CA $30,000 Bentley Cropping Systems Fellowship Awards

Deadline: October 1, 2014 4PM EST

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC)  is offering offering the Bentley Cropping System Fellowships to a Canadian, permanent resident of Canada, or citizen of a developing country.

The Fellowship provides funding for field research aimed at increasing the yield of food crops, improving farmers’ livelihoods, and enhancing soil fertility. In particular, the research should evaluate and/or promote the use of fertility-enhancing plants — such as leguminous forages, shrubs, cover crops, and grain legumes — on small farms.

Eligibility

Applicants must :

• be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, or a citizen of a developing country;
• have a university degree in agriculture, forestry, or biology;
• be enrolled full-time at a recognized university at the master’s, doctoral, or post-doctoral level in Canada or in a developing country for the duration of the award period;
• provide evidence that you will be supported by local institutions that have a good working relationship with target communities, farmers, and/or extension agencies;
• indicate that you will seek cooperation, help, and support from local “extension officers” and/or NGOs in the identification of individual farmers who are likely to be suitable and cooperative;
• submit a research proposal focusing on very simple cropping-systems research that can benefit smallholder farmers in developing countries, especially rural women farmers;
• provide evidence that a large part or all of the research will be carried out on the farms of resource-poor or smallholder farmers.
• provide evidence that farmers will actively participate in the experiments.
• Note: IDRC does not support research in Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Somalia, Eastern Europe or Central Asia.

Selection Criteria

• Focus of the Research: Proposals must focus on very simple cropping-systems research that can benefit smallholder farmers in developing countries, especially rural women farmers.
• Participatory ResearchYour research must involve simple experiments to be carried out by cooperating farmers under guidance of the researchers. Both male and female farmers should participate actively. They should be involved in all stages of the experiment on their land, including land preparation, seeding, and harvesting.

Awards

• The value of the award is up to CA$30,000
• Award tenure corresponds with the period of field research. In general, it will be between 18 and 24 months
• Note: Fellowship holders will commit to provide IDRC with three brief progress reports per year

Application Process

For more infortmation visit, IDRC or contact [email protected]