ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS) welcomes new ARUA-CCNY early-career research fellow

In October, the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS) welcomed Dr Selorm Dorvlo for a 12-month residential early-career research fellowship opportunity. This fellowship was initiated by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), to support a total of 13 early-career researchers to undertake globally competitive research at the ARUA Centres of Excellence (CoEs).

Dr Dorvlo had the following to say about being awarded this fellowship:

I am grateful for the ARUA-CCNY fellowship at the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS). This fellowship will enable me to leverage further the knowledge and skills I acquired during my FSNet-Africa fellowship, which was a truly enriching experience. With the support of the researchers at ARUA-SFS, I will have the opportunity to expand the scope of my research and foster new collaborations that align with the research agenda of the Centre. I am excited to explore new avenues of research and benefit from the mentorship of experienced researchers.

ARUA-SFS (formerly the ACoE in Food Security) was established in 2018 as a partnership between the host institution – the University of Pretoria – and collaborating partner institutions – the University of Ghana and the University of Nairobi. ARUA-SFS aims to create an engaging global network of talented researchers to move institutions forward in pursuit of a common goal. ARUA-SFS is hosted by Future Africa and closely collaborates with the Future Africa Sustainable Food Systems Research Chair (FA-SFS) to strengthen and expand the synergies between these two entities in pursuit of sustainable food systems across the continent. Dr Dorvlo will work with other researchers at ARUA-SFS to undertake relevant research under the guidance of an assigned mentor. He will also be expected to deliver specific outputs such as journal articles, policy briefs, and presentations and to assist the Centre in building new partnerships and disseminating research findings.

Dr Dorvlo is a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Ghana. He is a professional engineer with specialisation in sustainable agricultural mechanisation, and his research focus is on creating innovative, sustainable solutions for agricultural production. He was previously awarded a fellowship by another ARUA-SFS flagship project, the Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa), where his research focused on mechanisation of smallholder rice production in Ghana, using technologies in line with the principles of conservation agriculture.