The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is seeking applications for “Enhancing capacity to apply research evidence in policy for youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities in Africa”.

IITA seeks research project fellows for the study of Youth Engagement in Agribusiness and Rural Economic Activities in Africa. This is not a one-time invitation for applications, but rather a continuing call for research on this topic in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Topics of Interest

• Social dynamics: Needs, priorities, aspirations, perceptions, attitudes, perspectives, challenges, social differentiation and characterization, and mapping of youth employment patterns

• Economic opportunities and youth engagement: Availability and distribution of opportunities, youth occupational choice, and patterns of engagement; effects of differential access to resources on ability to take advantage of available economic opportunities

• Contexts: National and local contexts affecting economic opportunities and livelihood strategies

• Rural labor dynamics: Typology of farm and off-farm employment patterns for youth and adults; technology adoption effect of land and other constraints on labor market decisions

• Youth migration: Rural–urban migration associated with urbanization, migration to green pasture areas such as Europe, South Africa, factors associated with migration decisions, and productivity and welfare effects on migrating youth and originating households

• Entrepreneurial development: Enterprise choice, engagement in agribusineess and income effects, land and land access, credit and investments, access to inputs, and effectiveness of youth training programs

• Youth and institution: Policy, economic, and social policies, infrastructure, information and communication technologies, social structures, individual characteristics, farmer organizations, women entrepreneurship and employment, public–private partnerships, effects of educational system, and public sectorial and private foreign direct investments on youth employment

Award Information

• Awards for Research Grants are up to $10,000 (Proposals with a reasonable higher budget can also be selected depending on the quality of the research proposal).

• Grantees will be supervised by one IITA scientist in close collaboration with their national/university supervisor.

• Grantees will be offered training on research methodology, data management, and scientific writing

• Grantees will be offered training on production of research evidence for policy-making.

Eligibility Criteria

• The fellowships cover the following countries: Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Senegal, and Zambia.

• Applicants must not be more than 40 years old at the time of application.

• Applicants must be an employee of a research institute or university in Africa (applicable to young academics and professionals only); and/or a student registered in a PhD or Master’s program in recognized universities, majoring in agricultural economics, agribusiness, or economics or a related social science, and must have finished their university course work (applicable to students only).

• The duration of the research should not exceed 6 months.

Selection Criteria Evaluation

Criteria will include the importance of the proposed policy issue, the strength of the methodological model, and proposed analysis of the study. Additionally, the review criteria will include:

• Is the policy issue clearly defined?
• What is already known on the issue?
• How does the methodology relate specifically to the policy question?
• Does the analytical plan fit the question and the data?
• Is the applicant qualified to carry out the proposed study?

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted electronically in English or French, by email to IITA-TrainingUnit@cgiar.org Applicants will be asked to enter specific information in text boxes and upload documents in PDF format.

The deadline for submission is 23:59 WAT, 28 February 2018. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals in advance of the deadline. Contact IITA-TrainingUnit@cgiar.org if you have questions regarding the application or submission process. All applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.