By Marie Danielle Ehui, ASU sustainable food systems graduate student
“My back!” I muttered, almost feeling the ache as I watched seasonal farm workers through the car window, stooped low in the fields, hand-harvesting lettuce, one after another, across a field that stretched farther than my eyes could see. I could hardly imagine enduring such relentless labor, yet these workers carry the physical burden behind the meals we so often take for granted. In Yuma, Arizona, known as the Winter Lettuce Capital of the U.S. and Canada for producing 90% of the leafy greens consumed during the coldest months, I witnessed this work unfolding across vast commercial fields as my Arizona State University classmates and I drove past to the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center. Confronted with the sheer scale of these fields, I wondered: how can the U.S. agricultural system sustain a workforce for labor- intensive crops while navigating rising labor costs, increased interest in mechanization, and long-term sustainability goals?
At the center’s headquarters, we were welcomed by three individuals: Dr. Ali Mohammed, Dr. Mazin Saber, and Dr. Samuel Discua. Dr. Discua, whom I interviewed, is an entomologist from Honduras and the Yuma Agricultural Center’s manager. He was inspired by his father’s coffee farm and an undergraduate entomology class that sparked his love for bugs. He finds purpose in agriculture’s unpredictability, noting, “no two days are the same.” Calling his work a “noble profession,” where he is devoted to feeding the world with fewer resources, Dr. Discua advises future agriculturists to pursue it with passion. For him, agriculture is not a path to riches but a demanding way of life, defined by long hours and hard work, yet offering a rare blend of freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment.
Stepping into the fields, I saw Dr. Discua’s philosophy unfold in practice. A one-acre lettuce experiment, divided into two half-acre sections, compared conventional and organic production. The trial emphasizes precision, carefully controlling irrigation and nutrition to find optimal rates, while testing biostimulants —substances or microorganisms that enhance plant growth and nutrient uptake. In a desert climate where every drop of water counts, this research connects directly to national debates on resource management and climate resilience.
The center is also exploring robotics and AI for weed control, testing methods like spot spraying and laser burning as alternatives to manual labor. While automation offers savings amid rising labor costs, it also raises concerns about job displacement, a reminder of the human effort agriculture demands and the limits of machines in the field. Policy must therefore ensure technology supports farm workers, easing their burdens and improving safety, without replacing their jobs.
Funding challenges add another layer. Without legislative support, the center relies heavily on industry partnerships, which can skew research toward short-term profit rather than long-term sustainability. This raises a key question: should farming innovation be driven by private profit or public investment to ensure fairness and sustainability? The disconnect between urban populations and food production compounds the issue. As Dr. Discua noted, many consumers remain unaware of the labor and science behind their meals, highlighting the need to build coalitions across rural and urban communities.
Gaps in funding and public engagement shape how emerging researchers view agricultural innovation, making them more aware of the need for long-term support. During the field visit, the fellow ASU students I interviewed emphasized that meaningful research takes time and sustained effort to benefit future food systems. They stressed the importance of financial support, institutional education, and early engagement—especially for postgraduates—so that research can inform community understanding and guide long-term improvements in agriculture.
These insights—from funding challenges to the disconnect between consumers and producers, and from Dr. Discua’s philosophy to students’ reflections—underscore a simple truth: behind every meal are workers, science, and policy, and supporting agriculture means building a system that is fair, resilient, and sustainable.
This blog is part of a series from the Swette Center's annual Arizona Food and Farm Immersion, a required course in their two graduate programs. Students tour the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff, and non-profit leaders.