Over 400 applications received for CARE fellowship from across Africa
Following the call for applications, the Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) in policy for youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities in Africa project received over 400 applications from across Africa for the three-year research grant.
CARE awardees in a workshop breakout session.
The fellowship under the framework of the CARE project, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented by IITA, targets 30 research fellows annually who are young academics and professionals, and graduate students at the post-course work/research stage of their program.
The fellowship program is part of IFAD and IITA’s approach contributing to policy development on youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities in Africa. It is designed to provide opportunities for the rural youth by improving the availability and use of evidence for inclusive and “youth-friendly” policies to enhance youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities.
After final selection, the fellows will receive funding, technical support, the expertise of IITA’s socioeconomists, skills and competencies in social and economic research, and the opportunity to network with other fellows.
CARE fellows during a write-shop.
The selection, which is a closed-review process, will produce 30 research fellows who will undergo weeks of mentoring and capacity building by selected mentors in the project.
The research areas the fellows will be looking at include impact and evaluation, incentives, markets and institutions, policy engagement, ICT and youth employment, rural dynamics, innovations and scaling up. At the same time, they will be offered training on areas such as the production of research evidence for policy-making, research methodology, data management, and scientific writing.
IITA’s socioeconomists will supervise the 30 fellows in close collaboration with their national/university supervisors.
The CARE project is seeking to close the knowledge gap in understanding factors influencing youth engagement in the rural farm and non-farm economy in Africa.
As results from research influence policymaking, interventions targeting youth self-employment in Africa can have a much greater impact by ensuring data and information, evidence, experience, and lessons learned are used.
The three-year program directly contributes to the goal of the IFAD Strategic Framework 2016–2025 and, in particular, supports the strategic objectives of increasing poor rural people’s benefits from market participation to improve their engagement in markets and increase their productive capacities.
