The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) announces the 4th International Symposium on Lychee, Longan and Other Sapindaceae Fruits, to be held from 2-6 December, 2012, in White River, South Africa.
The symposium is organised by the South African Litchi Growers’ Association and the Agricultural Research Council under the auspices of ISHS. Maybe this is an opportunity to disseminate your work on Sapindaceae fruits, but consider that your paper is likely to appear in conference proceedings behind a pay wall and will effectively be inaccessible to the folks unable to afford the hefty fees for ISHS article downloads. This is unfortunate as the scarcity of literature on these lesser known species is  further aggravated by what appears to us as obsolete publication policies.

The Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP) is seeking applications for fellowship grant opportunities for students from Sub-Saharan Africa.  The deadline is June 12, 2012.  Applications are requested from Sub-Saharan African students conducting research on topics related to USAID’s global hunger and food security initiative – FEED THE FUTURE.  The focus region is Sub-Saharan Africa.  All topics related to agriculture (as defined by Title XII) and the research strategies of the Feed the Future initiative are admissible.  The Borlaug LEAP fellowship program supports engaging a mentor at a US university and at a CGIAR center to support and enhance the thesis research and mentoring experience.

Awards are made on a competitive basis to students who show strong scientific and leadership potential.  Funds are available for one-year and cannot exceed US$20,000.  For more information on eligibility criteria and to download the application, please visit their website at:

http://leap.ucdavis.edu

The competition will evaluate, recognize and reward the contribution of women scientists in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and North Africa who have been undertaking R&D activities related to the theme “Feeding 1 billion in Africa in a changing world” with outstanding research outputs. Winners will be awarded special prizes and their contributions will be published and made available widely. The competition is expected to raise the profile of women and youth involved in science and showcase them as role models.

Deadline for submission is 14^th May 2012.

The Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) is a competitive grant that enables scientists from national research institutes and universities within the eastern and central Africa region to conduct research at the world-class research facilities of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya.

From the attached call for applications

Scientists who are conducting research in the following areas are particularly encouraged to apply, as are women candidates:

Research on orphan (understudied) crops to boost productivity, including

• Amaranth
• African wild mushrooms
• Enset
• Other under-researched important African crops

Deadline for applications is March 30th 2012

This fellowship programme supports women scientists in sub-Saharan African to realise research in all fields of science, engineering and technology. The maximum value of the fellowship is US$20,000 and the age limit for the candidate is 40 years.

The deadline for applications is 30 March 2012.
Browse the website for more details on the application procedure and fellowship conditions.