Erika Styger

Erika Styger is a Professor of the Practice and Director of the Climate-Resilient Farming Systems Program at Cornell University's Department of Global Development. She holds a PhD in Crop and Soil Sciences from Cornell and an MSc in Agronomy from ETH Zurich. Her work focuses on tropical agronomy, agroforestry, and sustainable land management, particularly through the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). She has led large-scale initiatives in West Africa, training 50,000 farmers and scaling climate-resilient practices across 13 countries.

Dr. Styger's research emphasizes participatory approaches, combining farmer knowledge with scientific methods. She has designed programs in over 30 countries, addressing climate adaptation, agrobiodiversity, and sustainable intensification. Her recent projects include regenerative rice farming with Black farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi, and promoting fonio productivity in Mali. She teaches courses on international agriculture and has authored/co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, technical manuals, and policy reports.

Her expertise spans sustainable land management, watershed approaches, and policy development. Current affiliations include the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and leadership in global SRI networks. Styger's work bridges academia, policy, and community action to achieve food security and ecological stewardship.