Newsletter: Funding for tomatoes, apricots, postharvest, and more

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We have funding for two new research projects related to postharvest practices, in close partnership with USAID missions. We hope you will consider applying to these opportunities or sharing this newsletter with colleagues who might also be interested. Below you will also find new multimedia posts, updates from our university partners, a “thank you” message from Uganda, and many professional opportunities related to horticulture.

FUNDING: MARKET-DRIVEN RESEARCH ON APRICOTS AND ON TOMATOES How to improve market opportunities for farmers growing tomatoes in West Africa and apricots in Central Asia are the main objectives of two new research grant opportunities from the Horticulture Innovation Lab. Read this whole announcement: http://bit.ly/29nhZ0S

September 12 is the deadline for research proposals for these two projects, each with funding up to $300,000 over two years. U.S.-based researchers are invited to apply in partnership with international scientists and organizations. Teams led by U.S. university researchers will be given preference, but proposals from researchers at nonprofit and for-profit organizations will also be considered.

These two grant opportunities were developed by the Horticulture Innovation Lab team in close partnership with staff at USAID mission offices in Tajikistan and Burkina Faso.

The research will provide evidence-based analysis to help smallholder farmers better connect with agricultural markets, through practices that address fruit quality, food safety, packaging, handling, processing, transportation, market analysis and other postharvest issues.

Read the whole article: http://bit.ly/29tZNjn 
Download the RFP documents: http://bit.ly/29sHbUO

 

*** MORE PROGRAM NEWS ***

THANKS FROM UGANDA: TRELLIS FUND MATTERS One of the first organizations to receive Trellis funding, Eco-Agric Uganda, sent a thank-you note about how their small projects seeded greater impact and the growth of their organization: http://bit.ly/29nQ2lg

WHAT’S GROWING AT UC DAVIS DEMONSTRATION CENTER Thriving vegetable plants, experiments in progress and visitors exploring agricultural technologies have been keeping the Horticulture Innovation Lab Demonstration Center at UC Davis busy: http://bit.ly/29sGSJP

 

*** MULTIMEDIA POSTS ***

VIDEO: SEEDS TO GRAFTED SEEDLINGS FOR FARMERS IN CENTRAL AMERICA This 5-minute video is a lightning talk by Jim Nienhuis of the University of Wisconsin-Madison about his project expanding tomato grafting in Guatemala and Honduras: http://bit.ly/29VY7za More Horticulture Innovation Lab lightning talks are now available on YouTube: http://bit.ly/29EzurI

PHOTO ESSAY: VEGETABLES FROM FIELD TO MARKET IN CAMBODIA Find large photos and simple postharvest handling tips in this photo essay that follows vegetables in Cambodia from field, to packing shed, to market: http://bit.ly/29HQJuq

 

*** PARTNERS IN THE NEWS ***

RUTGERS PROF GIVES MEMORIAL LECTURE IN MINNESOTA Jim Simon of Rutgers University was selected to provide the Kermit Olson Memorial Lecture to the University of Minnesota’s Department of Horticultural Science: http://bit.ly/29EzVT1

PENN STATE TEAM TRAINS CGIAR ON GENDER ISSUES Janelle Larson, Leif Jensen and other members of our Penn State team helped provide a 3-week training on gender, agriculture and the environment to CGIAR Consortium researchers: http://bit.ly/29BfOoi

UC DAVIS STUDENTS ‘FUTURE LEADERS’ IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Elyssa Lewis was one of two UC Davis grad students selected to participate in the Future Leaders Forum with the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development: http://bit.ly/29BfNAy

FARM BUREAU ON COOLBOTS Michael Reid of UC Davis was interviewed by a reporter for California’s Ag Alert publication about the low-cost cooling and drying solutions adapted by the Horticulture Innovation Lab network: http://bit.ly/29p58GI

 

*** OPPORTUNITIES ***

JOB: RESEARCH DIRECTOR July 15 is the final day to apply to be the next Deputy Director General of Research for the World Vegetable Center: http://bit.ly/29tXxZh

GRANT: FOR-PROFIT PARTNERSHIPS IN ZAMBIA July 29 is the deadline to apply for this new agricultural partnership focused on increasing access to inputs or expanding market access with Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation, for up to $5 million: http://bit.ly/29BggTf

GRANT: PUBLIC-PRIVATE POSTHARVEST SOLUTIONS Aug. 8 is the deadline to apply to this Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation commercializing grant, for up to $1 million: http://bit.ly/29HR2pr

GRANT: FOOD SAFETY IN LATIN AMERICA Aug. 8 is the deadline to apply for a new public-private partnership focused on food safety across the value chain, for up to $400,000 from Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation: http://bit.ly/29VZ76f

EVENT: FOOD SECURITY KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN UGANDA Sept. 20-22 will be when the TOPS/FSN Network hosts its East and Southern African Regional Knowledge Sharing Meeting on “Changing Landscapes of Food Security” http://bit.ly/29tXFrX

ABSTRACTS: AFRICA-WIDE POSTHARVEST CONFERENCE IN KENYAThe Africa-Wide Post Harvest Food Loss Reduction Conference and Exhibition, which will take place March 2017, has opened its call for abstracts: http://bit.ly/29tnM3n

EVENT: INGENAES GENDER GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM Jan. 23-25, 2017 will be a 3-day symposium focused on Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services, hosted in Lusaka, Zambia: http://bit.ly/29nRUdO

NETWORKING: INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE ALUMNI Peace Corps volunteers, CRSP alumni, and other U.S. government-sponsored international fellows can register for ongoing professional development opportunities, funding and special events at http://bit.ly/29todur

 

*** OTHER NEWS OF NOTE ***

GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY ACT HEADED TO OBAMA’S DESK The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the 2016 Global Food Security Act (S. 1252), which means the Feed the Future initiative only needs President Barack Obama’s signature to become law: http://bit.ly/29oj5Wy

WORLD FOOD PRIZE ANNOUNCES SWEET POTATO LAUREATES Four scientists — Maria Andrade, Robert Mwanga and Jan Low of the International Potato Center (CIP) and Howarth Bouis of HarvestPlus — were selected as the 2016 World Food Prize laureates for their work on Vitamin A-rich, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes: http://bit.ly/29p6Jfu

 

*** THANK YOU FOR READING. Please consider applying for our new research grants and sharing these news tips with your colleagues. We value your partnership! Until our next newsletter, you can connect with us on Twitter @HortInnovLab, by email at horticulture@ucdavis.edu or on our new blog: https://blog.horticulture.ucdavis.edu/.

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