Local MP for Ellon, Inverurie and Huntly, Malcolm Bruce launched the Ørskov Foundation at the Aberdeen-based Macaulay Institute this week (Thursday 21 September), with the announcement of the successful recipients of grants available through the foundation, a charitable body set up by the Institute to help graduate students from developing countries undertake scientific projects. Malcolm Bruce is currently Chairman of the International Development Select Committee.

Sixty-five students from 23 different countries applied for the grant, of which 19 were short-listed. Each student was required to justify that their project would have a positive impact on poverty alleviation or environmental sustainability in a developing country.

The grants amounted to more than £11,000 and went to four students, Nelson Abila and Damian Ndubuisi Njoku both from Nigeria, Yameogo Nongasida from Burkina Faso and Tania Sanchez Santana from Cuba.

Nelson received a grant to allow him to attend a training course on Economic Modelling run by the Ecomod Modeling School, Brussels, Belgium. He said: “This grant from the Ørskov Foundation will have a great impact because the range of human problems in Africa requiring the analysis and application of different economic theories and knowledge are becoming increasingly complex.”

Yameogo received a grant to allow him to carry out research on the use of medicinal plants by poultry farmers in Burkina Faso to treat poultry disease.

The grant will be used to take part in a short training course on applied ethnopharmacology at the University of Metz in France and also for lab work at the inter state School of Veterinary Medicine of Dakar in Senegal.

Damian received a grant to help him obtain a three-month training period at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, South Africa. He will be trained in the use of advanced molecular tools to help crop drought tolerance.

Tania received a grant to allow her to receive training at the Macaulay Institute. During her 3 months at the Macaulay she will be working on both methods for evaluating the nutritional value of fodder for livestock and techniques for estimating diet selection and intake by grazing animals.

Commenting on the launch of the Ørskov Foundation, Dr Iain Wright, Chair of the Trustees, said: “I am pleased to be launching the Ørskov Foundation at the Macaulay Institute, which was set up to recognise resident scientist Professor Bob Ørskov’s remarkable contributions to agricultural science in developing countries, over a period of more than forty years.

“I am confident that the chosen applicants have clearly demonstrated the benefits their research can bring to developing countries, and hope that the Foundation will continue to help promote the advancement of education for students in developing countries, and in so doing, help reduce poverty levels and increase awareness of environmental issues.”

The grants will help to cover the costs of training, study courses, field and laboratory work in projects which will address aspects of sustainable land use, including livestock, soil, water, plants and their various interactions.

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The Macaulay Institute is the premier land use research institute in the UK. Two hundred and seventy staff are based at the Macaulay Institute at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. The Macaulay Institute aims to be an international leader in research on the use of rural land resources for the benefit of people and the environment and is involved in research across the globe; from Scotland to Chile and China. More about the Macaulay Institute can be found at www.macaulay.ac.uk

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