Dr Rio Maligalig
Grant-Funded Researcher
School of Economics and Public Policy
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
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
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Appointments
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 -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2014 Scholarship International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) - - - 2014 Scholarship Lee Foundation Rice Scholarship - - - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2014 - 2018 University of Adelaide Australia PhD 2005 - 2008 University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños Philippines MS -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2023 Johns, C., Umberger, W., Maligalig, R., & Lyon, P. (2023). Australian ethical consumer segmentation of food and agricultural products and export opportunities for the Pacific Islands. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 27(2), 147-164.
Scopus12021 Johns, C., Umberger, W. J., Lyon, P., & Maligalig, R. (2021). Fijian food shopping behaviour: implications for policy makers and smallholder farmers. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 13(1), 17 pages.
Scopus22021 Maligalig, R. L., Demont, M., Umberger, W. J., & Peralta, A. (2021). Understanding Filipino rice farmer preference heterogeneity for varietal trait improvements: A latent class analysis. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 72(1), 134-157.
Scopus18 WoS9 Europe PMC42019 Maligalig, R., Demond, M., Umberger, W., & Peralta, A. (2019). Off-farm employment increases women's empowerment: Evidence from rice farms in the Philippines. Journal of Rural Studies, 71, 62-72.
Scopus32 WoS18 Europe PMC7 -
Conference Papers
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. -
Conference Items
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. -
Report for External Bodies
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Working Paper
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
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2024 Co-Supervisor Opportunities to improve women’s empowerment through adopting sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) in Vietnam. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Hang Thi Bui -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
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
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