PROPOSAL OPPORTUNITY : PLUG & PLAY DAY at FIN4AG International Conference on "Revolutionizing Finanace for Agriculture" in Nairobi Kenya

Plug and Play Day at Fin4Ag Conference

With experiences from the first ever successful Plug & Play Day held at the ICT4Ag Conference in Kigali 2013, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is proud to repeat the event at this years' International Conference on "Revolutionizing Finance for Agriculture" taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.

BACKGROUND

The conference is being organized in collaboration with AFRACA and other partners from July 14 – 18 2014. The "Plug and Play Day" is scheduled for Monday 14 July with lots of interesting activities. Participants will be offered valuable and very practical insight into the latest technological developments in the field of ICTs for agricultural finance. This is a true hands-on experience with demonstrations and in-depth sessions by prestigious application providers and experienced practitioners. Participants are expected to test-drive latest mobile applications, Web 2.0 and social media tools; and discover how they can make these tools work for them in value chain finance. Topics to be covered in these Plug and Play Day sessions will closely parallel the broader conference themes and will be tailored to the needs of our stakeholder groups such as farmers and farmer organizations, bankers, financial regulators, agricultural researchers, policy and decision makers in the governments, intermediary organizations, private sector organizations, and civil society organizations.

PROPOSALS FOR DEMONSTRATION

Proposals are being solicited from interested application developers, innovators, as well as “techies” to demonstrate systems/applications/innovations that fall within the conference theme. The sessions will be designed to allow demonstrators to share their skills and expertise in an interactive format, learn with participants who may be interested in these tools, and enable hands-on experience from participants. (Note: This could also be a platform for systems/applications/innovations developers to showcase the value of their innovations to potential investors).

POTENTIAL AREAS TO BE COVERED – DIGITAL/MOBILE FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR AGRICULTURE

Recent years have seen impressive improvements in technologies for mobile payments, remote management of commodity flows, mobile delivery mechanisms for insurance, electronic warehouse receipt systems, etc. These new technologies not only reduce the transaction costs of agricultural finance, they also enable entirely new financing modalities. In the wake of these developments, there still appears to be some innovation gap. We are therefore looking for proposals globally that go beyond the traditional mobile money/mobile payment services to more innovative approaches to the use of mobile technologies/ICTs for agricultural value chain finance. 

LANGUAGE

Proposal should be submitted in English or French.

IMPORTANT DATES

Submission opens: 14th March 2014

Submission closes: 7th April 2014

Notification of acceptance: Successful submissions will be notified approximately

2-3 weeks after the closing date, the latest by 25th April)

Accepted demonstrators will be required to submit a revised synopsis by 30th

May to be included in the conference programme book.

The Plug & Play Day takes place on Monday 14th July 2014

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please submit your proposals here. Please note that at this point in time, we are not able to cover travel costs and daily allowance.

For further information and future updates about the Fin4Ag Conference please visit: http://www.fin4ag.org/

JOB VACANCY :Knowledge Management Assistant -- Africa Rice Center Benin Republic

Knowledge Management Assistant -- Africa  Rice  Center

Deadline:  30 Mar 2014

The  Africa  Rice  Center (AfricaRice)  is seeking  a  highly  qualified  Knowledge Management Assistant to be based at AfricaRice, Cotonou. AfricaRice is one of the 15 international agricultural research Centers that are members of the CGIAR  Consortium.

Under the Supervision of the Head of Knowledge Management and Capacity Strengthening,the  Knowledge  Management  Assistant  will  assist  in  the  content  development  and management of rice knowledge products intended for the rice e‐hubs.

Qualifications/Selection Criteria

MSc in communications or agriculture sciences specializing in information sharing and dissemination.

 At least three (03) years’ experience in  content management of similar virtual platforms for Africa; Experience in working in a multi‐cultural environment.

knowledge of agricultural research and development in Africa, and proven skills in use of web2/3 tools. Proven ability to produce knowledge products in English and French will be an advantage.

The candidate should communicate fluently (orally and in writing) in English or French with a good working knowledge of the other language.

Candidates should send an application (including a cover letter and a detailed CV with the following information: Name, surname, gender, nationality, certificates obtained, professional experience (stating clearly beginning and end dates of each experience: day, month, year), language skills (French/English), and the names and addresses (including telephone / fax / email) of three referees.

How to apply

To apply for this position, please send your applications:

To: H.Zok@cgiar.org with the vacancy reference in subject: GSS/02/PC/2014/03

Or to the following address: Head, Human Resources Unit, AfricaRice, 01 B.P. 2031, Cotonou,Benin Republic

Deadline for submission of application is Sunday, March 30, 2014

MORE Information on the Africa Rice Center can be found Here :http://www.africarice.org/

GRANT OPPORTUNITY : Kurita Water and Environment Foundation – Water Research Grants 2014

Kurita Water and Environment Foundation – Water Research Grants 2014

Deadline:  15 May 2014

The KWEF makes grants in Asian countries for water research at universities, colleges, and research institutes. Any research subject in field of water resources is acceptable, provided that the water area studied is located in the researcher's home country. Examples of appropriate research subjects are

Physical and chemical properties of water

New technologies for conservation and restoration of water resources.

(River, Lake, Pond, Discharge etc.)

New technologies for water measurement and assessment

Grants are up to 500 thousand yen per project per year. Applicants are preferably under age 40. Each applicant should have a Japanese adviser in Japan or in the researcher’s home country.

The application period is 01 April through 15 May 2014.

More Information about The Kurita Water and Environment Foundation can be found HERE :http://www.kwef.or.jp/en/en_grant.html

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY : PhD opportunity in Monitoring tropical Forests with CIFOR & The University of Wageningen

PhD opportunity in Monitoring tropical Forests with CIFOR and The University of Wageningen

Deadline:  15 Mar 2014

Duties and Responsibilities

The candidate is expected to work in component 3 and focus on studying terrestrial laser scanning for assessing tropical forest characteristics such as height, volume, foliage and biomass and related changes due to human activities. Terrestrial laser scanning has received increasing attention for its capacity to allow retrieving forest structural parameters and better linking ground and remote sensing data for quantitative forest monitoring. Although there are some experiences of exploring this technology in sub-tropical and tropical forest environments, systematic studies in tropical forests are largely missing. Research would involve evaluating different data acquisition strategies in terms of sampling and scanning density in different forest densities and understory characteristics, assessing the accuracy of t-LIDAR estimates to determine key forest parameters such as height, volume, and biomass, studying the role of the full-waveform t-LIDAR signals and different processing schemes and process and using the LIDAR data for collaborative research with the other project partners.

Function Requirements

Education, experience, technical skills and competencies:

A motivated researcher with MSc degree

Related experiences in Forestry, Remote Sensing, Terrestrial surveying, Ecology, Environmental Science, or Geography or a related field.

A background in terrestrial laser scanning and related data analysis and processing is an asset.

Knowledge about tropical forests and the REDD process is appreciated. Experiences and willingness to work with and in developing tropical countries, and organizing and conducting field work in tropical forests is important.

Excellent written and spoken English

Personal attributes and competencies:

Be self motivated, outgoing and welcome the opportunity to work with significant autonomy

Be a team player and have excellent interpersonal communications skills

Terms and Conditions:

The PhD position is supported by CIFOR with a monthly stipend of €1700 for up to 4 years. The PhD research is conducted mainly at the Centre for Geo-Information at Wageningen University (NL) and the related Graduate School (www.pe-rc.nl) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Martin Herold in close collaboration with CIFOR partners.

The successful candidate is  expected to spend some time at CIFOR’s headquarter in Bogor, Indonesia, and to spend a significant amount of time with field work in different locations. He/she is also required to engage in international exchange and meetings.

Application process can be found HERE : http://www.cifor.org/about-us/careers-with-cifor.html

The application deadline is 15 March 2014.

We will acknowledge all applications, but we will contact only short-listed candidates.

To apply, please visit our career page and submit your application materials (including a CV and a motivation letter) at the Wageningen University vacancy page

University of Wageningen Website for more information is HERE :

https://www.connexys.nl/wageningenursite/page.html?p_sfw_id=652&adv_pub_id=1&adv_taal=2&p_taal=2

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES for YOUTH in AGRICULTURE :Master's Studies in Renewable Energy & Agricultural Research Fellowships

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) -- Masters Studies in Renewable Energy 2014-2016

Deadline:  31 May 2014

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) offers up to 20 scholarships annually for masters studies in renewable energy at the MASDAR Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.  IRENA offers a high-level lecture programme for its Scholars, dedicated to highlighting the latest developments in renewable energy technology, policies, and market trends. Tap into the knowledge of internationally recognised personalities, and become part of the growing international network of renewable energy experts. IRENA provides full financial support for two years. Instruction is in English, and applicants must meet academic and language requirements.  The deadline for applications is 31 May 2014.

  More Information on The IRENA Scholarship Programme HERE:http://www.irena.org/menu/index.aspx?mnu=Subcat&PriMenuID=35&CatID=110&SubcatID=156&RefID=156&SubID=162&MenuType=Q

Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences -- Research Fellowships 2014

Deadline:  21 Apr 2014

 JIRCAS provides fellowships to researchers in developing countries to collaborate with Japanese counterparts for research in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.  This fellowship program has two types namely, ‘Tsukuba-Okinawa’ and ‘Project Site’. Under the former type, the fellowship research is carried out either in Okinawa or Tsukuba.  This year, however, all the proposed research themes will be carried out at the JIRCAS Headquarters in Tsukuba.  On the other hand, fellowship research under the ‘Project Site’ type is conducted at research institutes in developing countries where JIRCAS is currently implementing collaborative research projects.  This year, only one research theme is submitted for this fellowship.

For application  copies of publication along with application form should be submitted to the following postal address:

Mr. Takahiro Sato

Head, Research Coordination Section

Research Support Office

Research Planning and Coordination Division

Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

1-1, Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8686, JAPAN

  The deadline for applications in both programs is 21 April 2014.

More information is available on JIRCAS website Here:http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/english/public_relations/jircasfellow/jircas_fellow.html

Cancer Fighting Research into Corilla to be done in Guyana

New research into the cancer fighting properties of Corilla will be undertaken in Guyana to extract a chemical the plant makes. In a new study being lead by Dr Emmanuel Cummings a senior lecturer at The University of Guyana and the research will be undertaken in the UK at The University of Central Lancashire where interactions between different cancer cells and the extracted Corilla property will be tested.

Over the next two years two other professors Mr Jaipaul Singh and Ms. Kareshma Jeeboo will work on the USD$49,000 anti cancer project along with Dr Cummings.He indicated that Corilla already has some anti cancer properties and now " We just need to isolate it ,purify it and test it". Dr Cummings is one of 8 grant awardees by the World Bank & University of Guyana who have been awarded a total of USD$329,000 to use for projects to strengthen science and technology research contributing to low carbon development  in Guyana

See Below a picture of Dr Cummings signing the research agreement for his team to conduct their research into Corilla as a cancer fighting agent  with the Guyana Minister of Education Ms Priya Manickchand and Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Jacob Opadeyi:

PHOTO CREDITS : Carib News Desk Online & Vauldine at www.Allvoices.Com

More information on the grants can be found here :http://www.uog.edu.gy/?q=newsletter/research-grants-awarded-staffers

MANGO : The MOVIE !!

Mango, the Movie from coleacp on Vimeo.

 One of the fruits I have grown up enjoying since I was a child is Mango . They are grown all over Africa and the Caribbean and are very tasty indeed! . This short film made by COLEACP is all about Mango !. The film shows everyday mango farmers and producers from different countries including  West Africa and the Caribbean working in their orchards .  The film follows these farmers and they explain how family farming contributes to sustainable development and livelihoods  as well as depicting the challenges real farmers face associated with climate change ,fluctuating markets,soil degradation,soil toxicity,soil erosion etc.

The meaning of sustainable development is broken down and the three key components are looked at namely environmental impacts,social impacts and economic impacts. Apart from the obvious environmental impacts associated with agriculture the video highlights the need for the sustainable development approaches to be used throughout the value chain from farmers to exporters and consumers.

In the Caribbean and Africa farmers and companies are shipping their produce to lower their environmental impacts and also using solar panels and the sun as more sustainable alternatives. For many farmers economic stability is their most important concern and investing in organic agriculture has many social benefits  from creating jobs for youth and providing money .Family Farming and the impacts of agriculture are life changing for many poor families. The video highlights the social impact on women becoming employed in factories and becoming economically and educationally empowered which is fantastic.

 More and more corporate social responsibility and the concept of fair trade among companies and the public alike is becoming accepted in supermarkets promoting equal pay for agricultural workers and better conditions. We need all sectors to embrace this sustainable way of thinking for the future.  Sustainability is indeed here to stay ! Hope you enjoyed the film!