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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
Who can apply
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.
How to apply
- Complete the eligibility and application forms online.
- Upload scanned copies of the documents listed in the checklist (PDF, 203KB)
- 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).
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the IDRC Bentley Cropping Systems Fellowship
