Associate ProfessorJeffrey Neilson

Jeff's research focuses on economic geography, environmental governance and rural development in Australia and Southeast Asia. His research interests are diverse and include food security and food sovereignty, the global coffee industry, the global cocoa-chocolate industry, agrarian reform movements, sustainable livelihoods, and environmental governance. Jeff is a fluent Indonesian language speaker and has conducted extended periods of ethnographic field research in the Toraja region of Sulawesi. He also speaks conversational Vietnamese. Jeff's research aligns with the Faculty of Science Research Strengths - Food Security, Decision-Making for a Sustainable Future, Sustainability.

Jeff is currently leading a three-year research project exploring the growth of horticulture in the northeastern coastal strip of Australia and its implications for the contested nature of regional development in multifunctional coastal landscapes. The project, funded by the Australian Research Council, is examining how increasingly global horticultural networks are interacting with a range of place-based interests, and seeks to identify pathways towards a sustainable future for these regions.

Jeff is also working on research in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, where smallholders have emerged as major global producers of coffee and pepper since the 1990s. Rapid growth over a short period has resulted in economic development and poverty alleviation. However, it has also presented challenges for environmental management and the just inclusion of indigenous ethnic minorities. This research examines the role of global environmental initiatives, including the recent European Union Deforestation regulation (EUDR) in shaping development outcomes in an internationally significant commodity-source region.

Jeff is leading a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) examining the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Timor Leste. He recently completed a five-year research project examining the livelihood impacts of value chain interventions across Indonesia. This research contributed to international debates on the development effects of sustainability and certification programs, Geographical Indications and direct trade initiatives. This project also contributed to conceptual developments in global value chain theory, including the opportunities for regional development to be stimulated (or not) through engagement with the global economy.