The Maize Trust is committed to funding production research to the benefit of the maize industry in terms of one of the primary objectives in its Trust Deed, namely “To fund market and production related scientific and/or technical research in respect of maize”.

Researchers and research institutions are annually invited to submit funding applications for production research to the Trust. Researchers who are interested in applying for funding to the Trust are advised to take cognisance of the Maize Trust’s specific Norms, Procedures and Conditions for the Funding of Production Research.

Researchers who wish to submit a proposal to the Trust are kindly requested to complete and electronically submit the Research Proposal form according to the dates below to az.oc.eganamirga@nimda. Kindly note, only proposals (saved as pdf) that are submitted before or on the stipulated closing date will be considered.

Please Note: The Application Process will change later this year and applications for 2022 and future years will have to be made between 1 June and 31 October.

The respective application forms have been designed to provide a logical flow of activities and outcomes that are necessary to reach the project goal(s).

All research proposals will be subject to review by both South African and international experts. The reports of the reviewers will be assessed by the Trust’s Production Research Panel comprising of South African experts. Should a proposal be deemed appropriate for submission to the Maize Forum Steering Committee, the candidate will be asked to present the project to the Panel. The Panel will evaluate and prioritise the research proposals on merit in terms of the reviewer reports and presentations; and make recommendations regarding the possible funding of the proposals to the Maize Forum Steering Committee, which will in turn advise the Trust.

A final decision will be taken by the Trust regarding the funding of the proposals, where after the researchers and research administration offices of the various institutions will be informed about the decisions as indicated in the diagram above. The first 70% of the approved funding will be paid to successful applicants during June as indicated above.

Researchers are encouraged to actively pursue the possibility of co-funding within their own institutions, or from other sources, as the Trust has limited funds and is compelled to focus on critical research for the maize industry. Researchers are also encouraged to collaborate with other researchers in their projects.

You are welcome to approach Dr Miekie Human az.oc.asniarg@eikeim as the Vice Coordinator of the Maize Production Research Panel on behalf of the Trust, should you require clarification on any research or technical matters related to the proposals or applications to be made. All administrative or financial enquiries may be referred to the Trust’s Administrators at az.oc.eganamirga@nimda or at (012) 807-3958.

1. Applications in electronic format must reach the Trust on or before 31 March for the 2021/2022 production season and 31 October for future production seasons.

2. The Trust will only consider proposals in the prescribed format, which are submitted before or on the date as stipulated above.

3. All research proposals will be sent for review to South African and international experts (applicants are requested to submit the names and contact details of appropriate experts).

4. The reports of the reviewers will be assessed by the Maize Production Research Panel comprising of South African experts. The Panel will evaluate and prioritise the various proposals based on the feedback received from the reviewers.

5. The Panel will inform the Maize Forum Steering Committee and Trustees of their recommendations. The Trust’s Administrators will inform the researchers and the research administration offices of the various institutions about the Trust’s decisions thereafter.

6. The Trust strongly prefers and wishes to promote meaningful collaborative research concerning maize production. However, it is accepted that in some instances researchers may wish to pursue their own research interests. Researchers are further encouraged to actively pursue the possibility of co-funding within their own institutions or from other local and international funding agencies, as the Trust does not have unlimited funds.

7. Although each application will be considered on merit, the Trustees will, inter alia, take the following into consideration:

(a) the requirements of the South African maize industry;

(b) the availability of funds and the cost factor of the specific application;

(c) the benefit that an application may have for the maize industry as a whole;

(d) any other matters that the Trustees may deem appropriate.

8. The Trustees may, in their discretion, prioritise the different applications and reject the funding of any capital items or overseas travelling costs that may be included. The Trust also reserves the right to request more detailed information where deemed necessary.

9. Applicants are allowed to include depreciation of assets in their applications, on condition that they have to submit the full details thereof.

10. Each project approved for funding by the Trust will be evaluated and monitored periodically. The Trust explicitly reserves the right to request interim progress reports and to visit the premises of the applicant (or the project) at any given time, if deemed necessary, either by the Trustees themselves, the Administrators of the Trust or by agents appointed by the Trust.

11. When an application is approved for funding, the Trust may impose such conditions or lay down such rules relating to the funding as the Trustees in their sole discretion might deem necessary for that particular project, in addition to the Trust’s standard conditions of funding, as set out hereunder.

Standard Conditions of Funding

(1) If an application for funding is approved by the Maize Trust, payment to that beneficiary will be made as follows:

•  70% of the funding upon approval by the Trust according to its yearly budget
•  30% of the funding once the Trust is satisfied with the annual progress report

 

(2) Funding by the Trust is regarded as donations and Value Added Tax (VAT) is therefore calculated at a zero rate, except where otherwise stated by the Trust. Should the funding, however, prove to be subject to VAT at another rate, the funding amount will be deemed to be inclusive of VAT.

(3) Except where the Trustees decide otherwise, it is an explicit provision in every financial distribution by the Trust in respect of research, that the results of the research project must be public knowledge. The researcher (applicant) has to agree to this notwithstanding any trade or intellectual property rights that may exist with regard to such research or its results.

(4) All financial contributions by the Trust are to be acknowledged in all publications and in the results of all projects by the beneficiary of the funding from the Trust.

(5) An annual progress report has to be submitted by all beneficiaries no later than 3 months after the project has ended. Please note that dditional reports could be requested by the Trust at any time during the duration of the funding period. Any payment by the Trust to a beneficiary, based on a progress report, will only be made once the Trustees have considered and declared themselves satisfied with that report.

(6) The Trustees will in their own discretion monitor projects that are funded and may use the services of technical or research advisers, or other experts, to assist in the consideration and monitoring of such projects.

(7) If a funded project is terminated or delayed for whatsoever reason, or if there is a surplus of funds in relation to a project –

(a) the beneficiary must declare and repay the funding balance to the Trust;

(b) should the Trust find malice to be present, the beneficiary will be liable for interest on the surplus funds from the date of payment by the Trust up to the date of repayment, at the interest rate stipulated by the High Court of South Africa for outstanding debts at the time.