Eight students per year will be admitted over a period of five years in the first phase of the programme.Each student will follow a 5 year programme leading to the award of a Ph.D (Plant Breeding) upon successful completion. The programme consists of two stages: two years of academic study at the University of Ghana and three years of field research at the student’s research station/university in his/her home country.
Crop Focus
The course work and research will focus on the following West Africa food crops:
Cereals: maize, rice, sorghum, millet
Root and tubers: cassava and sweet potato
Legumes: cowpea and groundnut
Vegetables: tomato and pepper.
Geographic Focus

West Africa with initial emphasis on Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Applicants from Cameroon may also be considered.

Selection Criteria/Funding
Scholarships are advertised extensively in all participating countries and applications are reviewed by a panel of local academics.Forty students arriving in cohorts of eight over five academic years will receive support from this innovative plant breeding Ph.D Programme.

The WACCI programme is specifically for full-time, professional plant breeders who will make their careers breeding new cultivars of food crops. Prospective students must have:

1. an MSc/MPhil in Plant Breeding, Plant Genetics, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Crop Science, Applied Entomology, Applied Nematology or equivalent degree.
2. a position as an agricultural research scientist in a national research institute or university in the potential student’s home country is also essential, so that the student can return to his/her home country to conduct the field research for the PhD thesis.

Applicants should be under the age of 40.

Scholarship Application Deadline: Applications for 2012 academic year are now been excepted. Further details contact Employer.

Further Scholarship Information and Application