CGIAR CCAFS is now recruiting for a Low Emissions Development Researcher/Analyst (“Science Officer”) at the University of Vermont. Suggestions of potential candidates are encouraged and should be sent to Lini Wollenberg ([email protected]).
The Researcher/Analyst position will contribute to the CCAFS’ Low Emissions Development research program (www.ccafs.cgiar.org) by leading selected research initiatives and facilitating research administration to deliver outcomes for the climate and food security in developing countries. Quantitative skills related to greenhouse gas estimation and excellent written and verbal communications skills are essential This is an exciting opportunity especially for new PhDs or other junior scientists interested to contribute to climate change mitigation through innovation in food systems.
Click here to apply.
The second round of successful candidates of the GRA and CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change (CCAFS) joint CLIFF-GRADS initiative for 2019 have been announced.
CLIFF-GRADS is an international doctorate scholarship programme designed to support budding agricultural scientists.
Some 212 applicants from more than 50 developing countries applied to this latest round of the programme, as compared to 65 applicants from 23 countries in the first round earlier this year.
As such, 27 scholarships have been awarded to students from more than 18 countries in this second round, with winners announced at the UN climate talks in Poland. Students will undertake research in areas as diverse as rumen microbiology, rice production, soil science, and rangeland management, among others.
We are pleased to announce 2019 CLIFF-GRADS fellows and research projects below. Please click on the name of the student below to read more about them.
CLIFF-GRADS Call: Greenhouse gas emission and emission reduction from agricultural production
| Name | Nationality | University | Research Project | Host Institution | Host Country |
| Abmiael Ortiz-Chura | Peru | University of Buenos Aires | Effect of modulating interspecies electron transfer exchanges on methane production and rumen microbiota composition | INRA – National Institute for Agricultural Research, ARA Centre | France |
| Adnan Zahid | Pakistan | University of the Punjab | Using a Tier II Model (CQESTR) to Predict SOC Storage and CO2 Emissions | USDA -ARS, Soil and Water Conservation Research Unit | USA |
| Bertin Takoutsing | Cameroon | Wageningen University | Accounting for errors in SOC estimates introduced by proximal sensing methods | ISRIC – World Soil Information | Netherlands |
| Bo-Wen Zhang | China | Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS | Modeling pH effects on direct N2O from agricultural soils through complex stable isotope labelling | Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries | Germany |
| Camila Almeida dos Santos | Brazil | Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro | Targeting N2O emission hot-spots in intensive dairy pastures for mitigation action | The University of Melbourne | Australia |
| Deysi Ruiz Llontop | Peru | National Agrarian University La Molina | Quantification of carbon footprints in livestock production systems under contrasting management of Argentina | National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) | Argentina |
| Hilaire Sanni Worogo | Benin | University of Parakou | Effects of rangeland management on soil carbon sequestration | USDA -ARS, Fort Keogh Livestock & Range Research Laboratory | USA |
| Kofi Boateng | Ghana | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology | Nitrogen fertilizer rate, crop residue amount and soil water content influence on N2O emissions | USDA -ARS, Soil and Water Conservation Research Unit | USA |
| Lai Lai | Myanmar | University of Putra Malaysia | Compiling a structured Rice Policy Information Portal and demonstrating its potential use in mitigation projects | International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) | Philippines |
| Lamfu Fabrice Yengong | Cameroon | University of Buea | Manure management interventions to mitigate GHG | International Livestock Research Institute, Mazingira Centre | Kenya |
| Lucélia de Cássia Rodrigues de Brito | Brazil | Federal University of Piauí | Cover crop and animal manure impacts on soil N2O emissions | USDA -ARS, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory | USA |
| María Carolina Scorcione Turcato | Argentina | University of Buenos Aires | Directed evolution of rumen microbial cultures towards the identification and stimulation of electron sinks alternative to methanogenesis | National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) | Chile |
| Mariana Eloisa Garcia Ascolani | Paraguay | University of Florida | RumenPredict: Predicting appropriate GHG mitigation strategies based on modelling variables that contribute to ruminant environmental impact | Queens University | UK |
| Mónica Gabriela Perez | Argentina | University of Buenos Aires | Understanding the controls of N2O in grazed upland and lowland systems | Bangor University | UK |
| Noriel Angeles | Philippines | University of the Philippines Los Baños | Toward low methane-emitting rice varieties | International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) | Philippines |
| Ntwanano Moirah Malepfane | South Africa | University of KwaZulu-Natal | Comparing deep soil carbon stocks under kiwifruit and pasture land use | Plant & Food Research | New Zealand |
| Paul Soremi | Nigeria | Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta | Turning to rice cultivars for solving the CH4 puzzle in irrigated rice systems | International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), FLAR | Colombia |
| Pierre Eke | Cameroon | University of Yaounde | Soil organic matter sensitivity to land management impact on grasslands and croplands | Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries | Germany |
| Rangarirayi Lucia Mhindu | Zimbabwe | Chinhoyi University of Technology | GHG emissions from adequately managed rangelands in Kenya | International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Mazingira Centre | Kenya |
| Ricardo González Quintero | Colombia | Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín | Measuring ammonia emissions and collecting farm data from Costa Rican dairies | Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) | Costa Rica |
| Samuel Anuga | Ghana | University of Ghana | Just how smart are the climate smart options promoted in the Climate Smart Villages of Nicaragua? | International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), FLAR | Colombia |
| Sebastian Bedoya Mazo | Colombia | University of Antioquia | Quantifying Hydrogen fluxes and their impact on methane production equations | National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), ARA Centre | France |
| Sikiru Yusuf Alasinrin | Nigeria | Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta | Net GHG and soil carbon sequestration in response to tillage systems and cropping sequences | USDA -ARS, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory | USA |
| Thi Thanh Ha Do | Vietnam | Southern Cross University | Assessing (agro)forestry landscape restoration options in livestock-degraded regions of montane Kenya and Tanzania | Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) | Kenya |
| Titis Apdini | Indonesia | Wageningen University | Economic implications of GHG mitigation from dairy and beef systems | Bangor University | UK |
| Victor Ilich Alvarado Bolovich | Peru | National Agrarian University La Molina | GHG mitigation strategies on cow/calf production systems | National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) | Argentina |
| Yuri Gelsleichter | Brazil | Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro | Assessing the impact of land use change scenarios on soil organic carbon stocks | ISRIC – World Soil Information | Netherlands |
CLIFF-GRADS Call: Greenhouse gas emission and emission reduction from reduced food loss and waste
| Name | Nationality | University | Research Project | Host Institution | Host Country |
| Daniele Eckert Matzembacher | Brazil | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | Measure FLW reduction and associated emission reductions of Brazilian entrepreneurship initiatives in fruits and vegetables that do not meet retail aesthetic standards | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | Sweden and Brazil |
| Laura Holguin | Colombian | Technical University of Dresden | Characterize digestate option with different combinations of available waste, including yield impacts, methane, and soil-based emissions | International Centre of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) | Colombia |
| Li Xue | China | Chinese Academy of Sciences | Quantifying GHG emissions of agrifood chain and associated food loss and food waste in China: an input-output analysis. | University of Southern Denmark | Denmark and China |
| Norah Titiya Machinjiri | Malawi | Haramaya University | Effects of organic matter soil amendments on population dynamics of Aspergillus flavus and its natural antagonists; and on groundnut aflatoxin contamination in Malawi. | International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) | Malawi |
| Tabitha Nindi | Malawi | Purdue University | Understanding smallholder farmers’ storage habits in Malawi. | Malawi University of Science and Technology | Malawi |
| Xia Liang | China | The University of Melbourne | Evidence base for the mitigation of N2O emission from reduced food loss and waste in China and Myanmar | Hokkaido University | China and Myanmar |
These awards included funding from the New Zealand government and via support to CCAFS from CGIAR Trust Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. The United States government, through the USAID Sustainable Landscapes program, also funds and supports food loss and waste research.For information regarding the last round of CLIFF-GRAD recipients -click here. Alternatively, click here for more information about the CLIFF-GRADS programme.
Announcing an exciting new opportunity in the CCAFS’ Climate Food and Farming Research Network – Global Research Alliance Development Scholarship (CLIFF-GRADS) program. With support from USAID, we are offering CLIFF-GRADS scholarships for short-term scientific training and research stays on mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from reduced food loss and waste. Visit the CCAFS website to learn more.
Background on CLIFF-GRADS: CLIFF-GRADS provides approximately US$10,000 for 3 to 6 month fellowships for graduate students from developing countries to work with a host research institution on projects related to quantification of agricultural GHGs and mitigation potentials. The grants can also be used for students already working with CCAFS or other host-institution researchers. Examples of recent awardees can be found here: https://globalresearchalliance.org/n/cliff-grads-awardees-2018/. A 2019 general call for quantification of GHGs in agricultural systems is already underway. The call described here is a new opportunity, focused on food loss and waste, for research to be conducted in 2019.
Opportunity: CCAFS will fund up to 10 developing country students with $10,000 each for research on the quantification of GHG mitigation in supply chains due to reduced FLW. The research must take place in 2019. Student applications are due by 30 September 2018 and students will be informed of decisions by 30 November 2018.
We are pleased to announce that the second round of the CLIFF-GRADS program is now open!
Students from developing countries currently enrolled in PhD programs are invited to apply for short-term scientific training and research stays on topics related to the measurement and management of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage in agricultural systems.
Applicants should have a background in agriculture and climate change research and be pursuing graduate research related to agricultural greenhouse gas quantification.
Selected students will be sponsored in the amount of 10,000-12,000 USD for short-term (4-6 month) scientific training and research stays to collaborate with projects associated with CCAFS and GRA. Specific topics will depend on student and host institution scientist interests. A list of projects seeking to host students is included on the CCAFS CLIFF-GRADS webpage.
The grants will be used to support living and research costs at the host institution. Grants may not be used for tuition or unrelated personal expenses.
Background
CLIFF-GRADS is a joint initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change (CCAFS) low emissions development flagship and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA). CLIFF-GRADS aims to build the capability of early career agricultural students in developing countries to conduct applied research on climate change mitigation in agriculture. CLIFF-GRADS integrates the GRA’s new Development Scholarship and the CCAFS Climate Food and Farming Research Network with the common goal of providing grants to graduate students to expand their knowledge and experience in quantification of agricultural greenhouse gases. Research projects are hosted by CCAFS and GRA members and partners. Funding for CLIFF-GRADS is provided by the Government of New Zealand and by the CGIAR Trust Fund and bilateral agreements in support of CCAFS.
- Deadline for applications: September 30, 2018.
- To view the list of available research opportunities and to apply for this research scholarship visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/about/careers-and-calls/cliff-grads-scholarships-short-term-scientific-training-and-research-stays
Improved ruminant genetics increase animals’ resilience to climate-related stresses, increases reproductive performance, and – in some countries – could achieve emission reductions of 11-26% per unit of product, according to a new practice brief written by scientists from the Global Research Alliance’s Livestock Research Group and the CCAFS low emissions agriculture flagship. This brief is part of the CSA practice brief series of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) Knowledge Action Group.
The brief summarises the state of the science in this area and provides implementation guidance for policymakers and investors. It describes how animal breeding can increase livestock productivity and resilience to climate change, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity. It focuses on opportunities in developing countries, where the majority of the world’s ruminant populations can be found.
More details on the practice brief can be found in a joint LRG/CCAFS blog post here. You can also download the practice brief here.
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has published a new analysis of what COP21 means for food and farming, and what the next steps should be between now and 2020 when the Paris Agreement comes into force.
The analysis picks up the theme that “Voluntary cooperation” between countries, including through technology transfer and capacity building, is a major focus that comes through in the Agreement as is the need for all countries to support science and research.
Read the CCAFS info note: The Paris Climate Agreement: what it means for food and farming http://bit.ly/1UpvXws.
And for more information on research highlights visit CCAFS website: Paris Climate Agreement unlocks opportunities for food and farming http://bit.ly/1NsY1u9.