CLIFF recipients spent 3-4 months at CGIAR centers, working with scientists affiliated with the Standard Assessment of Mitigation Potential and Livelihoods in Smallholder Systems (SAMPLES) project, where they learned research principles and methods applicable to their own PhD research. The 2013-2014 cohort members of CLIFF are listed in the following table.
| Name | PhD research topic | University of enrollment | Country of PhD study | CGIAR host institution |
| Ana Lucía Cadena González de Thiele | Potentials of native plant species in agroforestry systems for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement of local environment and communitites | University of Münster, Germany | Colombia | CIAT, Colombia |
Taiwo Bintu Ayinde | Economics of sustainable crop intensification in smallholder agriculture in northern Nigeria | Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria | Nigeria | CIFOR, Kenya |
| Brijesh Kumar | Effect of conservation agriculture practices on soil characteristics, crop yield, physiological response and nutritional quality of grain | Jiwaji University, India | India | CIMMYT, India |
| Frederick M. Wandera | Soil carbon sequestration potentials of semi-arid soils at the CCAFS site in Wote, Makueni County | University of Eldoret | Kenya | ILRI, Kenya |
| Ibrahim Wanyama | Assessing mitigation options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture at plot, farm and landscape level in the CCAFS Rakai block, Uganda | University of Freiburg, Germany | Uganda | ILRI, Kenya |
| Jorge Elías Chalco Vera | GHG emissions from sugarcane cultivation in Tucumán, Argentina | INTA Famaillá Experimental Station, Argentina | Argentina | CIFOR, Kenya |
| Ram Dhan Jat | Precision-conservation agriculture-based practices for resource use efficiency and carbon footprints in maize-wheat cropping system | CCS Haryana Agricultural University, India | India | CIMMYT, India |
| Syed Faiz-ul Islam | Reduced emissions from intensified rice production systems | Wageningen University, Netherlands / Copenhagen University, Denmark | Vietnam | IRRI, Philippines |
| Zipporah Musyimi | Assessing the climatic forcings of land management options practiced by pastoralists of the African dry lands: case of Burkina Faso | Trier University, Germany | Burkina Faso | ICRAF, Kenya |
Eight grant winners kicked off 2013-2014 CLIFF activities with an orientation workshop 1-4 December 2013 at Aarhus University-Foulum in Denmark. At the workshop, the grantees presented their proposed PhD research for critique.
CLIFF 2013-2014 GRANT RECIPIENTS WITH CCAFS AND AARHUS PARTNERS AT AARHUS, DENMARK.