Esther Ogbole is a PhD Candidate at the Division of Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development (490c) at the University of Hohenheim. Her research examines the institutional dynamics of rangeland carbon projects in Africa, focusing on how collective action influences climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and community benefits. Guided by the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, her work explores actor linkages, governance challenges, benefit-sharing, and property rights in the sustainability of carbon projects. Esther's research is fully funded by the DAAD scholarship under the International PhD Programme in Agricultural Economics, Bioeconomy, and Sustainable Food Systems (IPPAE). She also received the Fiat Panis PhD Field Research Grant to support data collection in Kenya.
Prior to her PhD, Esther served as a Senior Agricultural Officer at the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science, where she supported the development of the National Agricultural Soil Management Policy (NASMP) and promoted the adoption of balanced fertilizer blends among smallholder farmers for improved productivity and environmental sustainability in northern Nigeria. She also participated in other agricultural research initiatives and stakeholder engagement at both state and national levels and has experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, having conducted fieldwork and stakeholder interviews in Nigeria and Kenya. Esther holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Abuja and a Bachelor’s degree in General Agriculture from the Federal University of Technology, Minna in Nigeria. In addition to her academic work, she is passionate about science communication and is skilled in simplifying complex research into clear, impactful articles for diverse audiences.
