Dr Rio Maligalig
Grant-Funded Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Economics
College of Business and Law
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Rio is a Researcher at the Centre for Global Food and Resources (CGFAR). She holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from The University of Adelaide, where her dissertation examined Filipino smallholder rice farmers’ preferences for rice variety traits using an innovative experimental Investment Game Application (IGA). She has contributed to several high-impact projects, including studies on the Indonesian and Philippine smallholder dairy industries at CGFAR and the impact evaluation of ACIAR-supported initiatives in Timor-Leste. She has a strong record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals, mentoring postgraduate students, and collaborating with international researchers and local stakeholders across Southeast Asia.
My research expertise lies in agricultural economics, with a strong focus on smallholder farming in developing economies. My research integrates both quantitative and qualitative methods, including experimental games, household surveys, process net mapping, and focus group discussions, to address real-world challenges in agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security.
I am currently involved in the following research projects:
Impact Assessment of the Seeds of Life Project in Timor-Leste
Enhancing Food and Nutrition Security through an Improved Understanding of Farming Households and Value Chains in Timor-Leste
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 - ongoing | Researcher | University of Adelaide |
| 2019 - 2021 | Grant-Funded Researcher | University of Adelaide |
| 2009 - 2014 | Associate Scientist | International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños |
| 2008 - 2009 | Consultant | International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños |
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Scholarship | International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) | - | - | - |
| 2014 | Scholarship | Lee Foundation Rice Scholarship | - | - | - |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 - 2018 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD |
| 2005 - 2008 | University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños | Philippines | MS |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Maligalig, R., Peralta Sanchez, A., Loch, A., & Tavares, M. (2025). The National Seed System of Timor-Leste: Evaluating the Legacy of the Seeds of Life (SoL) Program. In n/a. Brisbane. |
| 2024 | Maligalig, R., Peralta Sanchez, M. A., & Loch, A. (2024). Timor-Leste’s National Seed System: Overview of its Structure, Challenges, and Opportunities. In 68th Annual Conference Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Maligalig, R. L., Umberger, W., Demont, M., & Peralta, A. (2018). Farmer preferences for rice varietal trait improvements in Nueva Ecija, Philippines: A latent class cluster approach. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. |
| 2018 | Maligalig, R. L., Demont, M., Umberger, W., & Peralta, A. (2018). Using Experiments to Understand Gender Influence on Intrahousehold Decision Making for Investment in Rice Varietal Trait Improvements. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2018 International Rice Congress. Singapore. |
| 2017 | Maligalig, R. L., & Demont, M. (2017). Farmers’ preferences for varietal trait improvements: The case of rice farmers in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Poster session presented at the meeting of 9th Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE) International Conference. Bangkok, Thailand. |
| 2017 | Maligalig, R. L., Demont, M., Umberger, W. J., & Peralta, A. (2017). Intrahousehold decision making on rice varietal trait improvements: Using experiments to estimate gender influence. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2017 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois. |
| 2010 | Maligalig, R. L., Gummert, M., Flor, R., Pyseth, M., & Sorn, V. (2010). Farm-level impacts of the adoption of postharvest technologies and interventions in Cambodia. Poster session presented at the meeting of 28th International Rice Research Conference. Hanoi, Vietnam. |
| 2010 | Flor, R., Gummert, M., Maligalig, R., Pyseth, M., & Sorn, V. (2010). Negotiating change: farmer adoption of postharvest interventions in Cambodia. Poster session presented at the meeting of 28th International Rice Research Conference. Hanoi, Vietnam. |
| 2010 | Flor, R., Gummert, M., Maligalig, R., Pyseth, M., & Sorn, V. (2010). Negotiating change: farmer adoption of postharvest interventions in Cambodia. Poster session presented at the meeting of 28th International Rice Research Conference. Hanoi, Vietnam. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Johns, C. (2023). Exploring consumer-driven food value chain and market opportunities in Pacific SIDS countries. (PhD Thesis, University of Adelaide). |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Raitzer, D. A., Sparks, A. H., Huelgas, Z., Maligalig, R., Balangue, Z., Launio, C., . . . Ahmed, H. U. (2015). Is Rice Improvement Still Making a Difference? Assessing the Economic, Poverty, and Food Security Impacts of Rice Varieties Released from 1989 to 2009 in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. |
| Grants as co-CI | $ to UoA | Years | Donor | Category |
| Enhancing Food and Nutrition Security through an Improved Understanding of Farming Households and Value Chains in Timor-Leste | $500,000 | 2025-2027 | ACIAR | Cat1 |
| Other Grants Held | ||||
| Philippines Smallholder Dairy: Landscape Analysis and Research Priorities | $246,060 | 2020-2021 | ACIAR | Cat1 |
Tutor: ECON 3525 Economic Policy Analysis III, Semester 2 2024
Marking of Assignments: AGRIBUS 7054 Global Food and Agricultural Policy Analysis, Semester 2 2024
Marking of Assignments: AGRIBUS 7053 Globalisation and Agriculture in Emerging Economies, Semester 2 2023
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 - 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Exploring consumer-driven food value chain and market opportunities in Pacific SIDS countries | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mr Craig Johns |
Connect With Me
External Profiles
