We are pleased to welcome the Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI), registered as ReNAPRI, as the newest formal Partner of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases!
Headquartered in Zambia, ANAPRI’s vision is to be a dynamic Pan-African network of universally recognized national agricultural policy research institutes that generate relevant and high-quality evidence, to guide and inform effective policy decisions that promote sustainable solutions across the continent.
ANAPRI’s mission is to play an active role in transforming Africa’s agricultural sector by developing the capacity of national agricultural policy research Institutes in the continent, strengthening, and nurturing dynamic collaboration, towards providing objective and innovative policy advice to national, regional, and continental level stakeholders, through effective outreach.
Of particular relevance to the GRA, ANAPRI is currently coordinating the USAID and African Union Commission supported project CACCI (Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative), which aims to help countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement to adapt and build resilience to the effects of climate change. The programme will build local and regional capacity, and institutional infrastructure, and develop an Africa-wide accountability platform that not only informs debate at the continental level, but also informs global discussion on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
We are delighted that ANAPRI, as a GRA partner, is looking forward to engaging with GRA members to explore potential joint opportunities and co-development of future work plans.
Check out the ANAPRI website here: https://www.renapri.org/
A recording of the November 2022 Croplands Research Group Webinar, titled “Predicting Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Long-term Agricultural Experiments Using the CQESTR Model”, is now available to view.
This webinar session featured a presentation from Dr. Hero Gollany (USDA).
Click HERE to view the webinar recording.
The 2023 CaSSECS annual meeting will be held on 20-23 February 2023 in Niamey, Niger. The programme can be found below. If you would like to attend the meeting, or would like further information, please contact Anaïs Boury-Esnault.
The December 2022 Croplands Research Group Newsletter is now available to read online!
This issue includes very interesting papers dealing with the use of legumes to mitigate climate change carried out in Spain. A summary of the excellent International Symposium on Climate Resilient Agri-environmental Systems (ISCRAES) is also presented. Finally, the new book “Advances in temperate agroforestry” requesting contributions is announced. The three CRG co-Chairs wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, 2023.
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Agroscope is seeking a postdoc to provide support with the development of a model-based N2O inventory for agricultural soils in Switzerland. See below for further details.
Closing date: 15 February 2023, but this position will remain open until filled
Location: University of Minnesota, USA
The University of Minnesota, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, is seeking an Assistant Professor, Livestock Sustainability.
Position Overview
Assistant Professor, tenure-track (9-month) position with research (60%) and teaching (40%) responsibilities involving sustainability of livestock production systems. The individual in this position will work closely with UMN faculty and students to conduct externally funded research in one or more areas of livestock sustainability, including aspects of nutrient cycling, air and water quality, and/or resource management. The candidate may conduct research in resource utilization with their preferred livestock or poultry species. The teaching opportunities will include development of an interdisciplinary and multispecies undergraduate course on livestock and poultry sustainability, graduate course(s) in the individual’s areas of expertise, and contributions to departmental courses and student advising. Engagement with external partners will be critical for the success of the individual in this position. The tenure home of this position is in the Department of Animal Science (http://ansci.umn.edu). The successful candidate is expected to develop independent as well as collaborative research programs and to recruit and mentor graduate students including those from diverse backgrounds. Collaboration among research faculty and with colleagues in other disciplines is expected. This position is funded by legislative action through the Agricultural Research Education Extension and Technology Transfer (AGREETT, https://agreett.umn.edu) program.
For further information about the role and how to apply click HERE.
Deadline: 22 January 2023
CCAC is looking for a “CCAC Agriculture Expert” to provide full-time support to help drive action in the agriculture sector and ensure a well-functioning and strategic CCAC Agriculture Hub. S/he will provide direct support to national governments and CCAC National Consultants; provide technical reviews of funding proposals related to the sector; provide support for technology assessments and advise on new business models; provide support for policy and regulatory development; engage key organizations to expand the sectoral network; deliver various activities as set out in the Work Plan and Budget; and contribute to internal coordination within the CCAC Secretariat.
Please disseminate broadly with your extended network. To learn more visit: https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=198029&Lang=en-US&R6wF9AvbqY=7CF02EF98284A4DFCBA238EF2EFD7761
Kind regards, The Secretariat
Closing date: 26 January 2023
Location: Department of Animal Production and Food Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Spain
The Veterinary Faculty of Zaragoza (Spain) is seeking potential applicants for a pre-doctoral research contract.
The work will focus on developing nutritional strategies based on the use of feed additives (i.e. plant extracts, fatty acids, Immunoglobulins, immuno-modulators, etc.) to optimize the weaning process in ruminants and pigs. This work will imply in vitro and in vivo experiments to determine the effects of these nutritional strategies on the gut microbiota, health and animal performance.
Details of the call are described in the document below:
Closing date: 20 January 2023
Location: Ireland
Teagasc are currently seeking a postdoctoral fellow to work on modelling the impact of farm management on ecosystem carbon flows and changes in soil organic carbon (SOC). The successful applicant will join a very well resourced team of researchers and technical staff working on the national agricultural soil carbon observatory.
For further information about the role and how to apply, click HERE.
On 29 November 2022, a 3 hour G7 online workshop was held on the topic of “Carbon sequestration in agriculture – opportunities and challenges”. Further information and the workshop report can be found HERE.
Closing date: 14 February 2023, 17:00 (NZDT)
Background
The global dairy sector through its “net zero” ambitions is actively pursuing research and grass roots practice change to achieve the required mitigation outcomes. A large number of major dairy organisations are proactively quantifying their value chain emissions to better understand the greatest mitigation opportunities and how best to action these. There are many mitigation ‘levers’, possible, though incorporating the outcomes of the implementation of these in carbon footprint calculations is currently extremely challenging.
Although there are established protocols for calculating the carbon footprint of dairy production, there are two main gaps limiting progress:
- The scientific standards required to provide the evidence on efficacy and associated claims for new technologies (e.g. how much evidence is required before a mitigation lever is ‘scientifically’ considered to result in a reduction on the carbon footprint and how much reduction can be claimed on the basis of the available evidence).
- How the implementation of these and associated impact can be included and reflected in carbon footprint calculations
Objective of this RfP
The dairy industry wants to drive and promote the implementation of these new technologies and wants to ensure that accounting of any reductions is undertaken in a robust and responsible way. One of emerging and most promising mitigation levers to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy production are methane inhibitors. Although methane inhibitory products are available in the marketplace and many on farm trials are being undertaken, very few dairy companies are including the associated emissions reductions in on-farm carbon footprint calculations as the process for doing this in a robust manner has not yet been established.
It is a critical time for the ruminant sector in the climate dialogues and it is important that technologies that are part of the emissions mitigation toolbox are used responsibly at the earliest opportunity. As a result, the following organisations have pooled resources and will collaborate with the aim of solving this challenge:
- Arla Foods
- Danone
- Fonterra
- FrieslandCampina
- Nestle
- New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre
This project seeks to develop a protocol that will be generally applicable for all on-farm mitigation technologies, though will initially be tested on methane inhibitors as this is currently highly relevant in relation to the net zero ambition.
This project will be conducted in close collaboration with and has the aim of building on the Global Research Alliance Flagship Project: Feed Additives to Reduce Methane, that aims to facilitate the development and use of feed additives to reduce enteric methane emissions in the livestock sector by providing technical guidelines and protocols on good practices to test and develop feed additives of different nature, including the assessment of how to account for the benefit of using feed additives as a mitigation strategy.
For further information about this Request for Proposal, please download the RfP document below.
All communication regarding this RfP should be directed to Brian Lindsay at [email protected]