U.S. Embassy in Georgia

USDA Borlaug Fellowship Program

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is pleased to announce the 2023 Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program (Borlaug Fellowship Program) for Georgia.

The Borlaug Fellowship Program promotes food security and economic growth through collaborative research.  The program offers training for agricultural research, leadership, and agricultural policy to university faculty, researchers, and government officials in Georgia.

Competitively selected Fellows will work one-on-one with a U.S. mentor who will coordinate the training program.  After completion of the 12-week fellowship, the mentor will visit the Fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration on the research topic.  USDA will select U.S. host institutions and mentors for each fellow.  The 2023 Borlaug Fellowship Program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Global Programs (GP), Fellowship Programs (FP).

The application deadline for the 2023 Borlaug Fellowship Program is June 23, 2023.

Objectives

• Provide early to mid-career agricultural economists, research scientists, faculty, and policymakers with one-on-one training opportunities in the fields of agricultural policy and research (see acceptable research areas below).
• Provide agricultural economists, research scientists, faculty, and policymakers with practical experience and exposure to novel perspectives and/or new technologies that can be applied in their home institutions.
• Foster collaboration and networking to improve agricultural productivity and trade.
• Facilitate the transfer of new economic, scientific, and agricultural technologies to strengthen agricultural practices.
• Focus on risk assessment, identification, and prevention of exotic vector-borne animal diseases. Also focus on methods and best practices in the identification and taxonomy of potential vectors and control of vector-borne animal disease, including establishing vector traps, collecting and identifying species of vectors and laboratory analysis of the potential presence of vector-borne disease agents.
• Address a variety of specific mitigation or adaptations in crop production, including using innovative plant breeding techniques to develop nutrient efficiency, disease resistance, temperature resilience, and improved yield and quality. Focus on soil sciences and conservation or water resource management as related to grain production as a field crop.

Research Topics

• Animal Health: Detection and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases.
• Climate Smart Agriculture: developing or implementing new sustainable practices, including mitigations for agriculture’s contributions on climate change and adaptation to ensure agricultural resilience to counter the negative impact of climate change on agricultural production as related to Georgian domestic grain production.

Length of Fellowships

Fellowships last 12 weeks at a university or research institution located in the United States.  All program proposals must include goals that are achievable within that timeframe.  Fellowships can begin as early as spring/summer 2024 or as late as the summer of 2025.  After completing the U.S.-based portion of the fellowship, the mentor will visit the Fellow’s home institution approximately one year after the U.S. portion of the training.

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates will be evaluated, interviewed, and selected based on the following criteria:

• Citizen of Georgia.
• Proficiency in English reading, writing, and speaking skills.
• Master’s degree or higher with at least two years of practical experience (minimum) after degree completion.
• Currently employed by a university, government ministry, research institution, or other scientific institution.
• Intention to continue working in the home country for a minimum of two years following the return from the United States.
• Early/mid-stage of professional career (2-10 years of experience preferred; candidates with more than 15 years of experience are weakly competitive; candidates with 20 years or more experience will not be considered).
• Proposal must be directly related to one of the approved research areas listed.  USDA will not consider proposals for unapproved countries and/or topics.

Application Requirements

Eligible candidates must apply using the attached application form no later than June 23, 2023.  Applicants must submit the following documents to complete an application:

• Completed application form (separate Word Document attached to this announcement).
• Detailed program proposal and research action plan, that includes answers to all questions on the application
• Signed approval from applicant’s home institution.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• Copies of diploma(s) for all college/university degree(s) received.
• Transcripts.
• Copy of passport identification page.

Contact Information

For questions related to the application process please contact:

American Embassy
US Department of Agriculture

29 Georgian-American Friendship Avenue
Didi Dighomi, 0131 Tbilisi, Georgia
TbilisiUSDA@state.gov

USDA-FAS Ankara

1480 Sokak No. 1

Çukurambar Mahallesi, 06530 Ankara, Türkiye

AgAnkara@state.gov

Additional information is available on the website:

https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/borlaug-fellowship-program