African PhD Sholarships 2013 in Plant Breeding/Entomology

Apply for PhD and MSc degree Scholarships in the Maize value chain of the project “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD-SC)”, funded by the African Development Bank

(SPECIFIC PROCUREMENT NOTICE - SPN)

This request for applications follows the general procurement notice AfDB43-04/12 for this project that was published in UN Development Business online on 27 April 2013.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners, AfricaRice and the International Centre for Agricultural Research for the Dry Areas (ICARDA) have received a grant of about US$ 64 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance the project “Support to Agricultural Research for development of Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD-SC)”. The strategic crops within the context of the project are cassava, maize, rice and wheat. The overall objective of SARD-SC is to enhance food and nutrition and contribute to poverty reduction in AfDB’s low-income member Countries (RMCs). Its specific objective is to enhance the productivity and income of four CAADP’s priority value chains (cassava, maize, rice and wheat) on a sustainable basis.

Under this project, AfDB has made a contribution to IITA to execute a 5-year sub-project that aims to upgrade the maize and cassava value chain in Africa through the (i) generation of agricultural technologies and innovations;(ii) sustainable dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies and innovations across the value chain; and (iii) sustainable capacity strengthening of project stakeholders.

Maize, the most important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa is being supported to enhance its competiveness in four (Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Zambia) of its member countries. IITA (www.iita.org) and its SARD-SC project partners work to develop new maize technologies and innovations to enhance the competiveness of the crop using the value chain approach. The overall goal is to sustainably increase maize productivity and ensure stabilization of the total maize area by reducing production losses in areas where the probability of crop failure from biotic and abiotic stresses and the predicted impact of climate change is high. Technologies will be disseminated through the Innovation Platforms, comprised of stakeholders along the value chain in each country and targeted to optimize technology uptake, improve marketing and creating enabling environment for enhanced maize trade.

As part of its human capacity building component, the project is offering eight (8) MSc and four (4) PhD scholarships at African universities from 2013 onwards. Scholarships will be comprehensive and include stipend, research costs, tuition, travel and insurance.

Areas of research Research areas include Agronomy/Natural Resource Management, Irrigation, Agricultural Economics, Crop Protection (Pathology and Entomology) and Breeding. The researcher will conduct in-depth study of a relevant topic to be carried out in one of the SARD-SC maize target countries. Suggested topics are detailed below

Ghana

S/N - MSc or PhD degree in the following disciplines - Any of the following priority areas of research study

1 Agronomy (MSc)

Agronomic studies (input use, crop arrangement, complementary management options etc.) to optimize on-farm yields of maize in stressed environments and opportunities for scaling-up and out results obtained to landscape level in intensifying cropping systems of Ghana

2 Plant Breeding (MSc)

Breeding maize varieties with tolerance/resistance to major yield limiting stresses (Drought, low soil nitrogen, Striga, heat, stem borers and diseases in Ghana

3 Agricultural Economics (PhD)

Evaluating options to enhance levels of competitiveness of maize in Ghana

Mali

S/N - MSc or PhD degree in the following disciplines - Any of the following priority areas of research study

1 Plant Breeding (PhD)

Breeding maize varieties with tolerance/resistance to major yield limiting stresses (drought, low soil nitrogen, Striga, heat, stem borers and other diseases of maize in Mali

2 Irrigation (MSc)

Development of affordable water management options to optimize on-farm maize yields in Mali

3 Agronomy (MSc)

Agronomic studies (input use, crop arrangement, complementary management options etc.) to optimize on-farm yields of maize in stressed environments and opportunities for scaling-up and out results obtained to landscape level in intensifying cropping systems of Mali.

Nigeria

S/N - MSc or PhD degree in the following disciplines - Any of the following priority areas of research study

1 Agronomy (MSc)

Agronomic studies (input use, crop arrangement, complementary management options etc.) to optimize on-farm yields of maize in stressed environments and opportunities for scaling-up and out results obtained to landscape level in intensifying cropping systems of Nigeria

2 Plant Breeding (PhD)

Breeding maize varieties with tolerance/resistance to major yield limiting stresses (Drought, low soil nitrogen, Striga, heat, stem borers and diseases in Nigeria

3 Agricultural Economics (MSc)

Evaluating options to enhance levels of competitiveness of maize in Nigeria

Zambia

S/N - MSc or PhD degree in the following disciplines - Any of the following priority areas of research study

1 PhD – Agronomy

Agronomic studies (input use, crop arrangement, complementary management options etc.) to optimize on-farm yields of maize in stressed environments and opportunities for scaling-up and out results obtained landscape level in intensifying cropping systems of Zambia.

2 MSc - Crop Protection (Pathology)

Developing integrated approaches to managing major maize diseases in the maize belt of Zambia.

3 MSc - Crop Protection (Entomology)

Developing integrated approaches to managing major insects affecting maize yield in the major maize producing areas of Zambia

Qualifications

 Candidates must satisfy the target university’s admission requirements for MSc or PhD studies.
 Candidates must be engaged in SARD-SC Maize project activities
 Candidates must have identified a supervisory Professor at a reputable target University in one of the eligible countries, who must have agreed to the research proposal written by the applicant.
 Strong preference is given to candidates already enrolled at a University, and which have finished all or most of the coursework requirements.
 Media for the thesis research program will be English, except for candidates from Mali, where French may be used.
Eligible countries
 The scholarships are open to nationals from all countries
 Enrolment can be in any reputable African university.

Application procedure Candidates should apply by sending an email to IITA-TrainingUnit@cgiar.org. Please identify which SARD-SC position for which you are applying. All applicants are required to include:

(1) Bio data;
(2) BSc or MSc Certificate;
(3) A brief proposal of the research (one-page maximum);
(4) Endorsement letter by a supervisory Professor;
(5) Where applicable, proof of enrolment (Admission letter) at a reputable University;
(6) Where applicable, transcripts of MSc or PhD coursework at a reputable University.
(7) A completed version of the IITA Graduate Research Training – application form.

Closing date 30th August 2013.

Screening of applications will begin shortly afterwards and will continue till positions are filled.

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from women candidates. All applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

For more information about IITA visit: 

www.iita.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=979b40b7-cab8-4d59-828e-0010fadfb9fc&groupId=25357