The award Fund was set up in 1989 by the Tropical Agriculture Association as part of its charitable activities to raise funds in order to assist young British citizens suitably qualified in agriculture, forestry and related fields to gain appropriate training and experience in the tropics.

Tropical Agriculture - Britain's Contribution

 Universities and colleges in the UK have been instrumental in providing expertise for Britain's contribution to the development of tropical agriculture and forestry for more than two centuries. A survey in 1996 found that as many as 2,500 of the estimated expatriate professionals in tropical agriculture were British. These individuals have brought great benefit to the development of both commercial agriculture and the small farmer sector.
 

What the Fund Does.

For some years it has been difficult for young people to obtain initial overseas work experience essential for securing permanent employment. The aim of the Award Fund is to assist in the provision of funding for both travel and subsistence and to offer advice on project opportunities which will provide the necessary work experience. Since its formation in 1989, the fund has actively sort support from government agencies, commercial companies, charitable organisations and private individuals. As a result, by mid 1998 some 64 young people had been sponsored in 29 countries, on projects of value to those countries.

How the Fund Works

The Award Fund has a committee of unpaid volunteers which inn eight years to mid 1998 had enabled the Fund to disburse £55,300 of its income in grants, charging £4,570 to administration and  with £14,103 available for further awards in future years. The committee has representatives from government, aid agencies, industry, universities and colleges. All applications for sponsorship are carefully reviewed by the committee. Consideration is given to the merits of the project, its relevance and likely benefit to the country concerned. Much importance is given to the individual's commitment to work overseas in the long term.
The TAAF has charitable status. It makes monetary awards to young British agriculturists who possess suitable qualifications (e.g. University degrees)  to help them to pay air fares or provide allowances so enabling them to obtain work experience overseas or accept paid or unpaid employment overseas with agencies engaged in tropical agriculture/rural development;
In the TAAF context the definition of tropical agriculture includes not only general agricultural practice but also forestry, livestock, soil and water management and social activities involving women in agriculture in both tropical and arid areas.
 

The TAAF does not identify work opportunities and as such applicants themselves should have made arrangements for their participation in some type of work experience.

The Tim Jarman Fund

Tim Jarman was tragically killed in June 1997. He was a well known figure within the agricultural development community and a long time member of the TAA. After Tim's death, his widow Sally and other members of the family set up a fund in his memory which will be administered by the TAA through the Tropical Agriculture Award Fund. By early 1999, over £11,000 had been donated to the Tim Jarman Memorial, sufficient to enable an annual award to be made for the foreseeable future. This award is expected to be in addition to those already planned by the TAA.

 How Successful Has the Fund Been?

     A test of success of the Award Fund is clearly the extent to which awardees benefit from their experience and subsequently find suitable positions in tropical agriculture.

To date 100 awards have been made and awardees have been based in 30 countries. Of the 67 awardees some 58 have now returned to the UK and as at December 1998:
 
 

• 5 are with ODA/DFID projects
• 5 are with consultancy companies
• 4 are with NGOs
• 3 are with University associated programmes
• 3 are with the Commonwealth Development Corporation
• One has had an APOS scholarship in Indonesia

The committee tries to maintain active contact with the awardees and in fact for the period of the award a member of the committee is identified as the individuals 'godparent' maintaining a point of contact and responding to any requests for technical or other advice. We still maintain contact with 31 of the 58 returned awardees and on the whole the Award Fund is achieving its main purpose.

Can You Help the Fund?

The award fund is dependent on voluntary contributions. Even small donations can go a long way to making projects possible. If you can make a contribution please contactJohn Russell taa_award_fund@taa.org.uk
 
 
 

A TYPICAL PROJECT

The Kaloko Trust in Zambia has benefited from four awards: three in 1992 and one in 1995. The Trust was established by the Rotary Club of Ndola and the International Boys Town Trust (a British NGO) to motivate semi-urbanised young people to engage in agriculture. A farm training centre at Kaloko, on 215 ha, began in 1989 in the Luansobe Farm Block some 100 km southwest of Ndola. This was followed in 1991 by  a 250 ha farm for the settlement of trainees, 14 km from Kaloko, and in 1992 a second farm was obtained at Kakushi some 200 km from Kaloko.

Parallel to the training and settlement programme, the trust soon became involved in community development for health care and schooling. The four young people, partly sponsored by the Award Fund, have participated in many of these activities concentrating recently on the environmental and economic aspects of agriculture. Successful Trust activities include:

a complete mechanical workshop and stores was reorganised to establish routines for servicing, maintenance and repair of vehicles, tractors and farm equipment

a cheese and butter making plant was designed and a pilot cheese unit was started at Kaloko

bee keeping started in 1995 with 10 hives

a solar power project is being planned and it is hoped to establish a tree nursery and saw mill in the future as an aid to local people becoming involved in building construction

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS
 

1 The primary objective of the awards is to assist qualified young Britons (under 30 years of age) to obtain relevant experience in tropical agriculture/rural development in a less developed country particularly where the applicant intends to pursue a career in tropical agriculture/rural development.

 2 Proposed projects should make an identifiable contribution to tropical agriculture/rural development and should be linked to an established activity in a Third World tropical country. Overseas assignments should be for a continuous period of not less than six months on-site.

 3 Applicants will be expected to make their own arrangements for the implementation of their project but members of the Tropical Agriculture Association will assist with advice. Such advice is obtainable from Keith Armstrong (020 8460 7626), Basil Hoare (020 8946 5406), Jim Watson (01865 873689),  or any other member of the Tropical Agriculture Association.

 4 Awards will be offered only for the costs of the applicant and not for any dependents and may be made in stages.

5 Awards are not granted for formal or informal training courses in this country, or overseas, nor for attendance at conferences, seminars, workshops etc.

6 The application form should be completed in block letters or be typewritten. The Project Description should be typewritten. The sum of money required should be stated and fully itemized. A recent photograph should be attached.

 7 Successful applicants will be required to submit both a brief interim progress report and a more formal report at the end of their period at the project.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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