PostDoc position – Transdisciplinary research to reduce post-harvest losses and to add value in food value chains

Call for application [» download PDF]

Organisation/Project: DITSL at the University of Kassel, GlobE Project: RELOAD
Application deadline: April, 30^st 2013 or until the position is filled

DITSL is a non-profit limited liability company (GmbH) at the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences of the University of Kassel at Witzenhausen. DITSL conducts research on agricultural systems as human activity systems following an inter- and transdisciplinary social-ecological approach.

We are looking for a dynamic, highly motivated and innovative scientist for a Post Doc position in the frame of the collaborative research project RELOAD: Reduction of Post Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by the University of Kassel in Germany.

Within RELOAD, DITSL leads the subproject “Transdisciplinary research: Stakeholder processes, knowledge integration and collaborative learning”. We will investigate food value chains (mainly milk and meat and to some extent vegetables, grains and tubers) as human activity systems, with a focus on communication, collaboration and competition of various actors. Research will focus on actors, their goals, perspectives, strategies, activities, needs and room for maneuvre. Starting out from a stakeholder analysis and the formation of stakeholder platforms, we will offer learning opportunities to the actors to reveal control options in food value chains - so that losses can be reduced and value addition enhanced. We will explore possibilities for collective action by producer groups to bring about benefits especially in the areas of strengthening marketing capacity and market linkages.

The Post Doc:

• will lead research activities in Kenya and is expected to conduct field research for about 4 - 6 months per year,
• will advance methodology in transdisciplinary research,
• will contribute to capacity building through training of PhD and MSc students,
• will support project management (financial, logistic, reporting),
• will coordinate the research activities with other partners in the RELOAD project.

We offer a Post Doc position (TV_L 13, 80 %) for 3 years starting 1^st of July 2013. The project contains the research funds to pursue extended empirical research abroad.

Qualifications of the applicant:

• PhD in agricultural/rural -sociology, -economics, -development or -system science, human or economic geography, organizational behaviour or related discipline.
• Practical experience in (community based) action research, in designing and facilitating learning processes with producer organisations or in value chain development.
• Interest and experience in working with scientists of other disciplines and with societal stakeholders in Kenya (and to a limited extent in Ethiopia and Uganda).
• Fluency in spoken and written English. Knowledge of German and/or Kiswahili is an asset.
• Very good writing skills, team work orientation and good communication skills.

Female and male applicants are equally encouraged to apply for this position.

Application documents:

• A letter of motivation
• Curriculum Vitae
• Publication list
• Summary of the PhD thesis
• Copies of relevant certificates
• Contact details of 2-3 referees

Please submit these documents by email in a single PDF file to PD Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann ( b.kaufmann@ditsl.org).

Candidate screening will start May 1^st 2013 and continue until the position is filled.
Contact: PD Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann, DITSL GmbH Witzenhausen at the University of Kassel Steinstrasse 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Phone: +49 (0) 5542 607 19 (direct)

4 PhD Scholarships for Kenyan applicants: Pastoral meat value chains

Call for application [» download PDF]

Organisation/Project: These studies will be jointly implemented between University of Nairobi, the National Museums of Kenya and the German Institute for Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics (DITSL) at the University of Kassel in Germany. GlobE Project: RELOAD: Reduction of Post Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains
Application deadline: Selection of candidates will start on 1^st of May 2013 and continue until positions are filled.

RELOAD: Reduction of Post Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains builds a research network between partners in Germany, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. It is a 5 year collaborative project led by the Institute for Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kassel in Germany. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF),
and starts in June 2013.

In Kenya, one focus of RELOAD is on pastoral meat value chains. The high losses along the meat value chain include material losses i.e. weight loss prior to slaughter, wastage of animal products and byproducts, losses in quality as meat products are highly perishable and economic losses due to low net profit margins for the producers. Four PhD thesis projects will analyse different possibilities to reduce losses and increase efficiency along the pastoral meat value chains. These studies will be jointly implemented between University of Nairobi, the National Museums of Kenya and the German Institute for Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics (DITSL) at the University of Kassel in Germany.

PhD candidates will be registered at either the University of Nairobi or at the University of Kassel.

The following PhD topics are on offer. In all cases applicants need to have very good knowledge on pastoral production.

1. Assessing the potential of stratified livestock production and marketing systems to reduce losses along the pastoral meat value chain.
   Interest and good knowledge on: Rangeland management, livestock nutrition and husbandry and livestock marketing.
   Contact: Dr. Oliver Wasonga, University of Nairobi, email oliverwasonga@uonbi.ac.ke, o.wasonga@ditsl.org. Scholarship starts in January 2014.
2. Assessing the potential of pastoral marketing associations to reduce economic losses.
   Interest and good knowledge on: community based approaches, farmer groups and collective action, institutional economy, network analysis, linking farmers to markets.
   Contact Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann, DITSL, email b.kaufmann@ditsl.org or Dr. Oliver Wasonga, email oliverwasonga@uonbi.ac.ke, o.wasonga@ditsl.org. Starts in January 2014.
3. Upgrading traditional meat preservation techniques.
   Interest and good knowledge on: Value addition in meat processing, food science, community based approaches, indigenous knowledge in pastoral production system, micro-enterprise development.
   Contact: Dr. Hassan Roba, National Museums of Kenya, email: guyoroba@yahoo.com, h.roba@ditsl.org. Scholarship starts in August 2013.
4. Collaborative learning approaches for stakeholders in the pastoral meat value chain.
   Interest and good knowledge on: Designing interactive learning: adult learning & experiential learning; facilitating and managing learning processes.
   Contact: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann, b.kaufmann@ditsl.org. Starts in September 2013.

For each topic we offer a PhD scholarship and the research funds to pursue empirical field research. Furthermore candidates will be able to access research infrastructure at the University of Nairobi, the National Museums of Kenya and the DITSL in Witzenhausen in Germany.

Qualifications of the applicants:

• Excellent master or equivalent degree in agricultural sciences, natural resource management, range management, animal production, veterinary sciences, agricultural economics, geography, development studies or related fields.
• Very good English communication and writing skills
• Team work orientation and networking skills.

You are a particularly suitable candidate if you:

• have your family background in pastoral systems.
• have practiced and liked participatory research and cooperation with practitioners.
• Have experience in the area of the PhD study for which you apply.

Female and male applicants are equally encouraged to apply for these positions.

Application
Please specify the topic to which you apply and provide a statement of motivation for you to choose this topic. Submit your documents to the respective contact person. Application documents comprise: A letter of motivation (indicating the topic you apply for), Curriculum Vitae, Publication list, Summary of the master thesis, Copies of relevant certificates, Contact details of 2-3 referees. Please submit these documents by email in one single PDF file. Selection of candidates will start on 1^st of May 2013 and continue until positions are filled.

DAAD In-Country Scholarships 2013/2014 for Postgraduate Studies

Application deadline: 20th June 2013

Opportunities Masters and PhDs at Kenyan Public or Chartered Universities

Offer

.Full scholarship for up to 3 years

.Research allowance and up to 6 months research stay in Germany .Lifelong access to DAAD alumni programmes

Requirements

.Present or prospective staff member of a public or chartered university or research institute .A Kenyan or Kenyan resident from a developing country - last degree not older than 6 years.

.Bachelor's qualification of at least upper second division .Full or provisional admission to the desired degree course .Field relevant to national development .Recommendation letter/s from high level academic referee/s

Additional requirements for PhD

.A very good Masters degree

.Declaration of acceptance from an academic supervisor .Excellent research proposal of 10 to 15 pages

Women are encouraged to apply!

Application deadline: June 20th each year Application forms: University Graduate School or DAAD Office Nairobi Forms and more Info: http://nairobi.daad.de/funding_for_studying_kenya_a.php

DAAD contact person:

Bonface Nyagah

bonface@daadafrica.org

Tel: +254-771444 111, Direct Line: +254-733465720

Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunity 15-19 October 2012

Venue: Moi University, Town Campus, School of Aerospace Science (Rivatex), Eldoret, Kenya,

Dates: 12 - 16 November 2012 (formerly scheduled October 15-19, 2012)

Technological innovation is taking place at a breath-taking pace. Simple, open source internet-based applications and services designed to enhance on-line collaboration are now available to the wider public at little or no cost at all. These new online technologies known as Web 2.0 and Social Media applications enable people to collaborate to create, share and publish information.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) has a mandate to facilitate access to and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development in 78 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Supporting the adoption of Web 2.0 applications and Social Media represents a great opportunity for meeting it.

Moi University, School of Information Science in collaboration with CTA will host a second 5-day Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity on 15-19 October, 2012. Participants will be introduced to selected web 2.0 applications including social media and will learn how to use them hands-on.

The Learning Opportunity will cover advanced online searching, getting information served via alerts and RSS, collaborating remotely using wikis and Google Docs, using VoIP, online mapping and social networking. Participants will get a chance to see what others have done, get hands-on experience on how to use innovative applications, and assess how they could adopt these innovations within the context of their work and organisation.

This Learning Opportunity forms part of CTA initiatives that support development partners in networking, accessing and disseminating information more effectively.

Programme of the Learning Opportunity

• Introduction to the participatory World Wide Web (Web 2.0)  and to social media;
• Search Magic: How to conduct advanced multilingual online searches;
• Information Self Service: How to get selected information served to you via alerts and RSS feeds;
• Remote collaboration: How to develop content remotely using wikis and Google Docs;
• Online mapping: How to locate your organisation and your projects on an online map;

·         How to communicate voice over the internet at no cost;

·         Online publishing (micro-blogging and blogging);

·         Professional / corporate social networking (LinkedIn and Facebook);

·         Web 2.0 self-instruction (introduction to IMARK)

Participants - Eligibility and responsibilities

Participation in the Learning Opportunity is free of charge, but subject to acceptance by the organisers. 25 participants will be accepted for the event.

Eligibility criteria

·         be computer literate and conversant with browsing the Internet;

·         have regular access to a computer (ownership of a computer is an advantage);

·         be in a position to take along a WIFI-enabled laptop to the training;

·         be competent in  the use of the English language;

·         have an active e-mail account;

·         be actively engaged in agriculture and rural development / natural resource management / biodiversity conservation in the domains of ICT for development (ICT4D), policies, markets; publishing, communication and media; and

·         be resident in Kenya;

Responsibilities

Accepted participants will be responsible for all costs related to their travel to and from the venue at Moi University, Town Campus, School of Aerospace Science (Rivatex), their accommodation, breakfast and supper, their daily subsistence allowances, and for bringing their own WIFI-enabled laptop to the event.

Entitlements

During each event, the organisers will provide lunch and refreshments and distribute copies of CTA publications and instructional material.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying, please click on this link to complete the online form.

Deadline for application: 9 September, 2012

Feedback

The organisers will inform successful applicants about the status of their application two week before the commencement of the course. Successful applicants will receive confirmation letters and others will also be duly informed of the results of their application.

Kenya – DAAD Postgraduate Training Programme 2012-2013

3rd Call for PhD Scholarship Applications

The Kenya Vision 2030 policy document recommends investment in Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) in priority key sectors. One such area involves capacity building in the universities through advanced training of personnel. As part of this initiative, in June 2010, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MOHEST) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) signed a five (5) year Agreement for cooperation in Postgraduate Training open to all fields of study. The programme is administered by the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) on behalf of MOHEST. The main objective of the programme is to train twenty (20) Ph.D research students teaching in universities in Kenya for forty two (42) months (inclusive six (6) months German language course) at a German university. Since the inception of the programme, thirty seven (37) Kenyans have been awarded scholarships and are currently pursuing their training in Germany.

General Conditions for the Scholarships

For eligibility to the Kenya -DAAD Ph.D Scholarship, candidates must meet the following conditions:

• be citizen of the Republic of Kenya
• be teaching (full or part time) in Kenyan universities
• should have obtained the Master’s degree preferably within the past 6 years (date of graduation)
•  be willing to undertake a six (6) months German language course

The following documents must be attached to the application form:

• Cover sheet for DAAD Scholarship Application Form
•  DAAD Application Form  for Research Grants and Study Scholarships
• Hand-signed Curriculum Vitae  and list of publications (use the Europass specimen form at http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu)
• Application letter indicating motivation to undertake Ph.D studies
• Ph.D proposal (10 – 15 pages; 1,5 spacing; 2,5cm space left, 2cm right) including an abstract of the proposal on one page (please include name and title of the proposal) and a detailed work plan for 3 years including time schedule covering the whole period of the scholarship
• Confirmation from a German Professor stating that he/she will supervise the applicant for his/her Ph.D thesis (in English) OR Admission letter from structured Ph.D Programme
• Two (2) recommendation letters of academic referees (on particular recommendation forms, provided by DAAD office)
• Certificates (each certified as true copy of the original certificate)
• -          Master’s degree certificate and transcripts for each year
• -          Bachelor’s degree certificate transcripts for each year
• -          A/O-level or KCSE certificate
• -          Copy of the national ID
• A Letter of support from the university, indicating the prospective function of the applicant within the university after return to Kenya. 

For further information on the scholarship program, please check the following websites:

http://nairobi.daad.de/kgphd.php; http://www.scienceandtechnology.go.ke; http://www.ncst.go.ke;

For research contacts in German check at the website: www.daad.de/research-explorer,

www.phdgermany.de, www.dfg.de/gepris

Applications (triplicate, hard copies) should be sent or delivered by Friday 28th September 2012 by 4:00pm at latest to:

The Coordinator, Kenya-DAAD Training Programme

National Council for Science and Technology

Utalii House 9th Floor Room 910

P.O. Box 30623-00100, NAIROBI

research@ncst.go.ke

Telephone no. +254 721434057 or +254 20-2242175

The Rhodes Scholarships for Kenya

Kenyan Scholars Kingwa Kamencu (2009) and Diana Njuguna (2010)

Each year, there are two Scholarships available in Kenya to enable outstanding students - chosen on the basis of exceptional intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service - to study at the University of Oxford.

Rhodes Scholars from Kenya have pursued a variety of careers in public service, academia, business, law, and medicine, amongst others.  Many have achieved notable distinction, including:

• Elchi Nowrojee (Kenya & St Antony’s 1992), who is Co-Head of Legal - Americas for the Asset Management division of Credit Suisse, where he has represented a number of clients investing in African companies, forming African investment funds and working with other Africa-related businesses.  He is also a member of the Sub-Committee on Africa of the Advisory Committee of the Cyrus R. Vance Centre for International Justice and former Chair of the Committee on African Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

• Njonjo Mue (Kenya & Jesus 1991), who is Deputy Director of the Africa Program of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), an international non-profit organization which works to help societies in transition address legacies of massive human rights violations and build civic trust in state institutions as protectors of human rights. An advocate of the high court of Kenya, he previously served as the Head of ICTJ's Kenya office and the Head of Advocacy at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. He sits on the board of the Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists and is a member of the Kenya Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.
  

• Adhiambo Odaga (Kenya & St Antony's 1986), who is the Ford Foundation’s Director, Pan African Program and Representative for West Africa based in Lagos, Nigeria.  In this capacity she oversees grant-making focused on building local capacity in the areas of economic development, human rights, governance, reproductive health and culture.   She is also a board member of TrustAfrica, an independent foundation that strives to secure the conditions for democratic governance and equitable development across Africa, and a member of the Policy and Monitoring Committee of Nigeria’s National Council of Privatisation.

Information about Rhodes Scholars elected for Kenya and around the world can be found in biographies of the Rhodes class of 2012 and the Rhodes class of 2011. You can also access video interviews with diverse Rhodes alumni.

Applications

Applications are now open for the Rhodes Scholarship for 2013 for Kenya.

For the online application form, please click here. 

Prospective applicants from Kenya should carefully review:

1. the general information about the Rhodes Scholarships,

2. the selection criteria that apply in all Rhodes constituencies, and then

3. the application criteria specific to Kenya.

There are FAQs which are applicable to all applicants.

The Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Kenya may be contacted at:

Mrs Janet Kabiru
National Secretary
The Rhodes Scholarships in Kenya
PO Box 2588-00202
Nairobi
Kenya

Telephone: +254 20 285 8000
Cell: +254 722 810044
Email: Rhodes.Selection.Kenya@gmail.com

The green revolution that offers youth a chance to mint millions

By PAUL WAFULA

Armed with a wealth of experience from Israel, Gilad Millo is on a mission to make agribusiness appealing to the youth. Mr Millo, who is the head of business development at Amiran Kenya, has been at the centre of a campaign demonstrating how farming can be financially rewarding, just like any other profession that attracts the youth.

“Farming shouldn’t be taken as a last resort. Its potential is enormous, especially if the youth have it as the first job on the line. We are introducing greenhouses in schools, youth polytechnics and groups as part of an initiative to develop the next generation of farmers; Facebook farmers,” he told Money.

“The average age of the smallholder farmer in Kenya today is estimated at over 45 years. This means that in the next 20 years, a good number of them will have retired, yet the younger generation is not interested in farming,” Mr Millo noted.

Although the greenhouse technology has already won the hearts of several corporates, donor agencies, the horticulture sector keen on the export market and non-governmental organisations fighting hunger, it was yet to get significant traction on the national scale, especially among the younger population, as it is now doing after catching the eye of the youth fund.

Roses in one of Amiran Kenya’s commercial greenhouses. The company has partnered with other institutions to empower the youth in Kenya through profitable agribusiness projects. Photo/COURTESY 

Money follows the campaign to find out why thousands of young people are fighting to be on the shortlist of the 420 groups to receive smallholder farmers’ kits from Amiran Kenya; the benefits that the greenhouse concept presents; its challenges; what to look out for before sinking money in it; and why commercial banks and insurers are joining the fray.

Under the first phase of the Sh150 million Agri-Vijana Loan project being implemented in partnership with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, every constituency will get two greenhouse kits.

A similar project is also underway, targeting 100 youth polytechnics across the country in the pilot phase. The entire project aims to install 600 kits. Almost every crop — from vegetables to flowers — can be grown under the greenhouse, but farmers must ensure that what they plant will have demand.

“Many of our clients have chosen to grow tomatoes because it is a high yielding cash crop. But there are others who are growing capsicums (pilipili hoho, which come in orange, red and green colours). These fetch high prices in the market, about Sh320 per kilogramme. Some youth at the Coast are growing sweet melons and cherry tomatoes,” Mr Millo said.

Farmers should also study how accessible the existing markets are for their produce because the goods are mainly perishable.

The total cost of the Agri-Vijana farmers kit (AFK) is Sh358,344. This includes two greenhouses, a drip irrigation system for the two greenhouses and a 400-metre open field, group training, agro support, insurance and eight per cent management fee. The loan has no interest fee, but the beneficiaries will be expected to raise 10 per cent of the initial cost.

The pilot project shows that it takes between one and two seasons to break even and start making profit, depending on the crop. A season is six months long. A complete greenhouse kit also comes with a collapsible water tank, and insurance for the crop.

“The kit also has an outside. You have the greenhouse growing cash crops but the outside, which is covered by drip irrigation for growing cabbages and sukuma wiki (kales) can provide additional income of about Sh100,000, depending on the crop,” Mr Millo said.

According to Amiran farmers, an 8-by-15-metre kit fetches between Sh250,000 and Sh380,000 while a 8-by-24-metre greenhouse can make between Sh350,000 and Sh550,000, depending on the crop’s market.

The fresh produce earnings put to shame crops like maize, where an acre produces an average of 15 bags which, at Sh2,800 per 90-kilogramme bag, fetch about Sh42,000 in a good season. “A women group in Kilifi that sold Sh120 per kilo of cherry tomatoes instead of the predicted Sh50 per kilogramme more than doubled our expected income calculations for them,” Mr Millo said.

But farmers will have to part with between Sh150,000 to Sh250,000 to have the kits installed. A complete kit comes with a package of seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and tailored training from Amiran’s agronomists.

The model farms are equipped with drip irrigation systems which feed water directly to the plant. The system is timed to drip only the needed water, cutting wastage to the bare minimum. Data from the youth fund shows that 264 youth groups have already applied for financing, laying claim to Sh93.6 million out of the Sh150 million up for grabs.

Continue reading...

Source: Daily Nation, Money Feature

Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunity September 24-28, 2012

Venue: Moi University, Main Campus, School of Information Sciences, Eldoret, Kenya,

Dates: September 24-28, 2012

Technological innovation is taking place at a breath-taking pace. Simple, open source internet-based applications and services designed to enhance on-line collaboration are now available to the wider public at little or no cost at all. These new online technologies known as Web 2.0 and Social Media applications enable people to collaborate to create, share and publish information.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) has a mandate to facilitate access to and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development in 78 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Supporting the adoption of Web 2.0 applications represents a great opportunity for meeting it.

Moi University, School of Information Sciences in collaboration with CTA will host a 5-day Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity on 24-28 September, 2012. Participants will be introduced to selected web 2.0 applications including social media and will learn how to use them hands-on.

The Learning Opportunity will cover advanced online searching, getting information served via alerts and RSS, collaborating remotely using wikis and Google Docs, using VoIP, online mapping and social networking. Participants will get a chance to see what others have done, get hands-on experience on how to use innovative applications, and assess how they could adopt these innovations within the context of their work and organisation.

These Learning Opportunity form part of CTA initiatives that support development partners in networking, accessing and disseminating information more effectively.

Programme of the Learning Opportunity

• Introduction to the participatory World Wide Web (Web 2.0)  and to social media;
• Search Magic: How to conduct advanced multilingual online searches;
• Information Self Service: How to get selected information served to you via alerts and RSS feeds;
• Remote collaboration: How to develop content remotely using wikis and Google Docs;
• Online mapping: How to locate your organisation and your projects on an online map;

·         How to communicate voice over the internet at no cost;

·         Online publishing (micro-blogging and blogging);

·         Professional / corporate social networking (LinkedIn and Facebook);

·         Web 2.0 self-instruction (introduction to IMARK)

Participants - Eligibility and responsibilities

Participation in the Learning Opportunity is free of charge, but subject to acceptance by the organisers. 25 participants will be accepted for the event.

Eligibility criteria

·         be computer literate and conversant with browsing the Internet;

·         have regular access to a computer (ownership of a computer is an advantage);

·         be in a position to take along a WIFI-enabled laptop to the training;

·         be competent in  the use of the English language;

·         have an active e-mail account;

·         be actively engaged in agriculture and rural development / natural resource management / biodiversity conservation in the domains of ICT for development (ICT4D), policies, markets; publishing, communication and media; and

·         be resident in Kenya;

Responsibilities

Accepted participants will be responsible for all costs related to their travel to and from the venue at Moi University, Main Campus, School of Information Sciences, their accommodation, breakfast and supper, their daily subsistence allowances, and for bringing their own WIFI-enabled laptop to the Learning opportunity.

Entitlements

During each event, the organisers will provide lunch and refreshments and distribute copies of CTA publications and instructional material.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying, please click on this link to complete the online form.

Deadline for applications: August 16, 2012

Feedback

The organisers will inform successful applicants about the status of their application two week before the commencement of the course. Successful applicants will receive confirmation letters and others will also be duly informed of the results of their application.

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