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Climate-smart African Rice Project PhD scholar Victoria Bulegeya wraps up CLIFF-GRADS US Fellowship
Climate-smart African Rice Project PhD scholar Victoria Bulegeya accomplishes her Climate, Food and Farming, Global Research Alliance Development Scholarship Programme (CLIFF-GRADS) fellowship. She had an immersion at the Delta Water Management Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stationed at the Arkansas State University in Arkansas, USA where she conducted climate change research on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) mitigation.
Vicky worked on an emission research project called “Achieving low greenhouse gas emissions in non-flooded rice system through hybrid selection and nitrogen (N) management” which evaluates the potential of hybrid rice in mitigating GHGs under optimum nitrogen fertilizer use in continuous flooded and furrow irrigation systems.
Rice is a major staple crop in most countries worldwide, but it also ranks as the third highest non-CO2 emitter in agriculture. There is great potential in mitigating its emissions because rice production's relative mitigation potential (36%) is higher than that of livestock (9%) and croplands (3%).
During her visit, Vicky worked on activities related to mitigating GHGs in rice, such as field gas sampling, laboratory gas analysis, soil gas sampling, soil active carbon analysis and participated in field days. Aside from her research activities, Vicky also shared that she was able to join the 4th of July festivities, where she experienced different cuisines and sports activities.
“Being a Climate-smart African Rice scholar has equipped me with the essential knowledge and skills that were crucial in securing CLIFF GRADS fellowship, which is highly competitive.”, shared Vicky. “Furthermore, the experience has enhanced my ability to integrate both climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in rice production systems, ensuring a comprehensive approach to developing sustainable and resilient rice production systems. This understanding has been invaluable to me as I aspire to contribute to the advancement of climate-smart agricultural practices in rice production systems in Tanzania.”, she continued.
The CLIFF-GRADS fellowship is a joint initiative of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) and Mitigate+: Research for Low Emissions Food Systems (Mitigate+). The program targets early-career scientists from low- and middle-income countries to train and expose them to applied research training on greenhouse gas emission quantification and mitigation. The initiative is funded by the New Zealand Government, the Ministry for Primary Industries, and the CGIAR Trust Fund Donors. Contracts are administered by the Ryan Institute of the National University of Ireland, Galway.