Acronym : ORPHAN
Project title: Mobility for high skilled scientists and entrepreneurs on orphan crops in higher education for accelerated climate change solutions in Africa
Budget : €1796820
Project duration: January 2024 to December 2027;
Funding: European Union
General objective: ORPHAN aims at addressing current and future challenges related to climate change and agrifood systems with a focus on promising orphan plant species of Africa.
Specific objectives:
Specifically, the project aims to:
- train 12 high-profile PhD graduates, 32 MSc graduates, 10 academic staff and 10 trainees with skills in plant breeding, food technology and nutrition to address current and future challenges related to climate change and agrifood systems with a focus on promising orphan plant species of Africa.
- – harmonize training programs and research agenda on the improvement of the value chain of orphan crops for food and nutrition security in Africa.
- enhance national – regional – international collaboration and programmatic agenda that promotes orphan crops research and training for agricultural innovations in Africa through cross regional mobility.
Beneficiaries
- PhD and Master students
Target group (TG) 1: Students registered or admitted in/or having obtained a degree from higher Education Institutions (HEIs) involved in the project University Nangui Abrogoua (UNA), University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), University of Zimbabwe (EBSU), University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain)
Target group (TG) 2: Students registered or admitted in/or having obtained a degree from another HEI which is not part of the current consortium but established in Africa. Countries such as Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Soudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal, Niger, Zambia, Malawi, Togo are identified to send students into the mobility scheme as TG 2.
- Trainees : students enrolled in a Bachelor/Master/Doctorate programme in one of the applicant HEIs (beneficiaries) from Africa involved in the consortium.
- Staff: members working for one of the applicant HEIs (beneficiaries) involved in the consortium (including the EU Technical Partner).
Project activities
ORPHAN will:
- offer full scholarship to MSc (890 Euros/month), PhD (1230 Euros/month), staff (2370 Euros/month) and trainees (1230 Euros/month);
- train 12 PhD students and 32 MSc in Plant breeding, Food technologies and Nutrition;
- provide technical support to 10 academic staff in Plant breeding, Food technologies and Nutrition;
- improve entrepreneurship skills of 10 trainees through immersion in selected enterprise;
- develop climate smart technologies for high yield, good product quality with high market value;
- support students for professional insertion after mobility completion.
Partners
University Nangui Abrogoua (UNA)
University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC)
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)
Ebonyi State University (EBSU)
University of Zimbabwe (UZ)
Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain)
Contact persons
Contact persons
- University Nangui Abrogoua, Côte d’Ivoire: Prof Kévin Koffi Kouame, kevinkouamekoffi@gmail.com,
- University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin: Prof Nadia Fanou Fogny, nadia.fanou@gmail.com,
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya: Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, abukutsa.mary@gmail.com,
- Ebonyi State University, Nigeria: Prof Kate Nnamani, drnnamanikate@gmail.com,
- University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe: Prof. Edmore Gasura, gasurae@yahoo.com
- Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium: Prof Marie-Paule Kestemont, marie-paule.kestemont@uclouvain.be
- Senior advisor: Prof Enoch Achigan-Dako, e.adako@gmail.com,