Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) Research Fellowships

The purpose of the ABCF fellowship program is to develop capacity for agricultural biosciences research in Africa, to support research for development projects that ultimately contribute towards increasing food and nutritional security and/or food safety in Africa, and to facilitate access to the BecA-ILRI Hub facilities by African researchers (and their partners). We seek applicants with innovative ideas for short to medium term research projects (up to 12 months) aligned with national, regional or continental agricultural development priorities that can be undertaken at the BecA-ILRI Hub.

Areas of Research

Applicants must be scientists affiliated (through employment) with an African National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) or university, and conducting research in the areas of food and nutritional security or food safety in Africa. Those carrying out research in the following areas are particularly encouraged to apply;

Improved control of priority livestock and fish diseases including: African Swine Fever (ASF); Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP); Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR); Rift Valley Fever (RVF); East Coast Fever (ECF); Capripox Virus diseases of ruminants;

Harnessing genetic diversity for conservation, resistance to disease and improving productivity of crops and livestock and fish (livestock focus: African indigenous breeds, particularly  goats, chickens, alternative small livestock species);Molecular breeding for important food security crops in Africa;

• Plant transformation to address food insecurity in Africa
• Plant-microbe interactions
• Tissue culture and virus indexing for production of virus-free planting materials in Africa
• Orphan/underutilized species of crops and livestock
• Crop pests, pathogens and weed management research, including biological control
• Microbial technology for improving adaptation of staple food crops and forages to biotic and abiotic stresses
• Food safety, including addressing aflatoxin and other mycotoxins contamination in food and feeds
• Nutritional analysis of food and animal feeds
• Rapid diagnostics for crop, livestock and fish diseases
• Genomics, bioinformatics and  metagenomics including microbial discovery
• Studies on climate-smart forage grasses and mixed livestock-crop systems
• Microbial technology for improving adaptation of staple food crops and forages to biotic and abiotic stresses
• Soil health in agricultural systems.

This list is not exhaustive and applicants working on other relevant topics are welcome to submit their suggestions.  Special opportunities also exist to connect with leading international scientists linked with the BecA-ILRI Hub in the following areas: wheat rusts, insect pests, and nitrogen fixation.  Other special opportunities exist to connect with CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs): including but not limited to Livestock & Fish, Agriculture for Nutrition & Health, Humid tropics etc.  Such collaboration would allow the applicant’s research to contribute more directly to an impact-oriented research-for-development agenda, and offer additional opportunities for joint activities.

Eligibility:

• National (passport holder) of a BecA-ILRI Hub target country for this call: Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Madagascar, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. In exceptional cases we may consider applicants from other African countries. The applicant MUST be a researcher employed at a NARI or university.

Please note that applicants from BURKINA FASO, CAMEROON, ETHIOPIA, GHANA, KENYA, RWANDA, SENEGAL, TANZANIA and UGANDA are NOT eligible to apply to this call. A separate strategy has been developed to support these countries through nominations, to build on the on-going engagements between national research organizations and universities in these countries and the BecA-ILRI Hub. The nomination will also aim at filling priority national research gaps jointly identified through on-going engagements. HOWEVER, research scientists from the nine countries may apply to this call only if;

• They have own funding to fully support their research and all other costs while at the BecA-ILRI Hub
• They are able to secure a significant portion (at least 50%) of their total research budget and other necessary costs while at the BecA-ILRI Hub. In this case they would be seeking partial funding through application for an ABCF fellowship
• Currently engaged in research in food and nutritional security or food safety in Africa, or in a research area with relevance to agriculture in Africa
• Good working knowledge of written and spoken English
• Completed online application form
• A signed letter of endorsement of the application from the head of the applicant’s home institute/organization/university faculty
• We particularly welcome applications from women and less resourced NARIs and universities.

Fellowship value:
The BecA-ILRI Hub has secured funding to sponsor several fellowships on a highly competitive basis. The fellowship will cover the following costs

• Research costs at the BecA-ILRI Hub
• Travel
• Medical insurance
• Accommodation
• A modest subsistence allowance.