November 18, 2022 • 33 mins
We spoke with Cesar Escalante, a professor in the CAES Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. From equity challenges in agricultural lending and the effect of immigration on agriculture to the impact of a changing economy on our food supply, dig into the economics of agriculture with us.
Resources:
Listen to the FINRA Foundation's podcast episode on the 2022 Ketchum Prize.
Visit the UGA CAES Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics website
Edited by Carly Mirabile
Produced by Jordan Powers, Emily Davenport, Carly Mirabile
Music and sound effects by Mason McClintock, an Athens-based singer, songwriter and storyteller who creates innovative soul-pop music that transcends traditional genre boundaries. Hailing from small-town Southeast Georgia, Mason's influences range from the purest pop to the most powerful gospel. Mason is a former Georgia 4-H'er and a recent University of Georgia graduate! Listen to his music on Spotify.
Almanac is an annual publication that provides a window into the work being done at CAES to make the world increasingly healthy, equitable and sustainable. We are pleased to announce that the 2024 edition is now available online. Explore stories of science in service of humanity and the environment.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sound Effect (00:00):
[music]
Emily Davenport (00:01):
Welcome to "Cultivating Curiosity," where
we get down and dirty with theexperts on all the ways science
and agriculture touch our lives,from what we eat to how we live.
I'm Emily Davenport.
Jordan Powers (00:12):
And I'm Jordan Powers. And we're from the
University of Georgia's Collegeof Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
Sound Effect (00:19):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (00:21):
We're here today talking with Dr. Cesar Escalante
in the agricultural economicsdepartment at the UGA College of
Agricultural and EnvironmentalSciences. Dr. Escalante, thanks
for joining us today.
Cesar Escalante (00:31):
Well, thank you so much, and it's a great
pleasure to be part of thisproject.
Jordan Powers (00:34):
Wonderful. Well, we're gonna dive right in
because we have a lot to talkabout. And this this first
question is a bit of a broadone, can you introduce yourself
and a bit about your background,and then how you ended up at
UGA?
Cesar Escalante (00:44):
Alright, I'm originally from the Philippines.
It was when I wanted to go tograduate school and that was
after working in a commercialbank in the Philippines for nine
years, working on special typesof loans coming from the World
Bank, from the Asian DevelopmentBank, USAID and other
multilateral institutions thatwere designed to help small and
(01:07):
medium enterprises in thePhilippines. And that was
actually the motivation that Ihad when I went to grad school,
that I wanted to continue thatkind of line of work, that every
time I conducted research, Iwould always insist on issues
that I experienced whileperforming the job in the bank.
And that's how I was so happythat I was led into the field of
(01:31):
agricultural economics, whichactually had a lot of issues,
and methodologies and approachesthat were very, very consistent
or compatible with what I wasaccustomed to when I was working
in the bank. When I finally hadthe chance to go back to grad
school, I had my family then, avery young family, that I had to
(01:51):
bring my wife and my 11 monthold daughter to Canada for my
master's studies. And at thattime, the plan was just to
finish studying, and then goback to the Philippines to work.
But after each segment of ourlife since then, has always been
the product of last-minuteopportunities. So after my
(02:12):
master's studies, I wasencouraged to pursue further
studies, and so I decided to goto the U.S. to study, went to
the University of Illinois formy PhD. And at the time that I
was about to finish my PhDstudies, the plan was again to
go back to the Philippines towork. But then I had, as a
foreign student, the opportunityto work in the U.S. for a year,
(02:34):
which was the optional practicaltraining benefit of my student
visa. And then a facultyposition opening came up at the
University of Georgia. I toldmyself, I'm just gonna give it a
try, I'm not going to expectanything. And lo and behold, I
got the job. And so I've beenhere in the University of
Georgia for 21 years now. And myfamily, when they came to
(02:58):
Georgia, having been uprootedfrom the Philippines to North
America, specifically Canada andIllinois, when they got to
Georgia, they said, "We like theweather here, so we want to stay
here, make sure you get yourtenure, make sure we live here
forever."
Everyone (03:11):
[laughter]
Jordan Powers (03:13):
And as someone who just moved here from the
Midwest, I'm thinking theopposite. I'm going it's too
hot, it's too hot!
Cesar Escalante (03:17):
We're the same, I'm from Illinois, I came from
Illinois before.
Jordan Powers (03:20):
And there's where I grew up. I'd like to also
touch on you know, you'vestudied in the Philippines, in
Canada, in the United States,how has your international
education influenced your workand the way that you work?
Cesar Escalante (03:32):
It was both influential and very helpful. It
was helpful in the sense that,when I went to grad school and
eventually embarked on my careeras a faculty member, I brought
along a wealth of experiencescoming from a different
perspective, from theperspective of a person who was
exposed to a differentenvironment in a developing
(03:52):
country. So I told you that Iworked in a bank for nine years
in the Philippines. And so thatwas really very, very helpful
when I went to grad school. Andnow when I'm working as a
faculty member of the Universityof Georgia, then I was also
fortunate enough to benefit fromsupplementary and complementary
(04:14):
perspectives, from my mentors,and from my collaborators. We
work on the same problem, but wehave different perspectives of
looking at it. So it's been veryhelpful, influential, in a sense
that since I come from adeveloping country, I always
insist on looking at things in amore sophisticated way, in the
(04:35):
sense that I always inject oradd additional issues that I
thought were important because Iam coming from a different
perspective.
Jordan Powers (04:44):
Absolutely. It's important to have all those
voices at the table. And I feellike a lot of times we know it's
important, but it becomes abigger challenge to actually act
on that than we think it is. Soit's wonderful to know that
you've been able to do thatthroughout your work.
Emily Davenport (04:58):
Could you tell us a little bit about what
agricultural economics is?
Cesar Escalante (05:02):
Alright. So the whole idea of economics is just
the reality that, when you talkabout a farm business, a
business would usually have verylimited available resources. So
the business owner would have tomake decisions on how to
allocate those resources,utilize those resources. And
that's where economics comes in.
And usually, these decisionswould have as an end goal, two
(05:26):
types of goals. One isquantitative. The other one is
qualitative. And thequantitative set of goals would
be – do you want to make areturn, you want your business
to be profitable? And thequalitative side of it – are
your decisions, improving yourquality of life, is it
increasing your welfare? Soeconomics is like a tool for
(05:49):
making the farm business ownermake those decisions in such a
way that the quantitative andqualitative goals are realized.
And I am so fortunate that I wasable to really be in the field
of agricultural economics,because actually, my background,
and I was in my undergraduatestudies, I was actually an
(06:11):
economics major. And then, Italked about going to grad
school. And that was when I gota fellowship that required me to
study something related toagriculture. And for a while, I
was not too excited about it.
But when I got into it, I wasreally thankful that I was led
(06:32):
into agricultural economics.
Because agricultural economicsis a very applied discipline. We
do a lot of applied research.
And since then, I started toreally appreciate the value of
applied research. I am notsaying that theoretical research
is not important. But,conducting research for
(06:52):
knowledges sake, for me, that'snot very meaningful. With
agricultural economics, I wasexposed to a lot of
opportunities to be able to seehow what I'm doing as a
researcher actually becomesuseful to other people.
Emily Davenport (07:08):
Can you talk a little bit more about your
applied research versus the,like you said, you're not doing
theoretical research, but moreapplied, can you give us some
examples of what that lookslike?
Cesar Escalante (07:19):
Yes, I will. I told you that I came here in
2001, and was primarily anExtension specialist, Extension
faculty. My interactions with myExtension clientele, which would
include farmers and lenders,actually opened me up to a rich
set of issues happening in thereal world. When farmers and
(07:40):
lenders come to me to interactwith me and tell me their
stories, when I go back toAthens, for my fieldwork, I make
sure that I develop my researchagendas that will address those
issues that I just collectedfrom my clientele. And so, when
you look at the land grant model--
Sound Effect (07:57):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (07:58):
We've mentioned land-grant institutions in
previous episodes. But, as areminder, a land-grant
university is an institution inthe United States that provides
research-based programs andresources for residents within
the state. There is at least oneland-grant institution in every
state and territory of theUnited States, as well as the
District of Columbia. Eachinstitution receives federal
(08:21):
benefits as set forth by theMorrill Acts of 1862, 1890 and
1994.
Sound Effect (08:28):
[chime]
Cesar Escalante (08:28):
-- extension, research and teaching, they
actually complemented eachother. Extension is the feeder
of issues, my interactions withthe clientele would introduce me
to some very important issues.
Research is the investigativearm. You expound, you examine,
you pursue these issues with anacademic standpoint, or academic
(08:50):
approach, using a lot of thetools that you learned in
school. And then teaching wouldbe the dissemination tool. You
disseminate what you found inyour extension work, and in your
research your findings from yourresearch, and you go to teaching
and you disseminate that withthe hope that the people that
you're teaching them to, willcontinue to work. And I have a
(09:11):
lot of wonderful stories aboutthat. And I call it actually a
multiplier effect. Like I startsomething that I got from
extension, I do research when Igo and teach my students. And
when I even interest my studentsin doing the same thing that I
was interested in, I found thatthe students just are able to
like acquire the same passionthat I had. They embrace the
(09:33):
issues. They liked the issuesbecause some of them, especially
minority students, are able toidentify with the issues. So
they become very interested andpassionate about it. And I've
been here for more than 20 yearsalready, so I've seen how it
worked. And what happened wasthat long after they have left
the university, long after theyhave graduated, they actually
(09:53):
continued to work. I can giveyou several examples of how this
multiplier effect that I amtalking about has worked through
the years, I had a student whoafter graduation went to
Cameroon as a Peace Corpsvolunteer, I had a student who
joined an NGO in the Northwestand has been traveling to Africa
(10:13):
to help women there assert theirrights in terms of land
ownership. I have a number ofstudents who are now county
agents of the CooperativeExtension Service. I have
students, former students whoare now lending officers, and my
hope is that everything that wetalked about, because we talked
and I know we're going to talkabout these issues later, about
(10:36):
the lending issues. And I'm myhope is that everything that we
worked on, everything that wediscussed, everything that we
realized, they're alsoimplementing them in their new
careers. And many otherexamples. I'm so excited about
this multiplier effect, youalways think that as an
individual, you are very, veryinadequate, you're by yourself,
and you cannot make adifference. But it is through
(10:58):
the students that you work with,that you influence somehow, and
that you entice to acquire thepassion, that they're able to
continue the job and this reallythe multiplier effect in play
there.
Jordan Powers (11:13):
Absolutely and hearing you talk about this
multiplier effect, it almostseems for you that there's
almost a fourth pillar that kindof comes after teaching and in
that mentorship of students. Canyou tell us a little bit about
what mentorship has meant to youthroughout your career at UGA?
Cesar Escalante (11:27):
It's meant so much to me, I mentioned to you
that I was once a foreignstudent. And I mentioned to you
also that I brought along ayoung family with me when I was
going to school. There was somuch hardship when I was going
to school, trying to maintain myfamily, at the same time also
making sure that I was doingwell in my studies. The
hardships came from varioussources. Cultural, social, and
(11:49):
especially financial. Subsistingon a graduate student
assistantship to raise a family.
And, you know, eventually inIllinois, we had our second
child, so the family wasgrowing, was becoming larger,
was very, very, verychallenging. Now, the reason why
I brought that up is becausewhen I became a faculty member,
myself, I promised myself thatevery time I am able to identify
specific student situations thatmirror the same situations that
(12:14):
I went through that I would helpthat student. Now, there's also
like a precondition to that. IfI identify potential in the
student, and I identify, or I'mable to validate, that this
student has the willingness toreally work hard, but there were
just like obstacles orimpediments surrounding that
student, which were like thesame impediments that I had,
(12:36):
then I'm going to step in andsay, I'm going to help you,
there is no way that you willnot succeed, because you have
the potential, you have thewillingness to work hard.
There's no way that you will notsucceed, so let's help each
other transcend all thoselimitations. So one of the
popular limitations would alwaysbe social adjustment. Talking
about minority students, theycome here, they think that they
(12:58):
do not belong. But then, as Isaid, I'm able to validate that
they actually had like thepotential and the willingness to
work. So I tell them, we'regoing to help you adjust
socially, I went through thatmyself, as well. So that has
always been the motivation. Theother thing about mentorship is
that, since I derived myresearch from my extension work,
(13:20):
they usually come out as verysocially relevant research
projects. And they serve asrecruitment and retention tools
for the students. When they seethe research that I'm doing,
they're actually lured into thethings that I'm doing, because
they're interested in it, theyidentify with the issues that
I'm working on. And so, usually,we are able to collaborate
(13:43):
really well and turn in reallymeaningful outputs from our
collaborations. And then theother third one, of course, I
already talked about, which isthe multiplier effect, that,
that's the one that excites. Soall these three things about
being able to identify withstudents, the recruitment and
retention tool in my sociallyrelevant research and multiplier
(14:03):
effect. These are the majormotivations of why I always like
to mentor students.
Emily Davenport (14:11):
That's really great to have that experience
that you can provide with yourstudents to have those
experiences inform both yourresearch and your experiences
with your students. I thinkthat's really cool. Could you
talk a bit about your researchfocus in maybe specifically
about gender and racial bias inagricultural lending?
Cesar Escalante (14:30):
Yes. When I came in, in 2001, at that time,
the conversations I had withfarmers especially revolved
around bias because, a few yearsbefore that, in the late 1990s,
the African American farmerssucceeded in getting a lot of
their lawsuits to becollectively regarded as a class
(14:52):
action lawsuit, which was a bigvictory for them. And at that
time, the discussions on biasdiscrimination in lending
decisions by the Farm ServiceAgency, which is the
government's lending arm to thefarm sector and which is under
the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, there were a lot of
lawsuits lodged against thembecause of claims of
(15:14):
discrimination or biased lendingdecisions. The African American
farmers were the most prominentgroup, in, in that lawsuit
issue. But then came theHispanic farmers, came the
Native American farmers, andalso came the women farmers,
they also followed the exampleof the African American farmers.
So when I came in, in 2001, andI was doing a lot of extension
(15:35):
work from 2001, till like around2010, most of the discussions
were about this complaint thatthey had. They told me a lot of
stories about their experiences.
And their concern was alwaysthat they experienced a high
rejection rate, these minorityfarmers and disagreement
farmers. Their assertion ortheir allegation was that they
were discriminated because oftheir race, and or gender. So
(15:57):
that was how I came to do a lotof work on bias in lending. But
I also do not forget the factthat I am a university faculty
and I need to be impartial. Sohere is my extension work. I'm
gathering a lot of evidence fromfarmers. But I also need to hear
the side of the government, Ialso need to hear the side of
(16:17):
the lender. So when I conductedresearch, I always made sure
that I was impartial. And theresults of my research were
really very, very interesting,because I started with an
investigation on the creditaccess problem, with that bias
there or discrimination. Andthen when I tied that up with
(16:38):
how lenders make decisions, andalso considering that over the
years, the USDA has actuallyimplemented reforms to minimize
bias. So, putting all those intoconsideration led me to an
important realization that evenif USDA through FSA has
implemented reforms to increasethe objectivity of the loan
(17:02):
decision process, so that biaswill be out of the picture, even
if that resolves the creditaccess problem, that's still not
the end of the story. Becausewhen you look at minority
farmers, women farmers, theyoperate farm businesses that are
actually financially inferiorcompared to the majority.
Minority farms, or ones operatedby women farmers, they're
(17:24):
usually small, they're usuallynot as profitable as the larger
businesses operated by themajority. They're not as liquid.
And so they have like someoperating issues that they need
to resolve. So even if you givethem the loan that they thought
they needed to get, if you takeout discrimination from the
picture, there's still a problemabout how to make these farms of
(17:45):
minority farmers and womenfarmers competitive or equally
viable compared to the farmsoperated by the majority. So I
started my investigation withthe credit access issue. I even
extended that to look at howloan packaging terms or interest
rates or loan maturity or loanamounts, those decisions were
(18:07):
made. But then, even afteraddressing those important
issues about loans, we realizedthat more has to be done. If you
want farm businesses operated byminority and women farmers to
succeed, for them to succeed,what I mean is that for them to
become equally viable,sustainable, and are able to
(18:27):
compete with the rest of theindustry. Going back to my
discussion about the creditaccess problems, and the lenders
have started to introduce a lotof objectivity in their loan
decision process so that biaswill be out of the picture. So
they develop models, okay, loanapplication, or loan evaluation
models. But then when you inputthe numbers coming from the
(18:49):
minority farms, and the farmsoperated by women into those
models, they will naturallyscore low in those models,
because of the very fact that Itold you about they have smaller
businesses, they have lessprofitable businesses and all
those types of issues. So that'swhy I came to the conclusion
that there's more to the creditaccess problem, which is that if
(19:09):
you want to help these farms, itshould be a coordinated effort
from a lot of institutionssurrounding these businesses
that will help addressdeficiencies in all fronts. Like
for example, when you try tofigure out where these farms
are, they usually are located invery remote places. So
transportation, you need toaddress that, and, for them to
(19:33):
be able to market theirproducts. When they get to the
markets. You also have to makesure that there's no bias there.
I'm not aware of any study doneon this one about bias in the
marketplace. But the hunch ofthese producers, there farmers
who talked to me, were that whenthey start selling their
products, they probably are notable to command the most
favorable prices because of theway they look, of their accents.
(19:56):
And you know if thoseallegations are true, then we
need also to address that. So alot of other fronts of business
operation need to be addressed.
If we want these farms tosucceed. Can you imagine if like
all those fronts are addressed?
If you have a farm operated by aminority or women farmer who has
been assisted to operate viablebusinesses, then when they go to
(20:18):
the lender, they're not going tohave a credit access issue
anymore. You know, especially ifthe lender has already
eliminated bias and subjectivitythere. Because for sure that
their businesses will now reallyfare well in those models that
are used to make loanapplication approval or
rejection decisions. And alsomodels that are used to
(20:40):
determine how much the interestrate should be, or how long is
the repayment period.
Jordan Powers (20:46):
It goes so much further and beyond the scope of
the loan itself.
Cesar Escalante (20:50):
Yes. And we thought that it was just the
issue. But then, as I said,because of what I have done, we
realize that it's more thanthat. But it doesn't mean that
it doesn't need to be addressed,you start addressing that issue.
But then you move on from thatand continue to like make sure
that the other infrastructuresurrounding it would be also
improved.
Jordan Powers (21:10):
Can you tell us how immigration ties into this
work specifically?
Cesar Escalante (21:15):
Well, the immigration issue also came up
while I was doing extensionwork. After 9/11, the country
and several states launchedaggressive immigration control
policies. We had already hadamendments to the National
Immigration Law. But thenseveral states also came up with
their own additional orsupplementary immigration
(21:37):
policies, which were alldesigned to enforce more
strictly the immigration controlactivities. I always wanted to
clarify that I was notconducting research on
immigration, because I'm aforeigner myself. I ended up
doing research onimmigration-related issues,
especially relating to farmlabor. Because when I talked to
(21:58):
farmers, especially smallfarmers, they actually had
problems with labor procurement,labor employment when stricter
immigration laws were enforced.
The rationale behind immigrationcontrol in the late 2000s, and
we should recall that at thattime, we were going through a
recession, so in a recession,what usually happens there is
lack of jobs. So they thought,"Oh, this is just the right time
(22:22):
to really push for immigrationcontrol. We need jobs for our
local residents, for domesticresidents. So let those
unauthorized immigrants leave sothey can vacate those jobs, and
our local people can take overthose jobs. And that will solve
the employment problem." That'svery, very logical. That really
makes a lot of sense. It worked,but not in the farm sector.
(22:44):
Because in the farm sector,local people do not want to take
on those jobs, because localpeople, domestic workers, they
find farm work to be verydifficult, physically
exhausting, low pay and lack ofprotection, lack of fringe
benefits, there are healthrisks, environmental risks, and
a lot of other issues there. SoI did a lot of studies that
(23:08):
validated this, that showed thata lot of our domestic workers
are actually biased towardsnon-farm jobs. They would always
be hesitant to work in farmsbecause of reasons that I just
mentioned. So when I was doingextension work, I came across
farmers who are having theseproblems. They did not have
workers who were willing localworkers were willing to work in
(23:31):
their farms. Some of them havealready exhausted their family
labor. I remember several caseswhere they even asked their
children to stop going toschool, they were already in
college, they asked children tostop going to school so they can
work full-time in the farm. Andall these accounts that I
gathered from individualfarmers, they actually were
eventually validated by one verycontroversial news that came out
(23:55):
in the spring, I think in 2010.
When Georgia's governor, I thinkGovernor Perdue at the time, and
the Georgia Department ofAgriculture made a controversial
statement saying our crop farmsare actually losing millions of
dollars, because a lot of thecrops that are in the field are
(24:16):
just rotting away, they cannotbe harvested because we do not
have workers. And then we haveour Center for Agribusiness and
Economic Development, which isactually in our college, they
were commissioned to do avalidation survey. And indeed,
there were 1000s of unfilledpositions because local workers
do not want to take on thosejobs, that led to millions of
(24:38):
crop losses. So, back to myearlier statement, I did not end
up working on a research relatedto immigration because I'm a
foreigner myself, but because myclientele the farms that I was
working with the small farms,they were the ones who had
problems. What do you do whenyou have a labor problem if
you're a farm business owner?
You mechanize. You replace laborwith machines. But when you're
(25:01):
talking about small farms, theycannot afford to mechanize
because mechanization is very,very expensive. So they have to
rely on labor. If they havealready exhausted all their
family members working in thefarms, where else can they turn
to. So that's when they came tome and they discussed the
problems. And so I did a lot ofresearch. And I actually ended
(25:23):
up going into another area,which is like looking at the
government's H2A guest farmworker visa program as a way to
help these farms source theirworkers, foreign workers on a
contractual basis. But thenagain, it's a continuing work,
because that program is not aperfect program. In fact, some
(25:44):
farms also have issues with thatprogram. So we continue to do
research in this area for thesake of like opening eyes to the
need for reforms, for changes,so that the very people, the
very businesses that need to usethis program will be able to use
them. And so the labor problemwill be resolved.
Emily Davenport (26:04):
Wow, a lot to think about. You mentioned the
recession in the early 2000s.
And right now our economy ischanging again, can you talk a
bit about how agriculture isimpacted by a changing economy?
Cesar Escalante (26:18):
Everything that happens in our economy, they're
actually interrelated. So anydecision that's made by a
particular member of the economywill always have a direct and or
indirect impact on the farm. Wehave policymakers who formulate
laws. And so those laws, theywill have always repercussions
(26:41):
on different sectors on thefarm, their effects would
actually be varied. Some willbenefit, some will not. People
like us, individual consumers,the decisions that we make based
on our personal behavior, theywill affect the individual
farms. We actually can dictateto them what they need to do
through our choices through ourtastes through our preferences.
(27:03):
So, the pandemic, because I knowyou're referring to the changes
in the times, has actually ledto a lot of solutions or
policies that the government hastried to implement with a
particular goal in mind. Thatgoal would sometimes address a
particular sector of thesociety, but that doesn't mean
that just because it's a policythat's addressed towards health
(27:26):
care, it's not going to affectthe farm. My point in saying is
that any decision made in oursociety, in our economy, would
always have the direct andindirect effect on the farm. And
the pandemic has definitelymodified a lot of the decisions
and how, how businesses wouldoperate their farms. Conditions
(27:49):
that are modified from time totime, they actually induce farm
business owners to adapt andmake adjustments. And in the
process, they're able toassimilate a different way of
doing things. That's probably alittle bit too abstract, but
what I can just say is that thefarm sector has always been an
(28:09):
important supplier of basiccommodities, regardless of
whether it's a recession or not.
So during the recession, thefarm sector was only able to
realize how important the sectorwas because, whether you are
under a recession or not, peoplestill need to eat. So we just
adapt to the needs of the times.
(28:30):
And also realizing that thereare additional constraints in
the way we operate ourbusinesses, because of the
changing times, will make usmodify our business strategies.
Jordan Powers (28:40):
There's a lot to unpack there, I feel like we
could have a whole next episodejust on those topics. But I want
to turn the conversation to alittle bit more of a celebratory
tone. You recently received theKetchum Prize from the FINRA
Foundation. Congratulations onthis huge honor! Can you tell us
what receiving the Ketchum Prizemeans to you and your work?
Cesar Escalante (29:00):
Ketchum Prize was something that was
unexpected. They said that theKetchum Prize is the highest
prize that the FinancialIndustry Regulatory Authority,
or FINRA, would actually awardeach year. And it recognizes
outstanding work in service andresearch that would advance
financial capability, financialinclusion, and investor
(29:23):
protection. I believe that theyrecognized me not for all those
three, but specifically for twoof those three, which would be
financial capability andfinancial inclusion. And they
zeroed in on my work on theracial and gender bias in
lending. And I cannot expresshow humbling and how
(29:44):
overwhelming this recognitionwas. Because when I do my job, I
just do it because I thoughtthat it was necessary. I never
realized that I was actuallycontributing something The award
actually made me realize that Isomehow contributed to the
commotion or the voice that allthis minority farmers, and the
(30:08):
women farmers were making sincethe 1990s. I thought that I was
just a bystander observingthings, and then doing things in
my own limited capacity withouteven realizing that it was
making sense. So for the KetchumPrize, to remind me that I
somehow was able to help is justtoo humbling and too flattering.
(30:32):
And I am glad that they did, notfor my sake, but for the fact
that such recognition will onlydevelop greater awareness of the
issue. Because even if I toldyou that the racial and gender
issues were more prevalent inthe late 1990s, when there was
so much going on in that area,and then reforms were already
(30:54):
made over the years, the issueof bias and discrimination lives
on, I mean, it still prevails insome forms. So to be able to
generate some attention towardsthat issue would only remind
everybody that nothing beats asociety that operates in an
equitable, fair and just way,and that ideal is always
(31:18):
something that everyone shouldtry to help to promote.
Emily Davenport (31:23):
Definitely, always striving towards that
ideal, and congratulations againon that incredible achievement.
Cesar Escalante (31:30):
Thank you so much.
Emily Davenport (31:31):
And I know the FINRA Foundation recently
interviewed you for a podcastepisode that goes further
in-depth on this particularaspect of your work, so we'll
link that for our listeners inthe show notes. Was there
anything else that you wanted toshare with us today that you
feel like we missed?
Cesar Escalante (31:46):
Even though I have been here for 21 years
already at the University ofGeorgia, I always am compelled
to always try my very best tocreate an impact. Georgia has
been my home for two decades,the place where I live the
longest. And as a home, I feellike acclimated here, I feel
really comfortable. And thenmaybe the reason why I feel this
(32:08):
way is because year after year,I welcome a new batch of people
coming from different places.
And then that experience willalways remind me of my
beginnings. And when I'mreminded of my origins as like
when I too was a foreignstudent, and it was trying to
fit in, the more I'm pressured,the more I am compelled to
always assert myself in a waythat I make sure that I do
(32:30):
things that are worthwhile, andthat will contribute to the
ideals of my employer. So, mypoint is that I don't know when
this experience of fitting inwill end. I know that I already
fit in I know that I'm already alegitimate or a permanent member
of this community. But every nowand then I'm just reminded that
(32:56):
I need to do more because,because I'm still a minority.
Jordan Powers (33:02):
Well Dr.
Escalante, thank you for joiningus today. Your passion is
inspirational is contagious. Andwe're very grateful for your
time.
Cesar Escalante (33:12):
Oh, thank you so much. I feel honored that you
selected me for this project.
Sound Effect (33:16):
[music]
Emily Davenport (33:17):
Thanks for listening to "Cultivating
Curiosity," a podcast producedby the UGA College of
Agricultural and EnvironmentalSciences. A special thanks to
Mason McClintock for our musicand sound effects. Find more
episodes wherever you get yourpodcasts.
[music]
Emily Davenport (00:01):
Welcome to "Cultivating Curiosity," where
we get down and dirty with theexperts on all the ways science
and agriculture touch our lives,from what we eat to how we live.
I'm Emily Davenport.
Jordan Powers (00:12):
And I'm Jordan Powers. And we're from the
University of Georgia's Collegeof Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
Sound Effect (00:19):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (00:21):
We're here today talking with Dr. Cesar Escalante
in the agricultural economicsdepartment at the UGA College of
Agricultural and EnvironmentalSciences. Dr. Escalante, thanks
for joining us today.
Cesar Escalante (00:31):
Well, thank you so much, and it's a great
pleasure to be part of thisproject.
Jordan Powers (00:34):
Wonderful. Well, we're gonna dive right in
because we have a lot to talkabout. And this this first
question is a bit of a broadone, can you introduce yourself
and a bit about your background,and then how you ended up at
UGA?
Cesar Escalante (00:44):
Alright, I'm originally from the Philippines.
It was when I wanted to go tograduate school and that was
after working in a commercialbank in the Philippines for nine
years, working on special typesof loans coming from the World
Bank, from the Asian DevelopmentBank, USAID and other
multilateral institutions thatwere designed to help small and
(01:07):
medium enterprises in thePhilippines. And that was
actually the motivation that Ihad when I went to grad school,
that I wanted to continue thatkind of line of work, that every
time I conducted research, Iwould always insist on issues
that I experienced whileperforming the job in the bank.
And that's how I was so happythat I was led into the field of
(01:31):
agricultural economics, whichactually had a lot of issues,
and methodologies and approachesthat were very, very consistent
or compatible with what I wasaccustomed to when I was working
in the bank. When I finally hadthe chance to go back to grad
school, I had my family then, avery young family, that I had to
(01:51):
bring my wife and my 11 monthold daughter to Canada for my
master's studies. And at thattime, the plan was just to
finish studying, and then goback to the Philippines to work.
But after each segment of ourlife since then, has always been
the product of last-minuteopportunities. So after my
(02:12):
master's studies, I wasencouraged to pursue further
studies, and so I decided to goto the U.S. to study, went to
the University of Illinois formy PhD. And at the time that I
was about to finish my PhDstudies, the plan was again to
go back to the Philippines towork. But then I had, as a
foreign student, the opportunityto work in the U.S. for a year,
(02:34):
which was the optional practicaltraining benefit of my student
visa. And then a facultyposition opening came up at the
University of Georgia. I toldmyself, I'm just gonna give it a
try, I'm not going to expectanything. And lo and behold, I
got the job. And so I've beenhere in the University of
Georgia for 21 years now. And myfamily, when they came to
(02:58):
Georgia, having been uprootedfrom the Philippines to North
America, specifically Canada andIllinois, when they got to
Georgia, they said, "We like theweather here, so we want to stay
here, make sure you get yourtenure, make sure we live here
forever."
Everyone (03:11):
[laughter]
Jordan Powers (03:13):
And as someone who just moved here from the
Midwest, I'm thinking theopposite. I'm going it's too
hot, it's too hot!
Cesar Escalante (03:17):
We're the same, I'm from Illinois, I came from
Illinois before.
Jordan Powers (03:20):
And there's where I grew up. I'd like to also
touch on you know, you'vestudied in the Philippines, in
Canada, in the United States,how has your international
education influenced your workand the way that you work?
Cesar Escalante (03:32):
It was both influential and very helpful. It
was helpful in the sense that,when I went to grad school and
eventually embarked on my careeras a faculty member, I brought
along a wealth of experiencescoming from a different
perspective, from theperspective of a person who was
exposed to a differentenvironment in a developing
(03:52):
country. So I told you that Iworked in a bank for nine years
in the Philippines. And so thatwas really very, very helpful
when I went to grad school. Andnow when I'm working as a
faculty member of the Universityof Georgia, then I was also
fortunate enough to benefit fromsupplementary and complementary
(04:14):
perspectives, from my mentors,and from my collaborators. We
work on the same problem, but wehave different perspectives of
looking at it. So it's been veryhelpful, influential, in a sense
that since I come from adeveloping country, I always
insist on looking at things in amore sophisticated way, in the
(04:35):
sense that I always inject oradd additional issues that I
thought were important because Iam coming from a different
perspective.
Jordan Powers (04:44):
Absolutely. It's important to have all those
voices at the table. And I feellike a lot of times we know it's
important, but it becomes abigger challenge to actually act
on that than we think it is. Soit's wonderful to know that
you've been able to do thatthroughout your work.
Emily Davenport (04:58):
Could you tell us a little bit about what
agricultural economics is?
Cesar Escalante (05:02):
Alright. So the whole idea of economics is just
the reality that, when you talkabout a farm business, a
business would usually have verylimited available resources. So
the business owner would have tomake decisions on how to
allocate those resources,utilize those resources. And
that's where economics comes in.
And usually, these decisionswould have as an end goal, two
(05:26):
types of goals. One isquantitative. The other one is
qualitative. And thequantitative set of goals would
be – do you want to make areturn, you want your business
to be profitable? And thequalitative side of it – are
your decisions, improving yourquality of life, is it
increasing your welfare? Soeconomics is like a tool for
(05:49):
making the farm business ownermake those decisions in such a
way that the quantitative andqualitative goals are realized.
And I am so fortunate that I wasable to really be in the field
of agricultural economics,because actually, my background,
and I was in my undergraduatestudies, I was actually an
(06:11):
economics major. And then, Italked about going to grad
school. And that was when I gota fellowship that required me to
study something related toagriculture. And for a while, I
was not too excited about it.
But when I got into it, I wasreally thankful that I was led
(06:32):
into agricultural economics.
Because agricultural economicsis a very applied discipline. We
do a lot of applied research.
And since then, I started toreally appreciate the value of
applied research. I am notsaying that theoretical research
is not important. But,conducting research for
(06:52):
knowledges sake, for me, that'snot very meaningful. With
agricultural economics, I wasexposed to a lot of
opportunities to be able to seehow what I'm doing as a
researcher actually becomesuseful to other people.
Emily Davenport (07:08):
Can you talk a little bit more about your
applied research versus the,like you said, you're not doing
theoretical research, but moreapplied, can you give us some
examples of what that lookslike?
Cesar Escalante (07:19):
Yes, I will. I told you that I came here in
2001, and was primarily anExtension specialist, Extension
faculty. My interactions with myExtension clientele, which would
include farmers and lenders,actually opened me up to a rich
set of issues happening in thereal world. When farmers and
(07:40):
lenders come to me to interactwith me and tell me their
stories, when I go back toAthens, for my fieldwork, I make
sure that I develop my researchagendas that will address those
issues that I just collectedfrom my clientele. And so, when
you look at the land grant model--
Sound Effect (07:57):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (07:58):
We've mentioned land-grant institutions in
previous episodes. But, as areminder, a land-grant
university is an institution inthe United States that provides
research-based programs andresources for residents within
the state. There is at least oneland-grant institution in every
state and territory of theUnited States, as well as the
District of Columbia. Eachinstitution receives federal
(08:21):
benefits as set forth by theMorrill Acts of 1862, 1890 and
1994.
Sound Effect (08:28):
[chime]
Cesar Escalante (08:28):
-- extension, research and teaching, they
actually complemented eachother. Extension is the feeder
of issues, my interactions withthe clientele would introduce me
to some very important issues.
Research is the investigativearm. You expound, you examine,
you pursue these issues with anacademic standpoint, or academic
(08:50):
approach, using a lot of thetools that you learned in
school. And then teaching wouldbe the dissemination tool. You
disseminate what you found inyour extension work, and in your
research your findings from yourresearch, and you go to teaching
and you disseminate that withthe hope that the people that
you're teaching them to, willcontinue to work. And I have a
(09:11):
lot of wonderful stories aboutthat. And I call it actually a
multiplier effect. Like I startsomething that I got from
extension, I do research when Igo and teach my students. And
when I even interest my studentsin doing the same thing that I
was interested in, I found thatthe students just are able to
like acquire the same passionthat I had. They embrace the
(09:33):
issues. They liked the issuesbecause some of them, especially
minority students, are able toidentify with the issues. So
they become very interested andpassionate about it. And I've
been here for more than 20 yearsalready, so I've seen how it
worked. And what happened wasthat long after they have left
the university, long after theyhave graduated, they actually
(09:53):
continued to work. I can giveyou several examples of how this
multiplier effect that I amtalking about has worked through
the years, I had a student whoafter graduation went to
Cameroon as a Peace Corpsvolunteer, I had a student who
joined an NGO in the Northwestand has been traveling to Africa
(10:13):
to help women there assert theirrights in terms of land
ownership. I have a number ofstudents who are now county
agents of the CooperativeExtension Service. I have
students, former students whoare now lending officers, and my
hope is that everything that wetalked about, because we talked
and I know we're going to talkabout these issues later, about
(10:36):
the lending issues. And I'm myhope is that everything that we
worked on, everything that wediscussed, everything that we
realized, they're alsoimplementing them in their new
careers. And many otherexamples. I'm so excited about
this multiplier effect, youalways think that as an
individual, you are very, veryinadequate, you're by yourself,
and you cannot make adifference. But it is through
(10:58):
the students that you work with,that you influence somehow, and
that you entice to acquire thepassion, that they're able to
continue the job and this reallythe multiplier effect in play
there.
Jordan Powers (11:13):
Absolutely and hearing you talk about this
multiplier effect, it almostseems for you that there's
almost a fourth pillar that kindof comes after teaching and in
that mentorship of students. Canyou tell us a little bit about
what mentorship has meant to youthroughout your career at UGA?
Cesar Escalante (11:27):
It's meant so much to me, I mentioned to you
that I was once a foreignstudent. And I mentioned to you
also that I brought along ayoung family with me when I was
going to school. There was somuch hardship when I was going
to school, trying to maintain myfamily, at the same time also
making sure that I was doingwell in my studies. The
hardships came from varioussources. Cultural, social, and
(11:49):
especially financial. Subsistingon a graduate student
assistantship to raise a family.
And, you know, eventually inIllinois, we had our second
child, so the family wasgrowing, was becoming larger,
was very, very, verychallenging. Now, the reason why
I brought that up is becausewhen I became a faculty member,
myself, I promised myself thatevery time I am able to identify
specific student situations thatmirror the same situations that
(12:14):
I went through that I would helpthat student. Now, there's also
like a precondition to that. IfI identify potential in the
student, and I identify, or I'mable to validate, that this
student has the willingness toreally work hard, but there were
just like obstacles orimpediments surrounding that
student, which were like thesame impediments that I had,
(12:36):
then I'm going to step in andsay, I'm going to help you,
there is no way that you willnot succeed, because you have
the potential, you have thewillingness to work hard.
There's no way that you will notsucceed, so let's help each
other transcend all thoselimitations. So one of the
popular limitations would alwaysbe social adjustment. Talking
about minority students, theycome here, they think that they
(12:58):
do not belong. But then, as Isaid, I'm able to validate that
they actually had like thepotential and the willingness to
work. So I tell them, we'regoing to help you adjust
socially, I went through thatmyself, as well. So that has
always been the motivation. Theother thing about mentorship is
that, since I derived myresearch from my extension work,
(13:20):
they usually come out as verysocially relevant research
projects. And they serve asrecruitment and retention tools
for the students. When they seethe research that I'm doing,
they're actually lured into thethings that I'm doing, because
they're interested in it, theyidentify with the issues that
I'm working on. And so, usually,we are able to collaborate
(13:43):
really well and turn in reallymeaningful outputs from our
collaborations. And then theother third one, of course, I
already talked about, which isthe multiplier effect, that,
that's the one that excites. Soall these three things about
being able to identify withstudents, the recruitment and
retention tool in my sociallyrelevant research and multiplier
(14:03):
effect. These are the majormotivations of why I always like
to mentor students.
Emily Davenport (14:11):
That's really great to have that experience
that you can provide with yourstudents to have those
experiences inform both yourresearch and your experiences
with your students. I thinkthat's really cool. Could you
talk a bit about your researchfocus in maybe specifically
about gender and racial bias inagricultural lending?
Cesar Escalante (14:30):
Yes. When I came in, in 2001, at that time,
the conversations I had withfarmers especially revolved
around bias because, a few yearsbefore that, in the late 1990s,
the African American farmerssucceeded in getting a lot of
their lawsuits to becollectively regarded as a class
(14:52):
action lawsuit, which was a bigvictory for them. And at that
time, the discussions on biasdiscrimination in lending
decisions by the Farm ServiceAgency, which is the
government's lending arm to thefarm sector and which is under
the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, there were a lot of
lawsuits lodged against thembecause of claims of
(15:14):
discrimination or biased lendingdecisions. The African American
farmers were the most prominentgroup, in, in that lawsuit
issue. But then came theHispanic farmers, came the
Native American farmers, andalso came the women farmers,
they also followed the exampleof the African American farmers.
So when I came in, in 2001, andI was doing a lot of extension
(15:35):
work from 2001, till like around2010, most of the discussions
were about this complaint thatthey had. They told me a lot of
stories about their experiences.
And their concern was alwaysthat they experienced a high
rejection rate, these minorityfarmers and disagreement
farmers. Their assertion ortheir allegation was that they
were discriminated because oftheir race, and or gender. So
(15:57):
that was how I came to do a lotof work on bias in lending. But
I also do not forget the factthat I am a university faculty
and I need to be impartial. Sohere is my extension work. I'm
gathering a lot of evidence fromfarmers. But I also need to hear
the side of the government, Ialso need to hear the side of
(16:17):
the lender. So when I conductedresearch, I always made sure
that I was impartial. And theresults of my research were
really very, very interesting,because I started with an
investigation on the creditaccess problem, with that bias
there or discrimination. Andthen when I tied that up with
(16:38):
how lenders make decisions, andalso considering that over the
years, the USDA has actuallyimplemented reforms to minimize
bias. So, putting all those intoconsideration led me to an
important realization that evenif USDA through FSA has
implemented reforms to increasethe objectivity of the loan
(17:02):
decision process, so that biaswill be out of the picture, even
if that resolves the creditaccess problem, that's still not
the end of the story. Becausewhen you look at minority
farmers, women farmers, theyoperate farm businesses that are
actually financially inferiorcompared to the majority.
Minority farms, or ones operatedby women farmers, they're
(17:24):
usually small, they're usuallynot as profitable as the larger
businesses operated by themajority. They're not as liquid.
And so they have like someoperating issues that they need
to resolve. So even if you givethem the loan that they thought
they needed to get, if you takeout discrimination from the
picture, there's still a problemabout how to make these farms of
(17:45):
minority farmers and womenfarmers competitive or equally
viable compared to the farmsoperated by the majority. So I
started my investigation withthe credit access issue. I even
extended that to look at howloan packaging terms or interest
rates or loan maturity or loanamounts, those decisions were
(18:07):
made. But then, even afteraddressing those important
issues about loans, we realizedthat more has to be done. If you
want farm businesses operated byminority and women farmers to
succeed, for them to succeed,what I mean is that for them to
become equally viable,sustainable, and are able to
(18:27):
compete with the rest of theindustry. Going back to my
discussion about the creditaccess problems, and the lenders
have started to introduce a lotof objectivity in their loan
decision process so that biaswill be out of the picture. So
they develop models, okay, loanapplication, or loan evaluation
models. But then when you inputthe numbers coming from the
(18:49):
minority farms, and the farmsoperated by women into those
models, they will naturallyscore low in those models,
because of the very fact that Itold you about they have smaller
businesses, they have lessprofitable businesses and all
those types of issues. So that'swhy I came to the conclusion
that there's more to the creditaccess problem, which is that if
(19:09):
you want to help these farms, itshould be a coordinated effort
from a lot of institutionssurrounding these businesses
that will help addressdeficiencies in all fronts. Like
for example, when you try tofigure out where these farms
are, they usually are located invery remote places. So
transportation, you need toaddress that, and, for them to
(19:33):
be able to market theirproducts. When they get to the
markets. You also have to makesure that there's no bias there.
I'm not aware of any study doneon this one about bias in the
marketplace. But the hunch ofthese producers, there farmers
who talked to me, were that whenthey start selling their
products, they probably are notable to command the most
favorable prices because of theway they look, of their accents.
(19:56):
And you know if thoseallegations are true, then we
need also to address that. So alot of other fronts of business
operation need to be addressed.
If we want these farms tosucceed. Can you imagine if like
all those fronts are addressed?
If you have a farm operated by aminority or women farmer who has
been assisted to operate viablebusinesses, then when they go to
(20:18):
the lender, they're not going tohave a credit access issue
anymore. You know, especially ifthe lender has already
eliminated bias and subjectivitythere. Because for sure that
their businesses will now reallyfare well in those models that
are used to make loanapplication approval or
rejection decisions. And alsomodels that are used to
(20:40):
determine how much the interestrate should be, or how long is
the repayment period.
Jordan Powers (20:46):
It goes so much further and beyond the scope of
the loan itself.
Cesar Escalante (20:50):
Yes. And we thought that it was just the
issue. But then, as I said,because of what I have done, we
realize that it's more thanthat. But it doesn't mean that
it doesn't need to be addressed,you start addressing that issue.
But then you move on from thatand continue to like make sure
that the other infrastructuresurrounding it would be also
improved.
Jordan Powers (21:10):
Can you tell us how immigration ties into this
work specifically?
Cesar Escalante (21:15):
Well, the immigration issue also came up
while I was doing extensionwork. After 9/11, the country
and several states launchedaggressive immigration control
policies. We had already hadamendments to the National
Immigration Law. But thenseveral states also came up with
their own additional orsupplementary immigration
(21:37):
policies, which were alldesigned to enforce more
strictly the immigration controlactivities. I always wanted to
clarify that I was notconducting research on
immigration, because I'm aforeigner myself. I ended up
doing research onimmigration-related issues,
especially relating to farmlabor. Because when I talked to
(21:58):
farmers, especially smallfarmers, they actually had
problems with labor procurement,labor employment when stricter
immigration laws were enforced.
The rationale behind immigrationcontrol in the late 2000s, and
we should recall that at thattime, we were going through a
recession, so in a recession,what usually happens there is
lack of jobs. So they thought,"Oh, this is just the right time
(22:22):
to really push for immigrationcontrol. We need jobs for our
local residents, for domesticresidents. So let those
unauthorized immigrants leave sothey can vacate those jobs, and
our local people can take overthose jobs. And that will solve
the employment problem." That'svery, very logical. That really
makes a lot of sense. It worked,but not in the farm sector.
(22:44):
Because in the farm sector,local people do not want to take
on those jobs, because localpeople, domestic workers, they
find farm work to be verydifficult, physically
exhausting, low pay and lack ofprotection, lack of fringe
benefits, there are healthrisks, environmental risks, and
a lot of other issues there. SoI did a lot of studies that
(23:08):
validated this, that showed thata lot of our domestic workers
are actually biased towardsnon-farm jobs. They would always
be hesitant to work in farmsbecause of reasons that I just
mentioned. So when I was doingextension work, I came across
farmers who are having theseproblems. They did not have
workers who were willing localworkers were willing to work in
(23:31):
their farms. Some of them havealready exhausted their family
labor. I remember several caseswhere they even asked their
children to stop going toschool, they were already in
college, they asked children tostop going to school so they can
work full-time in the farm. Andall these accounts that I
gathered from individualfarmers, they actually were
eventually validated by one verycontroversial news that came out
(23:55):
in the spring, I think in 2010.
When Georgia's governor, I thinkGovernor Perdue at the time, and
the Georgia Department ofAgriculture made a controversial
statement saying our crop farmsare actually losing millions of
dollars, because a lot of thecrops that are in the field are
(24:16):
just rotting away, they cannotbe harvested because we do not
have workers. And then we haveour Center for Agribusiness and
Economic Development, which isactually in our college, they
were commissioned to do avalidation survey. And indeed,
there were 1000s of unfilledpositions because local workers
do not want to take on thosejobs, that led to millions of
(24:38):
crop losses. So, back to myearlier statement, I did not end
up working on a research relatedto immigration because I'm a
foreigner myself, but because myclientele the farms that I was
working with the small farms,they were the ones who had
problems. What do you do whenyou have a labor problem if
you're a farm business owner?
You mechanize. You replace laborwith machines. But when you're
(25:01):
talking about small farms, theycannot afford to mechanize
because mechanization is very,very expensive. So they have to
rely on labor. If they havealready exhausted all their
family members working in thefarms, where else can they turn
to. So that's when they came tome and they discussed the
problems. And so I did a lot ofresearch. And I actually ended
(25:23):
up going into another area,which is like looking at the
government's H2A guest farmworker visa program as a way to
help these farms source theirworkers, foreign workers on a
contractual basis. But thenagain, it's a continuing work,
because that program is not aperfect program. In fact, some
(25:44):
farms also have issues with thatprogram. So we continue to do
research in this area for thesake of like opening eyes to the
need for reforms, for changes,so that the very people, the
very businesses that need to usethis program will be able to use
them. And so the labor problemwill be resolved.
Emily Davenport (26:04):
Wow, a lot to think about. You mentioned the
recession in the early 2000s.
And right now our economy ischanging again, can you talk a
bit about how agriculture isimpacted by a changing economy?
Cesar Escalante (26:18):
Everything that happens in our economy, they're
actually interrelated. So anydecision that's made by a
particular member of the economywill always have a direct and or
indirect impact on the farm. Wehave policymakers who formulate
laws. And so those laws, theywill have always repercussions
(26:41):
on different sectors on thefarm, their effects would
actually be varied. Some willbenefit, some will not. People
like us, individual consumers,the decisions that we make based
on our personal behavior, theywill affect the individual
farms. We actually can dictateto them what they need to do
through our choices through ourtastes through our preferences.
(27:03):
So, the pandemic, because I knowyou're referring to the changes
in the times, has actually ledto a lot of solutions or
policies that the government hastried to implement with a
particular goal in mind. Thatgoal would sometimes address a
particular sector of thesociety, but that doesn't mean
that just because it's a policythat's addressed towards health
(27:26):
care, it's not going to affectthe farm. My point in saying is
that any decision made in oursociety, in our economy, would
always have the direct andindirect effect on the farm. And
the pandemic has definitelymodified a lot of the decisions
and how, how businesses wouldoperate their farms. Conditions
(27:49):
that are modified from time totime, they actually induce farm
business owners to adapt andmake adjustments. And in the
process, they're able toassimilate a different way of
doing things. That's probably alittle bit too abstract, but
what I can just say is that thefarm sector has always been an
(28:09):
important supplier of basiccommodities, regardless of
whether it's a recession or not.
So during the recession, thefarm sector was only able to
realize how important the sectorwas because, whether you are
under a recession or not, peoplestill need to eat. So we just
adapt to the needs of the times.
(28:30):
And also realizing that thereare additional constraints in
the way we operate ourbusinesses, because of the
changing times, will make usmodify our business strategies.
Jordan Powers (28:40):
There's a lot to unpack there, I feel like we
could have a whole next episodejust on those topics. But I want
to turn the conversation to alittle bit more of a celebratory
tone. You recently received theKetchum Prize from the FINRA
Foundation. Congratulations onthis huge honor! Can you tell us
what receiving the Ketchum Prizemeans to you and your work?
Cesar Escalante (29:00):
Ketchum Prize was something that was
unexpected. They said that theKetchum Prize is the highest
prize that the FinancialIndustry Regulatory Authority,
or FINRA, would actually awardeach year. And it recognizes
outstanding work in service andresearch that would advance
financial capability, financialinclusion, and investor
(29:23):
protection. I believe that theyrecognized me not for all those
three, but specifically for twoof those three, which would be
financial capability andfinancial inclusion. And they
zeroed in on my work on theracial and gender bias in
lending. And I cannot expresshow humbling and how
(29:44):
overwhelming this recognitionwas. Because when I do my job, I
just do it because I thoughtthat it was necessary. I never
realized that I was actuallycontributing something The award
actually made me realize that Isomehow contributed to the
commotion or the voice that allthis minority farmers, and the
(30:08):
women farmers were making sincethe 1990s. I thought that I was
just a bystander observingthings, and then doing things in
my own limited capacity withouteven realizing that it was
making sense. So for the KetchumPrize, to remind me that I
somehow was able to help is justtoo humbling and too flattering.
(30:32):
And I am glad that they did, notfor my sake, but for the fact
that such recognition will onlydevelop greater awareness of the
issue. Because even if I toldyou that the racial and gender
issues were more prevalent inthe late 1990s, when there was
so much going on in that area,and then reforms were already
(30:54):
made over the years, the issueof bias and discrimination lives
on, I mean, it still prevails insome forms. So to be able to
generate some attention towardsthat issue would only remind
everybody that nothing beats asociety that operates in an
equitable, fair and just way,and that ideal is always
(31:18):
something that everyone shouldtry to help to promote.
Emily Davenport (31:23):
Definitely, always striving towards that
ideal, and congratulations againon that incredible achievement.
Cesar Escalante (31:30):
Thank you so much.
Emily Davenport (31:31):
And I know the FINRA Foundation recently
interviewed you for a podcastepisode that goes further
in-depth on this particularaspect of your work, so we'll
link that for our listeners inthe show notes. Was there
anything else that you wanted toshare with us today that you
feel like we missed?
Cesar Escalante (31:46):
Even though I have been here for 21 years
already at the University ofGeorgia, I always am compelled
to always try my very best tocreate an impact. Georgia has
been my home for two decades,the place where I live the
longest. And as a home, I feellike acclimated here, I feel
really comfortable. And thenmaybe the reason why I feel this
(32:08):
way is because year after year,I welcome a new batch of people
coming from different places.
And then that experience willalways remind me of my
beginnings. And when I'mreminded of my origins as like
when I too was a foreignstudent, and it was trying to
fit in, the more I'm pressured,the more I am compelled to
always assert myself in a waythat I make sure that I do
(32:30):
things that are worthwhile, andthat will contribute to the
ideals of my employer. So, mypoint is that I don't know when
this experience of fitting inwill end. I know that I already
fit in I know that I'm already alegitimate or a permanent member
of this community. But every nowand then I'm just reminded that
(32:56):
I need to do more because,because I'm still a minority.
Jordan Powers (33:02):
Well Dr.
Escalante, thank you for joiningus today. Your passion is
inspirational is contagious. Andwe're very grateful for your
time.
Cesar Escalante (33:12):
Oh, thank you so much. I feel honored that you
selected me for this project.
Sound Effect (33:16):
[music]
Emily Davenport (33:17):
Thanks for listening to "Cultivating
Curiosity," a podcast producedby the UGA College of
Agricultural and EnvironmentalSciences. A special thanks to
Mason McClintock for our musicand sound effects. Find more
episodes wherever you get yourpodcasts.
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