Professor Fay Rola-Rubzen is the Dean of Research at the Faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University. She is an agricultural and development economist with a strong track record in interdisciplinary research and development, often working with international organisations and collaborating across diverse geographical contexts. Her work focuses on agribusiness and supply chain development and economics, behavioural economics, rural transformation and development, productivity and technical efficiency analysis, risk management and decision-making, technology adoption and farmer behaviour under risk and uncertainty, climate change impacts and adaptation, energy transition and gender, poverty and food security.

 

Professor Rola-Rubzen has led and managed several research and development projects with multidisciplinary teams in Australia and internationally. Her work spans more than 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, including Australia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania, amongst others. She has been a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the WA Government. Her work typically addresses development challenges at the interface of agriculture, food security, economics, and inclusive growth.

 

Prior to joining Curtin University, she was Deputy Director of the Centre for Agricultural Economics and Development and Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Western Australia. She also previously held various academic and leadership roles at Curtin University, including Deputy Dean of Research and Development and Director of Higher Degree by Research at Curtin Business School.

 

Professor Rola-Rubzen has been awarded competitive and industry grants of over A$68 million as Project Leader, Chief Investigator and/or member of research teams. She has co-authored more than 250 papers and publications including journal articles, book chapters, monographs, research reports, and conference papers. She has played key roles in several significant national and international research initiatives including contributing to the CGIAR Gender Platform work on Gender and Climate change and RiskWi$e: the national risk-management initiative funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) aimed at improving risk-reward outcomes for Australian grain growers, where she formerly led the behavioural science team. She led the ACIAR-funded multi-country project, Farmer Behaviour Insights Project (FBIP) which investigated the use of behavioural economics in agricultural decision-making to improve productivity among smallholder farmers in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, and was the leader of the Socio-economics and Gender team in the Sustainable Resilient Farming Systems Intensification, which examined the adoption and impact of Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification (CASI) technologies in South Asia to enhance resilience to climate change. She also played a key role in the BeefLinks Program, which explored value chain innovations in Western Australia’s beef industry, and is a Chief Investigator of the ARC Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (ARC-BITA). 

 

Professor Rola-Rubzen holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics (honours, cum laude) from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, a Masters degree in Economics and PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of New England.

 

Professor Rola-Rubzen is an active HDR supervisor and has successfully supervised to completion 35 PhD and Masters students and 10 Honours students.

 

Awards

 

Individual Research and Teaching Awards:

2025  Top Viewed Article (Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics), Wiley

2011  Endeavour Executive Award, Australian Government

2009  Distinguished Alumni Award, St. Joseph School, Philippines

2000  Innovative Teaching Practice Award, Curtin University of Technology

 

National/ International Research Awards (Project Awards):

2012  Most Outstanding R&D Implementing Agency (for the ACIAR Value Chain Project in the Philippines). Member of Curtin University team collaborating with the School of Management at the University of Philippines Mindanao in this project; Awarded by the Southern Mindanao Agriculture Resources Research and Development Consortium (SMARRDEC). 

2011  Best Regional Research Program Award for Region 10 for 2010 (for the ACIAR Value Chain Project). Awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Government of the Philippines. Member of the Curtin University team collaborating with the School of Management in the University of Philippines Mindanao in this project

2007  Best Regional Research Program Award for Region 10 for 2006 (for the ACIAR Value Chain Project). Member of the Curtin team collaborating with the School of Management in the University of Philippines Mindanao for this project. Awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Government of the Philippines

2005  Third Place, Development Category, 17th Regional Symposium on Research, Development & Extension (RDE) highlights. Member of Curtin University team collaborating with the School of Management in the University of Philippines Mindanao in this project; Awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Government of the Philippines

 

Membership in Professional Associations and Networks

• Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) – President AARES WA Branch (2019-2020)
• Australian Federation of University Women (AFUW)
• Australian Women in Agriculture (AWiA)
• International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE)
• International Development Evaluation Association (IDEA)
• Phi Kappa Phi Honour Society
• Endeavour Australian Awards Alumni Network
• International Program on Development Evaluation (IPDET) Alumni Network

 

Research Projects

 

Current:

• Additive intercropping in wide row crops for resilient crop production in Bangladesh, Bhutan and eastern India - Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (2023-present) - A$2.75 million
• Agricultural Innovations for Communities - Intensified and Diverse Farming Systems for Timor-Leste (AI-Com 2) ACIAR (2022-present) - A$3.17 million
• ARC Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (BITA), ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre, Australian Research Council (ARC) (2021-present) - A$4.28 million

 

Completed:

• National Risk Management Initiative (NRMI) – RiskWi$e - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) through CSIRO (2023-2025)
• Beeflinks: Producer insights for adoption outcomes – Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) (2021-2024)
• Determinants of smart farming technology adoption among farmers in Malaysia – Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (2021–2024)
• Understanding the Drivers of Successful and Inclusive Rural Regional Transformation: Sharing Experiences and Policy Advice in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Pakistan – Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (2020-2024)
• Enhancing Smallholder Dairy Feeding Systems to Improve Productivity and Mitigate Climate Change Impacts In Malawi – British Council UK/Australia Season 2021-22 COP26 Grant (2021-2022)
• Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Socio-economics - Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) + industry partners (2021-2022)  
• Water Resources Situation Analysis (Exmouth Region) – BHP (2021-2022)
• Smallholder Dairy Cooperatives in Addressing Sustainable Development Goals in ODA Countries  – WUN Research Development Fund (2019-2020)
• (Re)negotiating power to enhance resilience to climate change – UWA Research Collaboration Awards (RCA) (2019-2020)
• Collective Action for Sustainable Development: The Case of Smallholder Dairy Cooperatives in ODA Countries – Australia-Africa Universities Network (AAUN) (2019-2020)
• Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) of South Asia Scaling – ACIAR (2018-2021)
• Understanding Farm-household Decision-making for Increased Productivity in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Farmer Behaviour Insights Project) – ACIAR (2018-2024)
• Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (‘SRFSI’) of South Asia – ACIAR (2014-2018)
• Using ICTs to enhance adoption of new agricultural technologies and innovations in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia – ACIAR (2014-2016)
• Pro-Poor Sustainable Economic Development: Capacity Building for Mongolian National and Local Government Officials – AusAID Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)  (2012-2015)
• Gender and climate-risk considerations for research on crop-livestock systems in Africa – ACIAR (2012-2014)     
• Potential of ICTs to improve farmer decision making on smallholder cropping systems in South Asia – ACIAR (2012)
• Rural Youth and Entrepreneurship – Internal Grant Scheme, School of Management, Curtin Business School (2010-2012)
• Survey of Australian SMEs – ndigenous Business Australia (2010-2011)
• Women in Rural Leadership Program – Cooperative Bulk Handling (CBH) and Prime Super (2006-2008)
• Enhancing profitability of selected vegetable value chains in Southern Philippines – ACIAR (2008-2012)
• Building and sustaining agricultural R&D capacity in Timor Leste – ACIAR (2005-2009)
• Desert Businesses – Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC) (2005-2009)
• Impact of migration and/or off-farm employment on roles of women and appropriate technologies in Asian (Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines) and Australian mixed farming systems – ACIAR (2004-2008)
• Plants for People Project – Desert Knowledge CRC (2004-2006) 
• Desert Branding Project – Desert Knowledge CRC (2004-2005) 
• Curriculum Development and Design for the Socio-economics Department (Sosek), Rehabilitation of the Agriculture Faculty of the National University of Timor Loro Sae – ACIAR (2004-2005)
• Impact of Wheat Research on Productivity and Efficiency of Farmers in Western Australia - Department of Agriculture and Muresk Institute, Curtin University of Technology (2004)
• Improving the Efficiency of the Agribusiness Supply Chain and Quality Management for Small Agricultural Producers in Mindanao – ACIAR (2001-2004)
• Adoption of High Input Wheat Agronomy Packages by Farmers in the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia – Muresk Institute, Curtin University of Technology (2001)
• Enhancing the Contribution of Livestock within Smallholder Mixed Farming Systems in the Philippines – ACIAR (2000-2004)
• Relinquishment of Mining Voids for Aquaculture – Australian Coal Association Research Program (2000-2002)
• Consumer Demand for Transgenic Food Products – Australian Research Council (2000-2001)
• Assessing Farmers Attitude Towards Adoption of Precision Farming – Curtin University Research Grant Scheme (2000-2001)