Ramón Fogel was one of those traced by the study. He spoke to IDRC about his life’s work.

Current Position: President, Centre for Interdisciplinary Rural Studies
Home Country: Paraguay
IDRC Support Received: Program-Related Award for PhD in Sociology at the University of Kansas (1983)

Two decades ago, Ramón Fogel stood at a continental crossroads.

He had finished his PhD in sociology at the University of Kansas with support from IDRC and was considering an enticing job offer from an American bank.

But Fogel says he saw potential for social science research to contribute to Paraguay’s development – his home country and one of the poorest countries in Latin America at the time.

“I considered the opportunity to study abroad a commitment more than a privilege,” says Fogel. “To me, it was a commitment to apply what I gained academically in a project of social transformation in my country.”

Fogel returned to Paraguay and helped create the Centre for Interdisciplinary Rural Studies (CERI), a private-sector organization that conducts research to inform policymakers on rural issues and ultimately to improve the social situation of vulnerable rural populations.

“We needed to call attention to critical issues in my country’s social reality, show alternatives, improve the discussion with information, and insert a social agenda in public policies,” says Fogel.

Fogel has been CERI’s president for 10 years, during which time he says its research has contributed to several changes in policy. For example, the results of CERI research on the negative impact of agribusinesses on the environment and human health informed new laws regulating the industry.

Fogel’s own research studies focus on environmental issues and rural sociology, and his work has appeared in more than 80 publications.

He says he is particularly proud of his research on how non-governmental organizations can include communities in environmental conservation efforts. Fogel says this “socio-environmental approach” was innovative at the time it was published and has since spread across Latin America.

And he has kept up his IDRC connection, working with the Centre’s regional office in Montevideo to coordinate a network of environmental action centres, which created important links between community groups facing serious environmental and social challenges.


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