Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty in the food and resource economics department have each been selected for UF/IFAS Extension Professional and Enhancement awards. These awards highlight exceptional UF/IFAS Extension programming, and earn faculty additional funding and program support.
Tatiana Borisova, associate professor and Extension specialist, has been selected for the Wells Fargo Extension Professional Award and Program Enhancement Grant, which recognizes a proposed educational program that responds to a public policy issue.
Borisova, who specializes in water economics and policy, is interested in educating Floridians about water resource management.
“In recent years, changes to water resource laws and regulations have rapidly accelerated in Florida and the U.S.,” said Borisova. “Meanwhile, public knowledge of water laws and regulations is limited. Public participation is vital for development and implementation of water resource management programs.”
Borisova added, “a large segment of the Florida public—Spanish-speaking residents—still have limited access to UF/IFAS Extension information related to water management.” Her proposed program, “Statewide Water Policy Extension Program for Florida’s English- and Spanish-Speaking Audiences,” aims to address this gap.
Edward ‘Gilly” Evans, a professor at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida, has been selected for the Seymour Goldweber Extension Professional and Enhancement Award, which recognizes excellence in on-going educational programing.
Evans’ program teaches growers how to use online software that helps them become more financially literate and market-savvy when selling their product or adopting alternative crops.
“This program is aimed at enhancing the long-term profitability and sustainability of agriculture in Florida by increasing grower’s knowledge of a wide range of new and emerging crop industries, and improving the growers’ skills and ability to make sound business decisions,” Evans said.
For example, “One grower has recently diversified his operation and is now planting pitaya (dragon fruit). This grower could see his earning increase from $500 per acre to about $10,000 per acre,” Evans explained.
Borisova and Evans will be recognized for their achievements September 29 at the Extension Professional Associations of Florida conference in Daytona Beach, Florida.
By: Samantha Grenrock, 352-294-3307, grenrosa@ufl.edu
Sources: Tatiana Borisova, 352-294-7666, tborisova@ufl.edu
Edward “Gilly” Evans, 786-217-9263, eaevans@ufl.edu
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