XXXVIII CICLO | Romano Sara

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition followed by a Master’s Degree in Food Science and Technology and Supply Chain Management at Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
My Master’s thesis was focused on the sustainability of the Italian Fruit and Vegetable sector and the role of Producers’ Organizations in fostering it.
After university, I started my PhD at Università degli Studi della Tuscia sworking with CREA research centre and mainly focusing on the economic, environmental and social sustainability of Global Food Value Chains, International Trade and Trade Agreements, and Voluntary Sustainability Standards.

My PhD project is part of an Horizon2020 project called Trade4SD (trade for sustainable development) which aims to foster the positive linkages between international trade and sustainable development. In this framework the project analyses different food value chains among which the production of cocoa in Ghana, the focus of my PhD.
During my first year I focused on the analysis of the available literature to identify the main social, environmental and economic sustainability challenges of the value chain. Said analysis was the starting point for the elaboration of two questionnaires, a quantitative one to be administered to cocoa farmers in Ghana, and a qualitative one destined to the main stakeholders of the cocoa value chain (governmental representatives, NGOs, farmers’ unions etc.). The collection of data will lead to the development of policies recommendations on how trade can enhance the sustainability of the value chain, with a specific focus on the role of Voluntary Sustainability Standards.