Chinwoke Clara Ifeanyi-obi

Senior Lecturer/University of Port Harcourt

Dr Chinwoke Clara Ifeanyi-obi is a Leading researcher in environmentally sustainable management discourse in agriculture. Providence brought me to my present specialisation of Agricultural Extension with special focus on Rural and Community Development Option. Over 60% of Nigerian citizens live in rural areas with the majority having agriculture as their means of livelihood. My passion to contribute to enhancing the livelihood of this mostly poor majority is the drive behind my specializing in Agricultural Extension. This has significantly impacted my research growth evidenced by my publications (published over 70 peer reviewed journal articles) and research grants and awards (won nine research grants and awards) I have won.  I was a Post Doc research fellow of the United Kingdom Department for International Development under the Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE) Programme and a Fellow of West African Science leadership Programme. Currently, I am a research fellow of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI) under the fellowship programme for women in climate change science. I have been actively involved in public engagements and the facilitation of strategic partnerships between key stakeholders in rural development in my country. In the future, I hope to work more on mainstreaming gender and ICT into Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) discourse and furthering partnerships among key players in agriculture and climate change. This I hope will facilitate the uptake of CSA among rural dwellers in Nigeria; hence improve agricultural productivity, farmers‟ resilience to climate change effects, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, I hope to engage more in science communication by making conscientious effort to provide credible evidence for informed policy decision, which I believe will facilitate the overall development of rural areas in my country.