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Summer 2006
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Peter Aikpokpodion
Nigerian, Peter Aikpokpodion is pursuing his PhD at the University of Ibadan through a collaborative research arrangement with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria. Mr. Aikpokpodion’s research aims to unravel the extent of genetic diversity in the national cacao genetic resources maintained in genebank collections. He hopes to use the knowledge gained from his research to develop strategies to be adopted for exploitation of the national cacao genetic resources, variety development and institutional policies which would have positive impacts on the farming population through release of improved varieties and delivery system. Specifically, the study would provide essential information that would be useful to explain the extent of genetic diversity in farmers’ commercial plantations and how research has benefited cocoa cultivation in Nigeria. Dr. Mark Guiltinan at Pennsylvania State University and Dr. Maria Kolesnikova-Allen at IITA are mentoring Mr. Aikpokpodion. During his fellowship he will be conducting his fieldwork in Nigeria under the supervision of his IITA mentor.
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Mamadou Mai Kassoua Chetima
Nigerien, Mamadou Mai Kassoua Chetima is enrolled in the PhD program at Cornell University in the Department of Animal Science. Mr. Chetima will be surveying agropastoralist farmers in western Niger and monitor livestock. The objectives of his research are 1) to evaluate changes in how agropastoralists’ households rely on livestock for food and income generation in Niger; 2) to appraise how the spatiotemporal distribution of livestock is affected by several household and community levels decisions including land tenure; and 3) to improve the accuracy and practicality of methods commonly used to monitor animal activity and behavior especially for studies concerned with the environmental impact of livestock in dry lands. Alice Pell at Cornell University and Dr. Augustine Ayantunde at ILRI are mentoring Mr. Chetima. During his fellowship he will be conducting his fieldwork in Niger under the supervision of his ILRI mentor.
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Aminata Diarra
Malian, Aminata Diarra is enrolled in the PhD program at University of Hawaii and Manoa in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science. Her research entails the development of a natural rock phosphate algorithm to diagnose the suitability for the use of rock phosphate for a particular cropping system and soil and to predict the amounts needed to meet crop phosphorus requirements. Dr. Russell Yost at University of Hawaii at Manoa and Dr. Andre Bationo at CIAT are mentoring Ms. Diarra. During her fellowship she will be conducting her fieldwork in Mali and Niger under the supervision of her CIAT mentor.
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Daniel Kerage
Kenyan, Daniel Kerage is enrolled in the Masters program at Kenyatta University in the Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology. The project aims to evaluate the potential of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes as a vaccine carrier against a highly fatal lymphoproliferative disease of cattle East Coast Fever (ECF), that is endemic in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. Specifically, he intends to evaluate the potent ability of live attenuated recombinant Listeria monocytogenes expressing Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs) Theileria parva vaccine candidate antigens to induce CTL responses in cattle and determine whether these immune responses can protect against a lethal parasite challenge. John Harty at University of Iowa, Dr. Simon Graham at Veterinary Laboraatories Agency, VLA, UK, Dr. Duncan Mwangi at ILRI and Dr. Eucharia Kenya at Kenyatta University are mentoring Mr. Kerage. During his fellowship he will be spending time at under the supervision of his ILRI mentor.
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Kibiby Mtenga
Tanzanian, Kibiby Mtenga is enrolled in the PhD program at University of Florida in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. Her research entails a comparative analysis of strategies for linking farmers to markets with a discourse on gender equity, community empowerment and natural resource management. The objectives of her research are to 1) identify and compare different strategies for linking farmers to markets, that explicitly integrate gender dimensions; 2) determine and analyze the extent to which women farmers participate in the market; 3) determine what benefits women farmers derive from participating in the markets; and 4) analyze trade-offs/decision-making of NRM between food security and market enterprises. Dr. Howard Ladewig at University of Florida and Dr. Susan Kaaria at CIAT are mentoring Ms. Mtenga. During her fellowship she will be conducting her fieldwork in Malawi under the supervision of her CIAT mentor.
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Charity Mutegi
Kenyan, Charity Mutegi is enrolled in the PhD program at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) in the Food Security Program of the Department of Food Science. Her research entails determining the risk of exposure to aflatoxin from consumption of groundnut among households in Western Kenya and identifying possible intervention measures. The objectives of her research are to 1) determine production, management, harvesting, storage and processing practices of sampled farm households in Kenya; 2) determine incidence of fungal and aflatoxin contamination and aflatoxin levels of collected samples; and 3) determine effects of three common local groundnut preparation methods identified during the survey. Dr. Henry Ngugi at Pennsylvania State University and Dr. Richard Jones at ICRISAT are mentoring Ms. Mutegi. During her fellowship she will be conducting her fieldwork in Kenya under the supervision of her ICRISAT mentor.
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Shelmith Mwaniki
Kenyan, Shelmith Mwaniki is enrolled in the PhD program at University of Nairobi in Kenya in the Department of Crop Science. Her research will look at the effects of pH and soil texture on various functions of entomopathogenic nematodes. The objectives of her research are to determine 1) the efficiency of different hosts in the propagation of entomopathogenic nematodes; 2) the effectiveness of entomopathogenic nematodes on the sweet potato weevil; and 3) appropriate application rates, interval and mode of delivery and the diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes from the central Rift valley region of Kenya. Khuong Nguyen at University of Florida and Dr. Daniel Coyne at IITA are mentoring Ms. Mwaniki. During her fellowship she will be conducting her fieldwork in Kenya and Uganda under the supervision of her IITA mentor.
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Antonio Querido
Capeverdian, Antonio Querido is enrolled in the PhD program at University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. His research will look at methods to predict soil organic stock at a regional scale (West Africa) using cost effective technologies and methodologies to enable countries to estimate their carbon sequestration potential. The objectives of his research are to 1) estimate soil carbon stocks in land use/land management systems of semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa that better utilize new capability of remote sensing imagery; 2) improve quantification of spatial variability and uncertainty in soil organic carbon stock using geostatistics and improved estimates to merge the in situ measurements with remotely sensed imagery; 3) develop an automated method for tree density extraction in savanna agroforestry systems from QuickBird imagery; and 4) develop an allometric procedure for tree biomass/carbon estimation in savanna agroforestry systems. Dr. Russell Yost at University of Hawaii at Manoa and Pierre Traore at ICRISAT are mentoring Mr. Querido. During his fellowship he will be conducting his fieldwork in Mali under the supervision of his ICRISAT mentor.
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