R. Karina Gallardo

R. Karina Gallardo is a Professor and Extension Economist at Washington State University’s School of Economic Sciences. Her work bridges research and outreach to enhance value-added agribusiness opportunities for specialty crops in Washington state.

• Education: Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics (Oklahoma State University, 2007), M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics (Mississippi State University, 2004), and degrees in Food Science/Technology from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Peru).

Her research focuses on consumer demand analysis and technological change economics, with emphasis on:

• Consumer preferences for fresh fruit quality
• Profitability of new cultivar adoption
• Labor-saving agricultural technologies
• Willingness-to-pay for clean labels and biotech
• Market responses to nutrition information

Recent work includes economic viability of robotic harvesters, H-2A labor preference modeling, and CRISPR technology acceptance in cranberries. Grants from USDA-NIFA-SCRI (total $84,912–$276,224 per project) support her studies on storage technologies, automated harvest systems, and pest management.

Collaborations span institutions like Cornell, University of Minnesota, and Michigan State University. She employs experimental auctions, sensory evaluations, and choice experiments to analyze market dynamics for tree fruits, berries, and processed foods.