environment jobs Est. in 1994. Delivering Environment Jobs for 30 years
This job listing is no longer active.
Please use our Environment Jobs Search to find current vacancies.
Title | Post Doctoral Fellow Integrating Gendered Knowledge and Preferences into Banana Breeding in East Africa |
Posted |
|
|
Description |
Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization. We have a vision – that agricultural biodiversity nourishes people and sustains the planet. We deliver scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain sustainable global food and nutrition security. We work with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation. Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR Consortium – a global research partnership for a food secure future. For further information on Bioversity International, consult our Web page at: www.bioversityinternational.org Context
Banana is the main staple food in the East and Central Africa (ECA) region, where over 50% of the cropping area is under permanent banana cultivation and per capita consumption can be as high as 300 kg per year. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the National Agricultural Research Organisation - Uganda (NARO) have jointly developed 27 hybrid East African Highland Bananas (EAHB), herein called NARITAs, that have good tolerance/resistance to pests and diseases. As part of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) funded project “Improvement of Banana for Smallholder Farmers in the Great Lakes Region of Africa” running from 2014-2019, Bioversity International will evaluate the NARITAs for their agronomic performance and consumer acceptance in a range of expected end-user environments and target markets in Uganda and Tanzania, using a participatory varietal selection methodology. The ultimate objective is to identify NARITAs that are well adapted to, and can be integrated into, existing EAHB farming systems.
Purpose of the role
Bioversity International is seeking a highly motivated Post Doctoral Fellow to conduct research on how to integrate gender-oriented research, especially gendered trait preferences, into the complete banana-breeding process. Banana-breeders historically prioritize hybrid creation for yield and resistance (pest, disease, abiotic) traits, without fully understanding all the traits important to the intended end-users. As banana cultivation, value-added processing, selling and consuming are frequently gender-specific, so too are the associated trait preferences. Breeding strategies that are blind to gender differences are likely to result in continued low rates of adoption, representing wasted investment, and potentially the reproduction of gender inequalities. Adoption of new varieties intersects with gender relations and possible intra-household inequality (i.e. control, access, and decision-making across a range of issue areas, such as land tenure, seed systems, cultivation, labour, capital, use of earned income, nutrition). Such social context must be understood to enable gender-responsive banana breeding.
Main responsibilities
The successful candidate will work under the supervision of the Bioversity International Senior Scientist on Musa germplasm evaluation (based in Belgium) and Assistant Professor of International Development, Community and Environment at Clark University (based in USA), and in close collaboration with other project partners (based in Tanzania, Uganda, Belgium and France). The Post Doctoral Fellow will be based in Kampala, Uganda, and conduct research within the cultivar evaluation activities of the project in five areas that were chosen for their different agro-ecological and production system characteristics: Arusha, Kagera and Mbeya districts (Tanzania), and Luwero and Mbarara districts (Uganda). The position will require regular in-country and cross-border travels.
The Post Doctoral Fellow will be expected to conduct research to answer three main research questions:
More specifically, the Post Doctoral Fellow will:
Qualifications and competencies
Essential qualifications & competencies:
Desirable qualifications and competencies:
Terms and conditions: This is an internationally recruited position. Bioversity International offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary, non-contributory retirement plan, medical insurance, housing allowance and leave provisions. All benefits are denominated and paid in US Dollars. The initial contract will be for a period of one year, renewable for a second year, subject to a probationary period of six months.
Applications: Please apply online through Bioversity Job Opportunities web page (http://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/) by clicking the “Apply” button, completing the online application and attaching the required information, no later than 21 March, 2016. Please note that in the application you are required to provide the contact details (address, telephone number and e-mail address) of at least three referees, which Bioversity will contact for short listed applicants.
Bioversity is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity.
|