Margarita Cuadra

I am a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. My overall research interest is on sustainability in agriculture and natural resource management. I have a bachelor degree in agronomic engineering from Universidad Nacional Agraria in Managua, Nicaragua; a Master’s degree in Crop Production Science (SLU) and a PhD in Crop Production Ecology (SLU). I have been living in Sweden since 2009.

At present, I work as a researcher/lecturer at the division of Rural Development. I am also working as Assistant Director of Studies with responsibility for the study programs in rural development at SLU and I am also working with education administration at the departmental level. 

I am part of the FoodAct research project (FoodAct: Action Research for Sustainable Food Security in times of Crisis - Agroecology in Sweden, Italy and Chile).

The project aims to describe, analyze and develop agroecological transformation processes, in order to propose measures for sustainable food supply in times of crisis based on these results.

I worked as senior lecturer at Universidad Nacional Agraria – UNA (www.una.edu.ni) in Nicaragua for 25 years, teaching on sustainable agriculture and agroecology.

At SLU, I have been teaching an online course in agroecology (SLU LB0121). Course leader in 2023 for the course International Rural Development for the Agronomy students. Course leader for the course in sustainable natural resource management (2013-2016) and more recently assisting in the fall 2025, in the course Rurality, Livelihoods and Gender for the Master program in rural development at SLU.

Internationalization of our research and education has been one of my main interests and area of my work at SLU. From 2011-2016, I was the coordinator of SOL Development Platform, an initiative from the department of Urban and Rural Development (SOL) to internationalise our research and education.

I have been an exchange teacher within the Linnaeus Palme exchange program with UNA (Nicaragua) and MU (Mekelle University in Ethiopia). From 2014 to 2019, I worked part time at SLU Global, as a communication officer and representative for the SIANI network at SLU.

Peer-reviewed articles 

• Sujoy Subroto, Conny Davidsen, A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid & Margarita Cuadra (2021) Dual Governance and the Shadow of State Authority: Co-Management Realities in Rema-Kalenga Protected Area of Bangladesh, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, doi: 10.1080/10549811.2021.1941121
• Cuadra, M. and Björklund, J. 2007. Assessment of economic and ecological carrying capacity of agricultural crops in Nicaragua. Ecological Indicators, 7 (2007) 133-149.
• Cuadra, M. and Rydberg, T. 2006. Emergy evaluation on the production, processing and export of coffee in Nicaragua. Ecological Modelling, 196 (2006) 421-433.