Accepting Applications for 2018 Borlaug Cocoa Fellowships

  |   Stakeholder Notice

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2018 Borlaug Global Cocoa Initiative Fellowships. Fellows will work with a mentor at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service or a U.S. university for up to 12 weeks on research related to improving cocoa production and quality. The program offers training opportunities in specific topics focused on cocoa breeding, integrated pest management, and post-harvest management.   The U.S. mentor will later visit the fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration

Objectives:

  • Provide practical experience and exposure to new perspectives and/or technologies
  • Foster increased collaboration and networking to improve agricultural productivity and trade
  • Facilitate the transfer of new scientific and agricultural technologies to strengthen agricultural practices
  • Address obstacles to the adoption of technology such as ineffectual policies and regulations

Visit the Borlaug Fellowship Program application page to learn more about the program and to apply online.

The application deadline is November 5, 2017.

REGION
ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Africa Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia
  • Agroforestry
  • Diseases: plant pathology and control methods for swollen shoot virus and black pod rot
  • Genomics, genetics and breeding
  • Pests: entomology and control methods for cocoa mirids
  • Plant propagation methods
  • Resilient Agriculture: sustainable agriculture practices
  • Soil fertility and plant nutrition
Asia Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam
  • Diseases:  plant pathology, control methods – particularly for vascular streak dieback and black pod
  • Genomics, genetics and breeding
  • Pests: entomology and control methods for cocoa pod borer and mirids
  • Plant propagation methods
  • Soil fertility and plant nutrition
Latin America and the Caribbean Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Diseases:  plant pathology and control methods for witches’ broom and frosty pod
  • Genomics, genetics and breeding
  • Plant propagation methods
  • Soil fertility and plant nutrition