Our Work

Like many other agricultural regions of the world, rural California, and the Central Valley in particular, face deep-rooted barriers to sustainable development that have been inadequately addressed by public policy.  CIRS has constructively responded to these challenges by focusing on a comprehensive range of research topics including farm labor conditions, sustainable food systems, immigration reform, immigrant civic participation, rural health, pesticide use, and water policy.  In keeping with its public-service approach to research, CIRS disseminates its research findings to policy makers, stakeholder organizations, and the general public at large. 

In addition to being the first non-profit research organization in the state to focus on rural and agricultural issues, CIRS takes particular pride in forging beneficial relationships with grassroots stakeholder organizations while maintaining the respect and cooperation of research institutions in the state.  Agencies and policy makers also look to CIRS for substantive analyses of current public policy issues.  Our longstanding ties to community-based organizations in rural California are critical to our success in conducting sound empirical research among difficult to access populations such as hired farmworkers.