(Research Student, April 2026 – present)

BIOGRAPHY:

Micaela Benavides is an engineering student at Institut Agro Montpellier, currently completing the final year of her degree through a six-month research work in Sikkim, India. Her work is part of a broader research project conducted across several Indian states, which aims to analyze rural territories through a combined approach of comparative agriculture and territorial metabolism.

Her research focuses on the West District of Sikkim, where she applies the comparative agriculture framework. This approach integrates agronomic and socio-economic analysis to understand the relationships between agricultural practices and their environment. The methodology includes landscape analysis to formulate initial hypotheses, followed by historical interviews to examine agricultural evolution, and targeted interviews with farmers to assess current practices and future trends. This process also supports the identification of different types of farming systems.

Her research interests lie in working with smallholder farmers to better understand the challenges they face and to explore pathways for sustaining agriculture as a viable source of income.