Dr. Abel Chemura

Has over 10 years cumulative experience in agricultural research focusing on systems agronomy and crop modelling in African food (maize, sorghum, millet and groundnut) and cash (coffee, oil palm and cocoa) crops. Has a first degree from Zimbabwe, a joint MSc in Environmental Modelling and Management from Lund University (Sweden) and University of Twente (The Netherlands) and a PhD in Environmental Science specializing in Agricultural Monitoring from University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). Knowledgeable and experienced in setting up and running biophysical, statistical and machine-learning-based crop models for technical agricultural planning, adaptation evaluation and decision scaling for building climate resilience.

Areas of research

Farming systems modelling, climate impact assessments and systems agronomy

• Chemura, A., Nangombe, S. S., Gleixner, S., Chinyoka, S., & Gornott, C. (2022). Changes in Climate Extremes and Their Effect on Maize (Zea mays L.) Suitability Over Southern Africa. Frontiers in Climate. 4: 890210. doi: 10.3389/fclim.
  
• Chemura, A., Yalew, A. W., & Gornott, C. (2021). Quantifying agroforestry yield buffering potential under climate change in the smallholder maize farming systems of Ethiopia. Frontiers in Agronomy, 3(1).
• Chemura, A., Gornott, C., Schauberger, B (2020). Impacts of climate change on agro-climatic suitability of major food crops in Ghana. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0229881.
• Arumugam, P., Chemura, A., Schauberger, B., & Gornott, C. (2020). Near Real-Time Biophysical Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Yield Estimation to Support Crop Insurance Implementation in India. Agronomy, 10(11), 1674.
• Mazwi, F., Chemura, A., Mudimu, G. T., & Chambati, W. (2019). Political economy of command agriculture in Zimbabwe: a state-led contract farming model. Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 8(1-2), 232-257.
• Chemura, A., Yalew, A.W., Gornott, C., Arumugam, P (2019) Using yield projections from crop models to inform adaptation investments in Africa: An application to maize crop in Ghana, 3rd Agriculture and Climate Change Conference, 25--29 March 2019, Novotel Hotel, Budapest,
• Chemura A., Kutywayo, D., Chidoko, P., & Mahoya, C. (2015) Bioclimatic modelling of current and projected climatic suitability of coffee (Coffea arabica) production in Zimbabwe, Regional Environmental Change, 16(2), doi: 10.1007/s10113-015-0762-9.
• Chemura, A., Mahoya, C., Chidoko, P. & Kutywayo, D. (2014) Effect of soil moisture deficit stress on biomass accumulation of four coffee (Coffea arabica) varieties in Zimbabwe, ISRN Agronomy, Vol 2014, 1-10, doi:10.1155/2014/767312.
• Chemura, A. (2014) The growth response of coffee (Coffea arabica L) plants to organic manure, inorganic fertilizers and integrated soil fertility management under different irrigation water supply levels, International Journal of Recycling of Waste in Agriculture, 3 (59), doi: 10.1007/s40093-014-0059-x.
• Kutywayo, D., Chemura, A., Kusena, W., Chidoko P. & Mahoya, C. (2013) The impact of climate change on the potential distribution of agricultural pests: The case of the coffee white stem borer (Monochamus leuconotus P.) in Zimbabwe, PLoS ONE 8(8), e73432. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073432.

Agricultural Monitoring with Remote Sensing and Machine Learning

• Chemura, A., Rwasoka, D., Mutanga, O., Dube, T., & Mushore, T. (2020). The impact of land-use/land cover changes on water balance of the heterogeneous Buzi sub-catchment, Zimbabwe. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 18, 100292.
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O., Odindi, J., & Kutywayo, D. (2018). Mapping spatial variability of foliar nitrogen in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantations with multispectral Sentinel-2 MSI data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 138, 1-11.
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O., & Odindi, J. (2017). Empirical modeling of leaf chlorophyll content in coffee (Coffea arabica) plantations with sentinel-2 msi data: Effects of spectral settings, spatial resolution, and crop canopy cover. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 10(12), 5541-5550.
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O. Sibanda, M. and Chidoko, P., (2017) Machine learning prediction of coffee rust severity on leaves using spectroradiometer data, Tropical Plant Pathology, 43 (2), 117-127
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O and Dube, T (2017) Integrating age in the detection and mapping of incongruous patches in coffee (Coffea arabica) plantations using multi-temporal Landsat 8 NDVI anomalies, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 57, 1–13.
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O., & Dube, T. (2017). Remote sensing leaf water stress in coffee (Coffea arabica) using secondary effects of water absorption and random forests. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 100, 317-324.
• Chemura, A., & Mutanga, O. (2017). Developing detailed age-specific thematic maps for coffee (Coffea arabica L.) in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes using random forests applied on Landsat 8 multispectral sensor. Geocarto International, 32(7), 759-776.
• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O and Dube, T (2016) Separability of coffee leaf rust infection levels with machine learning methods at Sentinel-2 MSI spectral resolutions, Precision Agriculture, 18 (5), 859-881, DOI 10.1007/s11119-016-9495-0
• Chemura, A., van Duren, I and van Leeuwen, L. (2015) Determination of the age of oil palm from crown projection area detected from WorldView-2 multispectral remote sensing data in Ejisu-Juaben, Ghana. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing,

Agricultural Landscapes Management and Alternative Food Sources

• Musundire, R., Chidewe, C., Samende, B. K., Chemura, A., Bangira, C., Andika, O. A., & Chiwona-Karltun, L. (2021). Soil characteristics and nutritional traits of Mactrotermes natalensis (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) as indicators of nutritional quality in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science. doi:10.1007/s42690-020-00394-3
• Tarakini, G., Chemura, A., & Musundire, R. (2020). Farmers’ Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Pollination and Bees in a Maize-Producing Region of Zimbabwe: Implications for Pollinator Conservation. Tropical Conservation Science, 13, 1–13.
• Mahlatini, P., Hove, A., Maguma, L. F., & Chemura, A. (2020). Using direct use values for economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services: a case of Songore wetland, Zimbabwe. GeoJournal, 85(1), 41-51.
• Mushore, T. D., Dube, T., Manjowe, M., Gumindoga, W., Chemura, A., Rousta, I & Mutanga, O. (2019). Remotely sensed retrieval of Local Climate Zones and their linkages to land surface temperature in Harare metropolitan city, Zimbabwe. Urban Climate, 27, 259-271
• Chemura, A., Musundire, R., & Chiwona-Karltun, L. (2018). Modelling habitat and spatial distribution of the edible insect Henicus whellani Chop (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae) in south-eastern districts of Zimbabwe. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 4(4), 229-238.
• Dube, T., Mutanga, O., Sibanda, M., Shoko, C., & Chemura, A. (2017). Evaluating the influence of the Red Edge band from RapidEye sensor in quantifying leaf area index for hydrological applications specifically focussing on plant canopy interception. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 100, 73-80.
• Musundire, R., Zvidzai, C. J., Chidewe, C., Samende, B. K., & Chemura, A. (2016). Habitats and nutritional composition of selected edible insects in Zimbabwe. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 2(3), 189-198.
• Nyatondo, U.N., Machingauta, T., Mupfiga, E.T., Mahlatini, P., Chemura, A. (2016) Monitoring inter and intra-annual variation in habitat quality in a protected area with hyper-temporal remote sensing, Annals of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(1)87-98.
• Muposhi VK, Gandiwa E, Chemura A, Bartels P, Makuza S.M., Madiri T.H. (2016) Habitat heterogeneity variably influences habitat selection by wild herbivores in a semi-arid tropical savanna ecosystem. PLoS ONE, 11(9): e0163084. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163084.

Policy Briefs and Technical Reports

• Murken, L., Gornott, C., Aschenbrenner, P., Chemura, A., Hattermann, F., Koch, H., Liersch, S., Röhrig, F. Schauberger, B., and Yalew A (2019). Climate risk analysis for identifying and weighing adaptation strategies in Ghana, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), pp 50. https://doi.org/10.2312/pik.2020.001
• Chemura, A., Chambati, W and Mazwi F. (2018) State led contract farming in maize production and farmers' lived experiences:the case of the maize input support programme for import substitution in Zimbabwe, Sam Moyo African Institute of Agrarian Studies, Harare, pp 21.
• Chemura A, Mazwi, F., Chambati, W., and Mutowo, B (2018) Farmers lived experiences in tobacco marketing in Zimbabwe: A poilicy brief, Zimbabwe Land and Agrarian Network, Harare, pp 22.
• Chemura, A., (2017) Using multispectral remote sensing data in estimating coffee leaf biochemical properties, International Foundation for Science, Stockholm, pp 33

Publications in International Conference Proceedings

• Chemura, A., Mutanga, O., & Odindi, J. (2018, July). Modelling Leaf Chlorophyll Content in Coffee (Coffea Arabica) Plantations Using Sentinel 2 Msi Data. In IGARSS 2018-2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (pp. 8228-8231). IEEE.
• Chemura, A. and Mutanga, O. (2015) Comparing physiological and spectral response of coffee (Coffea Arabica) to induced soil moisture stress for assessing potential for remote sensing abiotic stressors in coffee management, 16^th WaterNet/SADC/GWP Symposium, le Merridien Resort, Mauritius, 27-30 October 2015.
• Kutywayo, D., Caleb Mahoya, C., and Chemura A(2015) Agronomic and economic performance of coffee-banana intercropping systems at Chipinge Research Station, Zimbabwe, 10th RCZ International Conference, 12-13 February 2015, HICC, Harare
• Kutywayo, D., Hikwa, D, Chemura, A (2015) Assessing environmental suitability of Livingstone potato (Plectranthus esculentus) and Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) in Zimbabwe, 10th RCZ International Conference, 12-13 February 2015, HICC, Harare.
• Chemura, A., Rwasoka, D., Mupfiga E., Kutywayo, D & Nyatondo U. (2014) Water balance impacts of changing plantations as a landcover type in a headwater catchment: a case of Buzi Sub-catchment in Zimbabwe, ZAS Water Forum,9-10 July 2014, Monomotapa Crowne Plaza Hotel.
• Chemura, A., Kutywayo, D & Mahoya, C. (2013) The farmer field school as an agricultural innovation marketplace: Experiences from the coffee sector in Zimbabwe, Proceedings of the RAEIN Africa International Conference on Innovation Systems for Resilient Livelihoods: Connecting Theory to Practice, 26-28 August 2013. Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg.
• Chemura A., Kutywayo, D., Mahlatini, P. & Nyatondo U. (2013) Assessing the impact of climate change on the suitability  of rainfed flu-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum) production in Zimbabwe, Proceedings of the 1st Climate Change Symposium of Zimbabwe, 19-21 June 2013, Cresta Lodge, Harare.
• Chemura, A., Mahoya, C and Kutywayo, D (2010). Effect of organic nursery media on germination and initial growth of coffee seedlings. Proceedings of the 23rd Colloquium of the Association for Science and Information on Coffee (ASIC),  Bali, Indonesia, 3-8 October, 2010.

1. East Africa Peru India Climate Capacities (EPICC)
2. Climate risk analyses for identifying and weighing adaptation strategies in sub-Saharan Africa (AGRICA)

• Modelling Climate Impacts on Agroecosystems
• Environmental Modelling
• Remote Sensing Science and Applications
• Geographic Information Systems