As an ISPP Scholar, Sirabo Patrobas Wafula is appointed with the Illinois Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Juliana Stratton. His work is significant as he focuses on agricultural equity and food insecurity, and educational equity. Patrobas shared some thoughts with me about the ISP program, and his work so far.

Why did you apply for the Illini Science Policy Program?

As an ISPP Scholar, Oluwaseun Ojo is appointed with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Division of Natural Resources. His work is significant in analyzing and identifying the range of barriers currently impacting the implementation of climate-smart agriculture in Illinois and working towards an Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. He is also working to support the first-ever climate conference in Illinois with a core-focus on climate-Smart Agriculture. Oluwaseun shared some thoughts with me about the ISPP program, and his work so far.

If only the days on the calendar slowed to match my to-do list, more blogs would be written, more work would get done. But here we are and it’s December already, and I am just getting back to blogging.

2021 came and went. At times, it felt like if you blinked, you have would miss it. At others, it seemed like time was standing still. Time was such a strange construct. So much of what was going on was navigating a new normal. And for many of us, a new understanding of expectations and how best to manage those expectations.

As an ISP Fellow Hannah Price is conducting a workflow measurement project with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Meat and Poultry Inspection Division, investigating how meat poultry inspection is currently being done to see if there are ways to make the process more efficient, including through online technologies.