PhD Research
MUCCRI PhD Students' Research
- Research at MUCCRI Through a partnership with NARO and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Uganda) and with funding from USAID, MUCCRI is offering both financial and technical support to a series of graduate students (both MSc and PhD) research efforts as well as research experiences for undergraduates. The research efforts for graduate students are focused on a range of research topics that have been identified and agreed upon with the partners. The different research topics for MSc and PhD covered by the graduate students include the following:
MScs to generate agro-meteorological climate-risk analyses to inform decision-making at national, community, and farm levels MScs to assess what policies affect farmers’ vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the local level through stakeholder engagement, to create awareness, empower the farming community, and trigger behavioral change of local policy actors.
PhD on climate-smart Robusta coffee: understanding the biophysical and economic challenges and opportunities at plot level. PhD on climate change adaptation, climate-smart technologies: Overcoming drought stress in key food crops, combining drought-tolerant germplasm with evaluating technologies for conserving, collecting, and supplying water. PhD on climate change adaptation at household and community level – diversification or specialization and the implications of control over assets.
Completed PhD Research
Research 1: Climate Change Adaptation Technologies And Crop Productivity In The Coffee-Based Farming Systems Of Uganda.
Research Description:
This research assesses Climate Change Adaptation Technologies (CCATs) and Crop Productivity (CP) in the Coffee-Based Farming Systems of Uganda. The Coffee-Based Farming System sustains many households for income and food. However, its sustainability is threatened by the uncertainty in the severity and timing of Climate Change/Variability (CCV) impacts. Despite farmers’ autonomous adaptation approaches to such impacts, many remain food insecure and with low incomes. Compelled by the determinants of adoption, farmers also opt to trade-off among CCATs concerning income or food security, which makes them more vulnerable.
The main objective of this study is to evaluate CCATs within the Coffee-Based Farming Systems of Uganda in terms of CP across different geographical locations, rainfall/altitudinal gradients, and temporal scales.
The purpose is to provide location and context-specific information to farmers in the lowlands (Greater Luwero – central region) and highlands (Mt. Elgon – eastern region); about CCATs that contribute to household welfare to plan for Climate Change Adaptation and ensure sustained agricultural production.
The specific objectives are to determine the drivers of the adoption of farmer’s incremental, systemic, and transformational CCATs at the household level; establish their effect on CP; and analyze the trade-offs among the technologies concerning household income and food security. Farmers will be randomly sampled from sub-counties that will be purposively identified within strata of rainfall/altitudinal gradients in the lowlands and highlands. The Multinomial Endogenous Switching Regression Model will be applied to determine the drivers of choice of CCATs and their effect on CP. At the same time, the Trade-Off Analysis Multi-Dimensional model will be adopted to analyse the trade-offs. It is believed that the findings will contribute to the realization of Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Sustainable Development Goals by identifying decision-making pathways along which smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacity to climate change could be enhanced.
Contact person
Name: Catherine Mulinde
Research 2: Influence of canopy closure and micro climate variability on pest dynamics in Robusta coffee.
Research Description:
Makerere University Centre for Climate Change Research and Innovations (MUCCRI) supports post graduate research on climate adaptation with an aim of raising climate change awareness and developing a climate knowledge base. USAID through FHI360, MUCCRI, IITA and NARO is providing financial and technical support for a PhD study on coffee adaptation to climate change. The objective is to build capacity in climate change and climate adaptation in coffee production as well as inform the coffee policy. Coffee is a crop of focus because of being a major income earner for Uganda (contributes over 18% of export value) and its susceptibility to climate variability.
The main study objective is to determine the diversity of pests in Robusta coffee agroforestry and effect of pest pressure on coffee yield, evaluate the influence of agroforestry canopy closure on incidence and severity of Robusta coffee pests, micro climate and soil moisture under varying rainfall amount. Specific objectives include:
- 1- Determine the diversity of major coffee pests and their effect on Robusta coffee yields.
- 2- Determine the effect of agroforestry tree canopy closure and species on incidence and severity of selected Robusta coffee pests.
- 3- Evaluate the effect of canopy closure on temperature, humidity and soil moisture and effect of this micro climate on Robusta coffee pest incidence and severity.
Contact person
Name: Nakyagaba N. Winfred
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College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University- Uganda. East Africa