I have a strong commitment to teaching, research and service that focuses on global justice, egalitarianism and sustainability.

I have previously worked on trade and development in the NGO sector in Nairobi and in Melbourne. I also worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi on the Global Environmental Outlook Report.

At Monash, my main research focus has been on the management and organisation of agri-food systems. I have developed expertise in the areas of international trade policy and food security, global agri-food production networks and the management and organisation of equitable and sustainable food systems particularly in India. More recently I have focussed on postcolonial analysis of small farmers’ movements in the Asia Pacific. 

As a public intellectual, I strongly believe in engaging in academic research which makes a demonstrable contribution to people, society and the environment. In all the academic research projects that I have worked on, I have done so collaboratively with community-based organisations. Currently I am working with NGOs and farmers’ movements in India, the Philippines, Kenya and the Pacific Island countries. I have written several policy papers collaboratively with NGOs from these countries.

I have demonstrated experience in leading and managing complex interdisciplinary research projects involving external partners in the area of equitable and sustainable food systems.

I have been awarded two large grants by DFAT, for which I am the Primary Chief Investigator, totalling $584,326 to work on food security and sustainability in Asia; the first was in 2015, and the second, in 2016.

In 2017, I received an ARC discovery grant of $257,000 to work on food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia.

I have published in highly-reputable journals including Third World Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary Asia and South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, The Contemporary Pacific, The Journal of Business Ethics.

I am strongly committed to excellence in teaching and have continuously developed new and innovative approaches to inspire students to learn more, to work diligently and to genuinely enjoy their experience at Monash. My curriculum materials allow students to develop a comprehensive understanding of social justice, egalitarianism and sustainability. My unit evaluations attest to my commitment to excellence in teaching. In recognition of my contribution to teaching, in 2009, 2011 and 2016, I was a recipient of the Dean’s Commendation for Outstanding Teaching.

In relation to postgraduate supervision, I have supervised fifteen Masters students, and two doctoral students to completion. I am currently supervising two doctoral students.

I am currently Cheif Examiner for the following subjects: 

International Trade Policy: MGF5730

International Institutions and Organisations: MGF5760

I actively contribute to external service in ways ranging from running short courses on the trade and development for NGOs, actively praticipating in conferences organised by NGOs and community based organisations, to writing reports for NGOs and serving on editorial boards of various journals.

• I currently serve as a Reviewer Board Member for the journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

• I have served on the International Advisory Board for the journal Labour and Industry for three years (2011-2013).

• I have served on the Monash Asia Institute (MAI) Press Committee for three years (2012 to 2015). MAI Press, an imprint of Monash University Press, has been publishing scholarly books on Asia and Asian studies for over thirty years.

• I have served on the Editorial Board of the Monash EU and European Centre Working Paper Series for two years (2011-2013).

• Given my expertise rural development and particularly in agri-food studies, I have reviewed articles for many reputable journals focussing including Third World Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary Asia, International Political Science Review, Public Health Nutrition, Geoforum, Organization, and Urban Research and Practice.

• I have actively contributed to external service in ways ranging from running short courses on the trade and development and organising conferences, to delivering numerous presentations on key international issues at workshops, conferences and seminars. For example, in 2008 I coordinated and facilitated a 10-week short course on Globalisation and Trade for Global Trade Watch Australia, an Australian advocacy NGO focused on global trade governance and trade justice.

• In 2016 I was commissioned by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) to write a report entitled: “The Implications of the Proposed PACER-Plus for the Right to Food and Food Security in the Pacific Island Countries’, in ‘Defending Pacific ways of life: A Peoples Social Impact Assessment of PACER-Plus’. In 2007 I was commissioned to write a paper by the Agri-Business Accountability Initiative (AAI), a global network of NGOs focussing on food and agriculture. My paper, which was published by AAI as part of a compendium of research studies on the changes in the agri-food systems in the Asian Region, informed AAI’s advocacy work on trade, farmer livelihoods and food security in Asia. More recently in 2019, I co-authored a booklet entitled “Listening to People, Listening to Place: A climate change guide for organisers and communities”.

• I have examined various research theses in the areas of food security, international business and international political economy, including PhD theses.