IDRC offers Bentley Cropping Systems Fellowship Program to a Canadian, permanent resident of Canada or citizen of a developing country. Applicants must be a graduate student with a university degree in agriculture, forestry, or biology and wish to undertake applied, on-farm research with cooperating farmers in one or more developing countries. Award tenure corresponds with the period of field research (between 18 and 24 months) and value of the award is up to CA$30,000. The closing date for application is October 1, 2014.
Study Subject(s): 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.
Course Level: Fellowship is available to undertake field research.
Scholarship Provider: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada
Scholarship can be taken at: Developing Countries
Eligibility:To be eligible, you must:
- be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, or a citizen of a developing country;
- 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;
- have a university degree in agriculture, forestry, or biology;
- 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 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;
- provide evidence that a large part or all of the research will be carried out on the farms of resource-poor or smallholder farmers. The award will not support research carried out on the farms of large landholders or on research stations;
- provide evidence that farmers will actively participate in the experiments. It is essential to develop simple on-farm experimental designs with appropriate controls to determine the practicality and profitability of introducing a leguminous crop or other fertility-enhancing plant in the farmers' cropping systems.
Scholarship Open for International Students: Fellowship is awarded to a Canadian, permanent resident of Canada or citizen of a developing country.
Scholarship Description: Helen S. Bentley and C. Fred Bentley provided the initial capital for the Bentley Cropping Systems Fellowship program. During his travels in developing countries, Dr Bentley became convinced that ordinary farmers should greatly increase their use of forage crops or grain legumes in the cropping systems on their cultivated lands.
Number of award(s): Not known
Duration of award(s): Award tenure corresponds with the period of field research. In general, it will be between 18 and 24 months.
What does it cover? The value of the award is up to CA$30,000. If there is strong evidence of significant potential benefits, the award may be extended upon re-application.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be evaluated according to IDRC thematic priorities and criteria, such as relevance to sustainable and equitable development, as well as quality of the research proposal and suitability of the candidate.
Notification: The award will be announced by mid-December 2014.
How to Apply: Applicants must submit the applications via online. Upload scanned copies of the documents listed in the checklist. Your application must be complete, and submitted to the Centre by the deadline. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered. Your application should be submitted in English or French only (Canada's two official languages).
Scholarship Application Deadline: The closing date for application is October 1, 2014 by 4:00 pm EST.