Scientist/Senior Scientist-Bio-economic Modeling

[Gerrit Hoogenboom]

*The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT)
*Seeks


Scientist/Senior Scientist-Bio-economic Modeling


ICRISAT is seeking applications from a dynamic and highly innovative
Scientist with a strong background in bio-economic modeling and
integrated assessment models for analyzing household, village and
regional scale/level agricultural systems, and in particular assessing
how technological interventions and policy decisions may impact on
agriculture, livelihoods, poverty, natural resources and ecosystems in
the semi-arid tropics. This position will be based in Asia at ICRISAT's
Headquarters.S/he will undertake the research activities to develop
bio-economic models by integrating biophysical models and socio-economic
decision models using existing longitudinal panel data, such as the
ICRISAT Villages Level Studies (VLS) in SAT villages of Asia.

ICRISAT is a non-profit, apolitical, international organization for
science-based agricultural development. Established in 1972, it is one
of the 15 Centers of the Consultative Group for International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and is supported by more than 48
governments, foundations, and development banks. ICRISAT with its
Headquarters located in Hyderabad, India has regional centers and
research teams in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. For more details, see
www.icrisat.org <http://www.icrisat.org>.

**

*The Job:*

�Analyze trade-offs between small holder farm household welfare and
sustainability of natural resource base and dryland ecosystems.

�Analyse the drivers of change and options for agricultural productivity
growth and sustainable intensification and diversification in dryland
crop-livestock farming systems.

�Analyse and develop alternative strategies for households using
bio-economic models for crops and natural resource management
technologies for income growth and food security.

�Develop policy recommendations for enhancing dryland system resilience,
diffusion of agricultural technologies and adaptation to climate change.

�Participate in centre-wide program strategy development and publish
research findings and contribute to dissemination of results to
stakeholders.

*The Person:*

�Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, natural sciences, or another related
discipline with over 5-10 years of post-doctoral experience.

�Knowledge and experience of bio-economic models and/or experience in
combining applied quantitative methods with qualitative approaches to
study complex farming and livelihood systems and their drivers of change.

�Knowledge on analysing household panel survey data using statistical
software like STATA and optimization software like GAMS, Matlab to
develop household decision modelsare required.

�Good record of publications in international peer reviewed journals.

�Ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams with a range of
nationalities, cultures, and scientific disciplines.

�Excellent oral and written skills in English.

Employment Conditions:

This is an internationally recruited staff position with an attractive
and competitive salary and benefits package payable in US dollars. The
position is initially for three years, and extendable depending on
performance of the incumbent and funding availability. An attractive
compensation will be offered for the right candidate.

How to apply:


Applicants should apply on or before 15 May 2012by email
to:ICRIS...@cgiar.org <mailto:ICRIS...@cgiar.org>,with a
letter of motivation, a full Curriculum Vitae, and the names and
contact information of three references that are knowledgeable of
the candidate's professional qualifications and work experience. The
reference name of the position (Scientist-Bioeconomic
Modeling)should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the
email. Screening of applications will begin in June 2012and will
continue until the post is filled. All applications will be
acknowledged, however only short listed candidates will be contacted.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer and is especially interested in
increasing the participation of women on its staff. ICRISAT has a
flexible approach to international appointments and welcomes dual-career
couples.

[Guillaume Chirat]

Dear DSSAT users,
I have a small doubt on the unit of one of the genotype parameters (in
the ecotype file of Maize): "GDDE" = thermal time from planting to
emergence / cm seed depth.
Working on Zambian data, I was able to calculate the degree days from
planting to emergence for 6 years: median value = 135 �C.days.
According to the staff in the field, the seed depth is 2 or 3 cm.
Therefore, GDDE should be between 45 and 67, but there is a problem of a
factor 10. Indeed, the fit is excellent when GDDE is between 5 and 7.
So, is the unit of GDDE "�C.days /mm" instead of "�C.days /cm"? Or did I
misunterstand something?

I am aware of the limited importance of such an interrogation...
Regards,

Guillaume C.

---------
Guillaume CHIRAT
Docteur - Ing�nieur Agro
CIRAD
Syst�mes de cultures annuelles
CA2AFRICA project
(+33)4 67 61 56 91

[KUMUDINI, SARATHA (AG/2074)]

Dear Guillaume,

I am relatively new to CERES MAIZE code, and the people on this email will have more detailed knowledge of CERES MAIZE. One thing I did notice was that P9 is calculated from germination, and not from planting (!P9 Growing degree days from germination to emergence, C). Based on your expected value of GDDE of 45, I assume you are calculating P9. Therefore, the differences between observed emergence and simulated may occur if you assume that the field staff are planting into moisture, and this was NOT the case (i.e. delay in germination would cause the GDDs from planting to emergence to be larger than if seeds were planted into moisture, and the seeds germinated immediately). I think that maybe one place you could check for this difference. I am not sure how GDDE was initially calculated by the developers of CERES MAIZE, but the final value for P9 is more or less in agreement with at least one other model.

Hope this helps,
Saratha

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