Nigeria tops beneficiaries of Africa’s first cohort of research grants in climate change sciences

Three Nigerians, Daniel Akinyele, Ayansina Ayanlade, and Adanna Henri-Ukoha are among the six beneficiaries of the first cohort of the Africa Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) small research grants in climate change sciences. The other beneficiaries are Lindani Ncube of South Africa, Timothy Dube of Zimbabwe and Muhire Innocent of Rwanda.

The AIMS Small Research Grants in Climate Change is part of the Mathematical Science for Climate Change Resilience (MS4CR) program which is made possible by a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre, with the support of Global Affairs Canada and administered by AIMS.

According to the announcement made Wednesday, December 12, 2018, the six grantees were selected through a rigorous review and selection process and their projects would include among others: developing localized ‘clean energy’ models for off-grid applications in rural communities.

“This will increase access to a sustainable supply of ‘clean energy’, especially because such communities usually lack access to grid electricity or are unable to afford electricity. Additionally, off-grid energy reduces greenhouse gas emission through a reduction in the usage of hazardous fossil fuel-powered technologies (coal, natural gas, or petroleum) for energy production. Off-grid energy technologies can therefore significantly lower health risk, reduce energy prices and improve livelihoods. Additional projects will investigate the effects of climate change on the yields of important cash crops (coffee and tea) in Rwanda, and how best farmers in Nigeria can sustainably adapt to climate change,” the statement read.

“Climate change is affecting all facets of society, contributing to lower agricultural productivity, a greater burden of diseases, and forced migration, among other consequences. African scientists, like the selected grantees, have a crucial role to play in providing solutions to the challenges posed by climate change. The small research grants program hopes to facilitate the provision of such solutions,” said Prof. Wilfred Ndifon, AIMS Director of Research.

Over the next four years, 16 small research grants will be awarded to outstanding early career African researchers to fund projects that can contribute to strengthening climate change resilience on local and/or global scales.

Daniel Akinyele is a lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Lagos, Nigeria. He received a Ph.D. in Engineering (Renewable Energy) from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has served as a Senior Engineer at the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Abuja, Nigeria.

Ayansina Ayanlade is a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and a project associate under the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) core projects of International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). Ayansina completed his Ph.D. in Geography in King’s College London, United Kingdom.

Adanna Henri-Ukoha is a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Adanna obtained a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics – Resource and Environmental Economics Bias from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri Imo State, Nigeria.

Lindani Ncube is a researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Lindani holds a Ph.D. degree in Geology from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Her research spans the area of geology (geological field mapping, core logging, sediments sampling, exploration, the building of geological block models etc.) and geochemistry.

Timothy Dube is a senior lecturer in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Timothy holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science (specializing in GIScience and Earth Observation) from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He is a National Research Foundation (NRF)-Rated Researcher and a specialist in GIScience, Global Position System (GPS) & Remote Sensing applications in solving climate change and environmental related problems.

Innocent Muhire is a senior lecturer at the University of Rwanda – College of Education. Innocent holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Management obtained from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has relevant practical working experience in training and capacity building of staff and scholars gained through the delivery of various academic courses/modules of geography, environment, GIS among others at different institutions in Rwanda.