ICRISAT
Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh-502324
Plant Breeder - Pearl Millet Improvement
ICRISAT seeks applications for a Plant Breeder in Pearl Millet Improvement, to be based in one of ICRISAT’s research locationsin West and Central Africa.
ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics is home to over 2 billion people, with 650 million of these the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower those living in the semi-arid tropics, especially smallholder farmers, to overcome poverty, hunger, malnutrition and a degraded environment through more efficient and profitable agriculture. ICRISAT is headquartered in Greater Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and belongs to the Consortium of Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
ICRISAT’s Regional hub for West and Central Africa (WCA) is located in Niamey, Niger, with scientists also located in research centers in Bamako, Mali, and Kano, Nigeria. ICRISAT's work covers approximately 20 countries in WCA. In the region, ICRISAT has core competencies in the areas of agronomy, soil science, dryland cereal and legume breeding, crop physiology, IPM, socio-economics and GIS.
Desired Candidate’s Profile
* PhD degree in genetics and/or plant breeding with 3-10 years experience in crop breeding research, with an interest in both basic breeding research and development-oriented participatory and on-farm research
* Sound knowledge of recurrent population improvement and hybrid breeding procedures
* Knowledge of quantitative genetics theory for optimizing selection programs, for refining heterotic grouping and performing combining ability analyses
* Understanding the concept of genotype-by-environment (GxE) interaction and implications of GxE for strategic breeding decisions.
* Knowledge of molecularmarker applications for improving selection efficiency and enhancing targeted use of genetic diversity in the breeding program
* Strong statistical skills, knowledge of computer applications and software for data management and analysis
* Experience with pearl millet or other dryland cereals and the semi-arid tropics highly desirable
* Experience in management of genetic resources and genebanks useful
* Excellent in English (both spoken and written) essential and in French desirable
* Good publication record, as evidenced by research papers in refereed journals
* Proven good track record in attracting project funding
* Experience in working with a wide range of stakeholders and interest to work in interdisciplinary team
* Experience with variety development and release as well as effective seed dissemination
How to Apply
