ILRI MSc Research Fellowship

Project: Sustainable small ruminant breeding programs for “climate smart villages”
Location: Kenya (Nairobi)
Duration: 6 months, starting between July and August 2014

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, www.ilri.org) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. Part of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org),

A collaborative action is proposed that uses the strengths and experiences in action research for improved small ruminant production and capacity development of ILRI, and a national university (JKUAT), working with CCAFS and their partners on the ground to efficiently and sustainably increase the production of meat and milk from small ruminants, and improve incomes of small-holder farmers within the “climate smart villages” of Lower Nyando. The overall objective of the project titled is to sustainably improve livelihoods of small-holder farmers in Nyando by increasing their incomes and food security through sustained uptake of improved SR breeding programs under changing climatic conditions.

The position: The (MSc student) is expected to contribute to the project and produce their MSc thesis based on information generated through the project as part of the project outputs. In addition, the student selected will carry out a review of existing literature, and contribute to a baseline and monitoring study on small ruminant production. The data and information generated will be used to identify key factors and the inter-relationships between factors that affect productivity of small ruminants in the small-holder systems.

Key responsibilities:

• Review relevant and recent literature on production of small ruminants (sheep and goats) in small holder systems; and sustainable breeding programs in developing countries
• Work with his/her ILRI & University supervisors to choose and develop most effective conceptual framework, and to identify options that could be of relevance to the small-holder climate smart farming systems.
• Contribute in devising survey methods adapted to the local field context in order to collect data from stakeholders to inform proposed breeding program
• Travel to the field to test the survey instruments, implement data collection together with local project partners, and gather quantitative and qualitative information through focus groups and semi-structured interviews of project stakeholders in the field
• Analyze the data collected using multiple regression analyses so as to test simplified models linking all the elements under study;
• Write up research results in a format suitable for publication as an MSc Thesis or university field report, and possibly a case study article or a scientific journal article.

Requirements:

• Be a current student at MSc (or equivalent degree level) in animal production, animal genetics and breeding or bio-statistics;
• Use this assignment to complete an academic requirement of the MSc degree (final thesis, field study report, sabbatical activity report, etc.);
• Having completed course work requirements of an MSc programme in one of the above fields before starting work at ILRI is a plus;
• Demonstrated knowledge of using statistical tools and software for research, alternatively, genuine interest to learn about using statistical packages a plus;
• A team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Ability to interact effectively in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Terms of appointment and stipend:

The successful candidate will be supervised jointly by an ILRI Animal Genetics and breeding scientist, and a university supervisor –also an expert animal genetic scientist from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT). While at ILRI Headquarters in Nairobi, he/she will also have access to many other ILRI researchers so as to further develop his/her research.

The student is expected to cater for their own accommodation and ILRI will provide an allowance of US$ 500/month to support personal expenses. Additionally, ILRI will meet the costs of research related travel, as well as insurance.

Applications: All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by the deadline of 11 July 2014 or until a suitable candidate is selected.

 ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.