviews and policy analysis.

As a capstone to their internship, Borlaug-Ruan interns are required to develop a research paper or other knowledge product, as well as provide summary presentations for their host organization and the World Food Prize Foundation, as requested.

Ramadugu, 17, a junior at Kennedy High School, plans to research transport access and how it impacts farmers’ profits while in Kenya.

With the help of a translator provided by the internship program, Ramadugu said she will be conducting interviews with farmers who lose about half their yields annually because of insufficient infrastructure, she said.

Ramadugu said she’s had a growing interest in food insecurity since gardening with her mother as a child and, more recently, interning with Matthew 25’s Cultivate Hope Urban Farm in Cedar Rapids and volunteering at food pantries.

Brown, 16, a junior at Iowa City High School, is torn between two research options: How climate change is impacting agricultural practices in Kenya, or how youth in rural Kenya are learning about and adapting to climate change.

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“I can Google search as much as I want, and it’s never the same as talking to and meeting people,” Siena said. “This is an opportunity to connect with people who grew up differently and live completely different lives. It can lead to new knowledge and understanding of the world.”

As Brown prepares for the internship, she said she’s trying to balance wanting to do work that is truly meaningful with the time constraints.

Brown wants to do something that “makes a real impact,” she said.

Five Iowa students chosen for international internship

To apply for the internship, students must be between 17 and 20 years old on June 1 of the year they are applying. They also must have participated in, volunteered for or had other involvement with the World Food Prize Foundation youth program.

Since its inception, 447 students have taken part in the internship.

“The Borlaug-Ruan International Internship … empowers aspiring food and agricultural leaders with research opportunities early in their careers. These emerging scientists are able to have invaluable experiences that will prepare them for the future,” said Mashal Husain, president of the World Food Prize Foundation based in Des Moines.

An additional three Iowans also were selected for the internship. Those students are:

Other students selected for the internship are from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Honduras and the Netherlands.

World Food Prize Foundation spokeswoman Nicole Barreca said since the Foundation has its headquarters in Iowa, they statistically receive more Iowa applicants for the internship.

The World Food Prize is an international award that honors individuals who have improved the quality, quantity or availability of food world wide. The Prize was founded by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, for his work that contributed to increases in agricultural outputs which was termed the Green Revolution.

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