The Bentley Cropping Systems Fellowship
IDRC offers this Fellowship (a bequest from Helen S. Bentley and C. Fred Bentley) every second year in October to graduate students who wish to undertake applied, on-farm research with cooperating farmers in one or more developing countries.
Learn more about the bequest.
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.
If you wish to apply, your research should seek cropping-system changes that will lead to some of these results:
· sustainable and increased crop yields
· more abundant and improved animal-feed production
· improved soil and water conservation
· better weed control
· increased biological fixation of nitrogen
· Projects should be planned and executed in cooperation with an international agricultural research centre, or with a developing-country institution involved in agricultural research that has an applied, on-farm orientation.
Proposals must present plans for on-farm experiments on smallholder farms that have potential to improve the lives of farming households and to preserve or improve crops yields.
Key Selection Criteria
a) 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.
b) Participatory Research
Your research must involve simple experiments to be carried out by cooperating farmers under guidance of the researchers (see details about the location of individual on-farm experiments). 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.
Who can apply
To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:
· 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 the 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. Thus, 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.
· (You have up to 12 months to start your field research from the date on the letter of offer.)
Guidelines for proposals
Make comparisons between traditional and alternative cropping practices
· Your proposal must include details of the comparisons you envision between the traditional cropping practice used by farmers in the region and the side-by-side alternative cropping practice you wish to introduce. Experiments must compare crop yields from traditional unicrop practice with yields of the same crop combined with some kind of fertility-enhancing plant grown either simultaneously with the traditional crop, or in some cases, grown before the traditional crop is planted.
· Please consult this diagram (PDF) showing how a simple on-farm experiment might be compared to either one or two alternative cropping systems.
· Similar experiments executed in rural school gardens — conducted with the help and advice of the Fellowship holder and with the participation of both students and teachers — are also encouraged.
Indicate wide dissemination strategies
The research procedures must include extensive dissemination of the results aimed at smallholder farmers, including rural women farmers. You should present the results in formats — such as field days, farmer visits, and briefs for policymakers — that will reach the various stakeholders actively involve farmers, extension workers, local development initiatives, and agricultural organizations in dissemination efforts include farmers’ visits and farmer-to-farmer teaching and learning in the publicity.
Outline how the proposed experiment will be sustainable
You should suggest the anticipated benefits/improvements and feasibility of your proposal. Please explain how the research data was collected and how the introduction of leguminous plants or other fertility-enhancing plants in cropping systems is expected to improve the economic benefits to farmers how you will make the frequent trips from the "home base" to the villages of the cooperating farmers. This is essential for successful execution of on-farm tests.
Countries subject to approval
In principle, IDRC supports research in all developing countries. At this time, however, we do not support awards that involve research in Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
IDRC must approve field research proposed in the following countries or territories prior to issuing the award:
Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Eritrea, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Liberia, Libya, Papua New Guinea, Small Island States [including Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, São Tomé and Principe, Seychelles, Timor-Leste and Oceania (Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, Palau, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna)], Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan (Republic of China), West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
Duration
Award tenure corresponds with the period of field research. In general, it will be between 18 and 24 months.
Value
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.
Progress Reports
Fellowship holders will commit to provide IDRC with three brief progress reports per year.
Deadlines
October 1, 2012 (awards will be announced by mid-December 2012). You must begin your fieldwork by December of the following year.
To apply
Complete the eligibility and application forms, and upload scanned copies of the documents listed in the checklist. To begin the application process, click here.
You must complete and submit your application prior to the deadline. We will NOT consider late and/or incomplete applications. You may submit your application in English or French ONLY (Canada’s two official languages).
We will only consider applications submitted electronically through the link provided above. Please read carefully the information and eligibility criteria provided on this page before beginning the application process.
Evaluation criteria
Applications will be evaluated according to IDRC priorities and criteria, such as relevance to sustainable and equitable development, as well as quality of the research proposal and suitability of the candidate.
For more information and details visit: http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Funding/Competitions/Pages/CompetitionDetails.aspx?CompetitionID=43
