So, the day has come.
I’m not gonna lie and say that this summer has been plain sailing because it has been anything but. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented me from travelling to Vietnam to work with the IRRI on my research project and working from home here in Ireland has been tough to say the least. But you know what? I’ve produced a piece of work that I can be proud of.
My results have shown that the DSSAT model was accurately able to predict maize yields in the Northwest and Central Highland regions of Vietnam for the period of 2001-2010. The simulated yields were closely matched with the observed yields for this period and is a very positive result. The model was accurately able to take climatic variability experienced in both regions into account when simulating yields. Upon visualisation of the datasets that I generated for use in DSSAT, two trends became apparent. The first is that rainfall levels showed an overall decreasing trend for the 10 year period in both regions. The second showed that temperatures showed an increasing trend in both regions. This trend is expected to continue in Vietnam, and evidence of such can be seen in recent years. in 2016, the country experienced its worst drought in over 90 years. Crops were destroyed and food shortages occurred. Worrying, I know! However, there is hope. My thesis results shows that the DSSAT model could possibly be used by decision-makers in making future recommendations for crops of the future in these areas. If farmers and decision makers can become better informed on what practices to implement, what crops to plant and when to plant them, then crop yields could improve in the years to come.
It feels surreal to say that my Masters has come to an end. What a year it has been. While the year did not go as expected at all, I still thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this course and is an experience I am so grateful for. I couldn’t recommend this course enough and would like to say thank you to both Charlie and Peter especially, who have been so helpful over the course of the year.
Now the job hunt begins.
All the best!