The Rothamsted International African Fellows Programme is now inviting scientists and researchers working on agriculture in Africa to submit pre-proposals under its 9th African Fellows Programme Call.
The aim of the African Fellows Programme (AFP) is to support sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa by catalysing innovative solutions needed to achieve food security. Projects should focus on specific problems in agriculture with a researchable constraint. They should also aim to develop lasting partnerships and strategic alliances that will help in developing local scientific capacity relevant to sustainable agricultural production. The potential impact of the project on small-holder farmers will be a major consideration during proposal assessment. African scientists will carry out research projects at a partner European research institute, or university, for a maximum period of 6 months. Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis in a two-stage assessment process.
Research projects must:
- focus on solving an agricultural problem with a researchable constraint
- demonstrate how the knowledge gained will be applied to benefit small-holder African farmers
- be of high quality science
Examples of potential project areas include crop nutrition, soil fertility, post-harvest technology, alternative crops, livestock management and plant protection.
The programme cannot support field work in Africa. Projects focusing on food processing and socio-economic research are not within the remit of the programme. Equally, MSc and PhD studies will not be funded.
Deadline for submission of pre-proposals: 17:00 hours (GMT) on Friday 19th June 2009. Submissions should be sent by email.
Application documents:
- Programme guidelines
- Programme guidelines and criteria summary
- Pre-proposal application form
- Rothamsted International newsletter
More details and guidelines on how to apply
Contact: Please send any queries to the AFP Coordinator by email or by post to Rothamsted International, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK.
The HarvestChoice initiative has launched a comprehensive collection of data products designed to better inform strategic policy and investment decisions aimed at improving farm productivity and profitability, and market development. The website is intended to be the 'go-to' resource for analysts and decision-makers seeking integrated, consistent and spatially-referenced information, provided in an interactive portal.
The data collection focuses on factors relevant to crop production and marketing in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) agriculture, such as climate, soil and pest conditions and constraints, current and future cropping systems geography and performance and access to markets. Recognising the site-specific nature of many interventions designed to boost productivity, especially in the rainfed systems common throughout SSA, HarvestChoice takes a spatial approach, using interfaces built around open-source platforms such as Google Maps.
By providing both public and private investors with an increasingly broad and in-depth understanding of major production and marketing challenges and opportunities, HarvestChoice hopes to shed light on the potential payoffs to productivity-enhancing innovations for smallholder farmers, as well as how to promote the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture.
The HarvestChoice website will be continuously updated and improved over time.
HarvestChoice was launched in October 2006 and is jointly led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Minnesota’s International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (INSTePP) programme.
The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) was established in June 2007 as a semi-autonomous centre at the University of Ghana. Funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the centre's remit is to train 40 PhD students in Plant Breeding over a ten-year period.
With 18 students already enrolled and making good progress at the centre, WACCI is now seeking applications for enrollment in January 2010. Selected winners will follow a five-year programme, incorporating two years of academic study at the University of Ghana followed by three years of field research at the students' respective research stations/Universities in their home countries, leading to the award of a Ph.D in Plant Breeding upon successful completion.
The course work and research will focus on the following West Africa food crops:
Cereals: maize, rice, sorghum and millet
Roots and tubers: cassava and sweet potato
Legumes: cowpea and groundnut
Vegetables: tomato and pepper
The geographical focus of the programme will be West Africa, with initial emphasis on Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Eligibility
The WACCI programme is designed for full-time, professional plant breeders who will go on to build careers in breeding new cultivars of food crops. Prospective students must:
- hold an MSc/MPhil in Plant Breeding, Plant Genetics, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Crop Science, Applied Entomology, Applied Nematology or equivalent degree.
- hold a position as an agricultural research scientist in a national research institute or university in his/her home country, so that he/she can return to his/her home country to conduct the field research for the PhD thesis.
- be under the age of 40
- have a test score of at least 550 (paper test) or 213 (computer test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in the event that English was not the language of instruction at undergraduate or postgraduate level
Deadline for applications: 31st March 2009
ICRISAT's Center of Excellence in Genomics (CEG), supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, will hold its fifth training course, entitled 'Molecular marker technology for crop improvement' from 18th - 29th May 2009 at the ICRISAT Campus in Patancheru, Greater Hyderabad, India.
The course will provide participants a hands-on opportunity to gain expertise in the use of molecular markers (SSRs, SNPs and DArTs), gene/QTL mapping and marker-assisted breeding. Its focus will be on the experimental design and data analysis components of molecular markers, rather than the actual marker data generation technology. Special attention will be given to the requirements regarding the utilization of a high-throughput marker service facility such as the one currently being established at CEG.
The fifth training course is open to mainly Indian scientists, but scientists from other developing countries who have a demonstrable ability to use the techniques taught and the CEG marker services will also be welcome.
Selected Indian participants will be provided 2nd class AC train fare by the shortest route to and from ICRISAT, as well as boarding and lodging at ICRISAT. Candidates selected from other developing countries will be required to procure sponsorship from either their home organisation or external funding agencies to support their travel expenses. ICRISAT-CEG will cover their boarding and lodging at ICRISAT.
Final date for submitting online applications: 31 March 2009.
Contact for more details: Rajeev Varshney (Leader, Centre of Excellence in Genomics, ICRISAT, Patancheru, India and Subprogramme 2 Leader, GCP).
The Bioinformatics Platform (BIP) is offering the Applied Computational Genomics Course (ACGC) to Bioinformatics/ Biology researchers and students as well as to doctors and residences.
The ACGC will run full-days from July 14th to July 20th in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and will feature instruction from some of the best bioinformaticians across Canada on software applications such as BioMoby, Birch, Bluejay, Helpdesk, and more.
- Registration deadline: 14th July 2009
- Early bird registration deadline: 1st June 2009 - offering a $500 reduction on course fees (at $1250 for Canadian registrants and $1500 for non-Canadian registrants)
- PrioNet Canada is offering bursaries (covering basic costs associated with the course) for PrioNet student members only.
Contact: Susanne Cardwell (please include 'ACGC Course Information' in the Subjeact header).
For details on this and other events and training opportunities in the GCP calendar, please visit our Events page
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France is seeking a young scientist to join their team. Main responsibilities of the position will include the development and evaluation of new methods for association genetics and related approaches to investigate genetic determinism of traits of interest in agricultural plants, in view of molecular breeding applications. These methods include the combination of Linkage and Linkage Disequilibrium mapping to map determinants of quantitative traits. Application to maize within the research group and other crops in cooperation with other groups of the division will also be required.
The permanent position (equivalent to tenure) is at the Associate Research Scientist (CR2) level and based in Gif-sur-Yvette (near Paris), France.
Eligibility criteria
Applicants should have:
- PhD or equivalent
- Strong background in statistical and quantitative genetics
- Programming skills in standard languages
More information on general hiring process information and documents for application
Deadline for submission of complete application package (including CV, 8 -10 pages
report and publication list): 27th February 2009
Contact: Alain Charcosset; tel: +33 1 69 33 23 35
A draft report of a workshop on 'Biotechnology, biosafety and the CGIAR: Promoting best practice in science and policy’, organised by the Science Council (SC) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Bioversity International, and held in Los Baños, The Philippines, from 22–24 April 2008, is now available. The workshop focused on biotechnology-related work in the CGIAR and partner National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), with discussions centering around three major issues: i) How CGIAR Centers can best work with NARS to ensure a smooth and timely delivery of research products to target farmers; ii) CGIAR's need for a Biotechnology Research Support Network, its roles and functions; and iii) How CGIAR should deal with policy issues related to biotechnology and be represented in international fora.
More information visit the Science Council website or contact haruko.okusu@fao.org for more information
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