Get Guardian on GoogleA Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan (UI), Dr. Mobolade Akinbuluma, has secured the 2026 Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund of the University of Cambridge, United Kigdom, for the second time.
This latest award will support a collaborative project titled ‘Palm-Share: Promoting Adaptive Learning and Management through Shared Agricultural Research and Exchange of best practice.
Dr Akinbuluma is implementing the research in partnership with Professor Ed. Turner of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Among other things, the project will facilitate a knowledge-sharing and capacity-building workshop at the University of Ibadan, bringing together farmers, postgraduate students and agricultural research professionals.
The workshop will feature contributions from researchers at the University of Cambridge and representative of Wild Asia, a Malaysia-based social enterprise, alongside professional from the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin City, Edo State.
The initiative is designed to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge, practical agricultural experiences and innovative approaches to sustainable agricultural management, while strengthening the connection between research institutions and farming communities.
Established in 2012 through the support of the ALBORADA Trust, the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund supports new and existing research collaborations between the University of Cambridge and African Universities and research institutions.
Since its establishment, the Fund has awarded 392 grants involving researchers from 33 African countries, supporting high-quality research, scientific exchange and training activities across diverse academic disciplines.
Dr Akinbuluma’s latest success builds on his growing record of international research engagement and competitive research funding. An alumnus of the University of Ibadan, he obtained his B.Sc. in Crop, Soil and Pest Management from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Entomology from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State. He joined the University as an academic in 2014 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in October 2023.
Dr. Akinbuluma’s research interests encompass insect-plant interactions, chemical ecology, pheromones and semiochemicals, insect behaviour, integrated pest management, climate stress and sustainable crop protection. He currently combines his academic responsibilities at the University of Ibadan with conduct of collaborative research at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
He also maintains research collaborations with international institutions, including the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya.
Beyond the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund, Dr Akinbuluma has attracted competitive research support and fellowships from institutions including the International Foundation for Science (Sweden), the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Nigeria), and the Ekhagastiftelsen Foundation, Sweden, of which he is a two-time grant recipient. His international scientific engagements and collaborations have also taken him to leading research institutions in Germany, Hungary and Greece.
Expressing his excitement about the new award, he described it as an important opportunity to deepen the existing relationship between the University of Ibadan and reputable institutions in the Global North.
“I am particularly elated that this strategic academic partnership is being rekindled, building on my previous research engagements and academic visit to Cambridge. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to facilitate the convergence of distinguished scholars from Cambridge, United Kingdom and Wild Asia, Malaysia with the University of Ibadan.
This initiative transcends conventional academic collaboration; it is a purposeful investment in intellectual exchange, institutional capacity and the translation of scientific knowledge into practice. Through this engagement, our farmers will gain exposure to innovative agricultural approaches, while our postgraduate students will benefit from valuable scientific interaction and international academic exposure.
I am profoundly grateful to my family, the University of Ibadan, my research collaborators and students, whose unwavering support, intellectual contributions and enabling environments have been instrumental to my academic and research journey,” Akinbuluma said”.
Beyond its immediate research and capacity building objectives, the initiative epitomises the transformative power of sustained inter-institutional collaboration in transcending geographical and intellectual frontiers, fortifying Africa’s research ecosystem, and elevating our institutions as consequential contributors to global scientific advancement and sustainable development.
