Ruhsan Ozdemir Cifci

Ruhsan Ozdemir Cifci headshot

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, 2023-24

  • Home country: Türkiye
  • Specialization: Food Safety, Food Security, Food Loss and Waste in Supply Chains, Life Cycle Analysis
  • Current role: District Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
  • Education: Hacettepe University, Bsc. In Food Engineering; Ege University, Msc. in Agricultural Economics; Ege University, Ph.D. in Dairy Technology (currently in thesis stage)
  • Connect: ro264 [at] cornell.edu (Email) | LinkedIn
  • Pronouns: She/Her

Ruhsan Ozdemir Cifci seeks to address sustainability and food access challenges in Türkiye, specifically by reviewing and re-engineering agricultural policies to cope with global fluctuations in the medium to long term. Ruhsan began her career at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as a Food Engineer, and now serves as the District Director of Agriculture and Forestry, where she oversees all activities related to food safety and agriculture in one of Türkiye's largest districts. In this role Ruhsan has initiated numerous public awareness initiatives on food safety and food loss and waste (FLW) in collaboration with esteemed organizations such as FAO, universities, and public institutions. The "Save Your Food" campaign, conducted jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and FAO, is now being implemented nationwide in Türkiye.

Over the past five years, Ruhsan has been dedicated to setting up research and projects aimed at reducing food loss and waste along the supply chain, from primary production to the end consumer. Currently, she serves as Her efforts have yielded success at both local and national levels. Her MSc. thesis focused on the "Evaluation of losses on fruit and vegetable production: Case of Izmir.” In parallel, her doctoral work focuses on lifecycle analysis and determining the carbon footprint in agricultural production.

She consistently seeks new perspectives on food sovereignty, food security, agriculture, and rural development policies, along with the effects of climate change on agriculture and circular agriculture. Through her proactive approach, Ruhsan aims to contribute significantly to the sustainable growth and access to food in her country.