Spotlight on African Women In Science Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change: Dr Madaka Tumbo

Dr Madaka’s research sought to address the trade-off between water savings, productivity and soil fertility, which is brought about with alternate wetting and drying. In concert with this is the expectation of evaporation rates increasing due to higher temperatures, turning rice production to become unsustainable in most regions, requiring alternate wetting and drying but its use will need a trade-off to reduce organic nutrients being mineralized and to prevent the loss of soil fertility. Madaka’s findings now much sought-after across Africa offer an inventive water management technique that uses less water in rice irrigation. Rice, a staple food for 3 billion people, consumes more water than any other crop. In the coming decades, as demand for rice increases, freshwater resources are expected to dwindle and become more unpredictable due to climate change.