Orskov Foundation Grants

Orskov Foundation Grants: Orskov makes grants of up to £2,500 to support agriculture in developing countries. Thegrants support graduate students and communities indeveloping countries.

Student Grants

One category of grants supports university students in agricultural studies related to poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.

The student grants are only provided to help support costs of training at a university or similar organisation other than the university/college in which you are registered at the time of the application.

Eligible students (graduate students from any countrieswhich are, in the opinion of the trustees, regarded asdeveloping countries) MUST be registered for graduate degrees at their home universities in a developing country and MUST be able to demonstrate that they have full support from the relevant universitydepartment/organisation that they are seeking training from.

Preference will be given to support training aimed at sustainable land use problems with an emphasis on animal, plant and soil interactions, where it can be demonstrated that, in addition to contributing to knowledge, they will (a) have the potential to alleviate poverty and (b) provide sustainable environmental benefits, including adaptation/mitigation to the impact of climate change. Training outwith these areas will not be funded.

The Trustees will only consider projects with a budget up to a maxium of £2,500. This is the upper limit, not an indication that you should simply request this amount.

Applicants will be expected to provide a budget and FULL justification for the funding claimed.

Applicants that do not provide an adequate breakdown of the anticipated expenditure will not be shortlisted for evaluation.

Please do not send any additional documentation, such asexam results, CVs, letters of support, etc. These will not be used in the evaluation of your application. Appropriate references will be sought for student applications that pass the evaluation stage.

Projects will be selected by an open application process.Grants will be awarded in March/April.

Community Grants The second category of grants is for community-based agriculture on a revolving-fund basis. Many projects have a livestock component, as small livestock such as goats, pigs and poultry can have a very positive impact on poverty alleviation, effectively acting as a “living” bank. Owning seven or eight goats may be the equivalent in cost to one cow. Losing the latter would mean the loss of a very large investment. The loss of one goat, on the other hand, is easier for a household to cope with.

Each of the projects established so far works with a revolving fund. The principle behind a revolving fund is that the benefits derived from our initial investment to the recipient communities are shared with other communities. In most cases these are women’s groups, already established in the village and each project, its goals and management, is set up with the active participation of these community groups.
These community projects have been very successful, have given the participants a greater sense of security and made a positive impact in poverty alleviation. The secret of success is to let the village groups decide how they will each manage the revolving fund system.
Applications are welcome from 1 October to 31 December every year.

For further information 

http://www.advance-africa.com/Orskov-Foundation-Grants.html