The SA Cultivar & Technology Agency (SACTA) is inviting students to apply for their bursary programme, for the 2025 academic year.

Bursaries will be awarded for Postgraduate (Honours, Masters and Doctoral) studies, within fields of study that are relevant to the grain and oil-seed industry. Fields of study may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Agronomy
• Agricultural Economics
• Agricultural Engineering
• Agricultural Meteorology
• Agricultural Writers
• Biometry
• Conservation Agriculture
• Data Science
• Demand Planner
• Food Sciences (relevant to the crop industry)
• Livestock Science
• Molecular Biology
• Pasture Science
• Plant Biochemistry
• Plant Breeding
• Plant Entomology
• Plant Nematology
• Plant Pathology
• Plant Physiology
• Plant Virology
• Precision Agriculture
• Seed Applied Technologies
• Soil Microbiology
• Soil Science
• Weed Science
• other related field

The value of the bursary will depend on the level of study:

• Masters by Dissertation students will receive funding up to R99 750 per annum, for 2 years.
• PhD/ Doctoral Research students will receive funding up to R131 250 per annum for 3 years.

Bursary funds will be paid out according to the submitted and approved progress reports by the bursary recipient and their supervisor, with the first installment to be paid in January 2025.

Obligation:

Once students have graduated, they must work within the grain and oil-seed industry of South Africa, for a duration of time equal to that of the bursary received.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):

• You must be a South African citizen
• You must have completed Matric
• You must be studying or intend on studying full-time towards a Honours, Masters or Doctoral qualification relevant to the South African grain and oil-seed industry
• You must be studying or enrolled to study at a recognised and accredited tertiary institution
• You must NOT be in receipt of any other funding or bursary awards (unless agreed to by the Trust)
• You must intend on conducting a dissertation/ thesis on a topic that has been approved by the Trust
• You must be willing to work within the South African agricultural industry after completing your studies
• You must have read and agreed to all of the SACTA Bursary condition, policies and procedures
• You must agree to the terms of the Legal Undertaking (Section E) on the application form