Wuletawu Abera

Wuletawu Abera is a Senior Scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). His research interests span a wide multidisciplinary area, focusing on understanding biophysical and socio-economic processes such as hydrology, ecology, agronomy, and climate change. He aims to optimize ecosystem services (disservices) such as agricultural productivity, water resource availability, and soil fertility, soil organic carbon sequestration, etc. With extensive research experience in water resources, soil, crops, climate change, and socioeconomics, Wuletawu is interested in integrating these diverse fields into system thinking approaches. His work encompasses input optimization, including irrigation and fertilizer management, as well as land management strategies such as land restoration and climate-smart agricultural (and landscape) practices. By coupling process-based models, machine learning analytics, and large datasets, he synthesizes and analyzes information to gain insights into systems at various scales. Recently, he is into the socio-technical context of machine-human interfaces to improve the usability of decision support tools developed by his team.

Wuletawu actively contributes to multiple CGIAR initiatives, including Excellence in Agronomy (EiA), Sustainable Intensification - Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS), and Nexus Gains. He plays a key role in supporting projects such as Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa in Ghana and Ethiopia, as well as Supporting Soil Health Initiatives in Ethiopia (and beyond). Currently, he serves as the Country Representative for the Alliance in Ghana.

Wuletawu is deeply committed to fostering networking and collaboration across Africa, recognizing the transformative potential of collective efforts in advancing agricultural research and development on the continent.

Before joining the Alliance, Wuletawu served as an Assistant Professor at Mekelle University and as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Trento University. He holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering with a special focus on hydrological modeling from the University of Trento (Italy), and he obtained his European Union Erasmus Mundus MSc in Environmental Science and Nature Management from the UK and Italy. Wuletawu earned his bachelor’s degree in Geography & Environmental Studies from Mekelle University (Ethiopia).