Christian Thierfelder is a cropping systems agronomist and researcher in Africa. He is a principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a center of the Consultative Group of International Agriculture Research (CGIAR). His research areas include Conservation Agriculture Systems and their impact on crops, soils, environments, and smallholder livelihoods in southern Africa.
Education Thierfelder completed his Master's degree in Agriculture at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel in 1998. Following this, he went to Cali, Colombia, where he conducted his Ph.D. research with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and earned his PhD from the University of Hohenheim in 2003.
Career Thierfelder has conducted research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in southern Africa. He started as an adjunct scientist and post-doctoral fellow at CIMMYT from 2004 to 2007, followed by a senior research fellowship at CIAT from 2007 to 2009. Since 2009, he has held the roles of associate scientist, senior scientist, and principal scientist at CIMMYT. He is also a principal cropping systems agronomist at CIMMYT, focusing on Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with some activities in Namibia.
As part of his research career, Thierfelder has also been involved in projects, including Facilitating the Widespread Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Maize-Based Farming Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa; Zimbabwe R4 Rural Resillience Initiative; and Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming Systems in Zambia.
Research Thierfelder's research focused on Conservation Agriculture (CA), a cropping system based on minimum tillage, surface crop residue retention, and crop diversification. His work examines soil and plant processes, environmental impacts, and the adaptation of CA to smallholder farming systems in Southern Africa, particularly Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. He has shown that CA, regenerative agriculture, and nature-based solutions (NBS) improve soil moisture, water infiltrationand crop performance during dry periods. while also emphasizing agroecological approaches that integrate sustainable soil fertility management, biodiversity promotion, and targeted management strategies. His research highlights climate change–related risks to crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa and the need to adapt African farming systems, with more recent work focusing on climate-smart and appropriate-scale mechanization and related business models for smallholders, particularly women and youth.
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