SEARCA Graduate Scholarships are open to applicants from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam who are regular employees of academic, research or government institutions and not more than 35 years old. The topic of research for thesis/dissertation must be in line with SEARCA’s current priority themes:

1) Natural Resources Management
Focuses on management of land and water resources; biodiversity management for food security; and risk assessment and the impacts of climate change on agrobiodiversity

2) Agricultural Competitiveness
Addresses agricultural competitiveness, food security and rural poverty alleviation, natural resources management

Click here to see the universities that qualify for study posts.

Applicants may submit the applications to the respective Ministries of Education of their countries before 30 July 2012.

Click here for the detailed application procedure.

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.

A women farmer from India shows her finger millet plants. Photo: S. Padulosi

Some time ago the LEISA journal (Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture) featured an article on neglected and underutilised plant species (NUS). Now AgriCultures (the reincarnation of LEISA under a new name) published an update on international collaborative efforts concerning NUS, highlighting international conferences, collective action, international policies and agreements as well as public awareness activities.

Click to read “Underutilized Species: Where Are We?”

A consortium led by UC Davis with CGIAR partners and the private sector plans to sequence the genomes of neglected African crops, with the ultimate goal of developing “new varieties [...] that are more nutritious, produce higher yields and are more tolerant of environmental stresses, such as drought”. Genomic information generated through the project will be freely available to scientists around the world. Of the US$ 40 million needed by the project, US$7.5 million have already been raised. A list of 96 species has been developed, which will be narrowed to 24 food crops and tree species whose genomes will be sequenced. Candidate species include amaranth, marula, cocoyam, Ethiopian mustard, ground nut tree, African potato, acacia, baobob, matoke bananas, African medlars, African eggplant and Cape tomato. We were intrigued by the latter name but unable to associate it with a taxon. Could this be the pictured Physalis peruviana, a native of South America, which is now globally distributed with much export-oriented production taking place in South Africa under the trade name of Cape Gooseberry?

The International Foundation for Science (IFS), Bioversity International, RUFORUM, and the Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Ghana, will conduct a training workshop on Research Design and Data Analysis with focus on underutilized crops research. The course will be held in Accra, Ghana on 25-29th July, 2011.
Young scientists from Benin, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal are hereby invited to submit a Research Note and apply for participation in this training course.
Applicants eligible for this call should:

• Be citizens of Benin, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria or Senegal
• Be national scientists attached to a university, research institution or a research oriented and not-for-profit NGO
• Be under 40 years of age
• Have at least a Master’s or equivalent degree
• Be involved in research on regional priority NUS species
• We particularly welcome applications from female scientists

Read the detailed document, including information on the priority research themes and species for NUS research and the application form, on the IFS website:

Detailed document:

http://www.ifs.se/Programme/Call_NUS_ResearchDesign_Ghana2011.pdf

Application form:

http://www.ifs.se/Programme/ApplicationForm_NUS_ResearchDesign_Ghana2011.doc

Your Application must contain:

• the completed Application Form
• a full CV

Send your Application by email to:
email hidden; JavaScript is required
Deadline:          27th May, 2011