Wati Mocevakaca gains valuable insights with her Future Thinkers’ Award
Wati Mocevakaca’s Future Thinkers’ project aims to investigate the impact of climate change on the prevalence and antibiotic sensitivity of organisms responsible for calf diarrhea in Fiji. Since its inception, the project team have been actively engaged in various activities to further the research objectives and are currently involved in the collection of field data, working closely with farmers to gather valuable insights.
Wati has benefited greatly by the experience and says “I have been able to dive more into the topic of climate change and variability and how this affects the dairy sector. As a result of my climate change research, I am getting more familiar with the farmers as well as farm demographics, establishing a good relationship and network with the farmers and Government officials. Also, it has broadened my opportunities to be included in publications related to climate change in the dairy sector.”
The project team has been conducting farmers' training sessions and collecting data from farmers to understand their experiences and perspectives regarding calf diarrhea and climate change. They have also been closely working with the Ministry of Agriculture extension officers, ensuring effective collaboration and cooperation.
Wati says “I have learnt that climate change is also a major constraint to the productivity of dairy farming. A large percentage of farmers experiences relate to changes in weather patterns, with increased periods of rainfall observed by most. Without the award I wouldn’t have been able to converse with farmers about this aspect and in turn, learn how farmers perceive climate change on their farms. Some of the farmers keep a variety of livestock, and all livestock are negatively impacted by changes in weather patterns.”
The Future Thinkers’ Award has provided Wati with the opportunity to work with her supervisors and colleagues, completing a book chapter and manuscript as a result of her collaboration.
Looking ahead to the next three months, the project team will be focusing on several key activities. These include conducting a field survey for climate change research, organising meetings with key stakeholders, including the CSIRO, and attending molecular genomics training in Australia from mid-July to mid-August 2023.
We look forward to keeping track of Wati’s progress.
