ACIAR Awards Eight New Graduate Scholarships at FNU

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and Research Office, FNU take great pleasure in congratulating the eight recipients of the 2025 ACIAR Pacific Agriculture Scholarship Support and Climate Resilience (PASS-CR) awards! These awards go a long way in helping postgraduate students to contribute to our research in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and related developmental areas. The recipients come from a large pool of excellent candidates, and we are grateful for the interest shown by them in continuing their studies at FNU.

ACIAR’s Pacific postgraduate scholarships are offered in the Pacific, to Pacific Islanders. This enables scholars to research on challenges confronting the region, to build professional networks and proffer solutions, while remaining close to family and culture.

The PASS-CR Program aims to strengthen the Pacific agricultural innovation systems through building on the strengths of Pacific universities and their regional partners. It sits within ACIAR’s Pacific Capacity Building Strategy and is part of the Australian Government’s support to the South Pacific islands.

The following candidates were successful in the 2025 round:

Mr. Ratu Penaia Vosawai, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Developing wild Turmeric cultivars to boost their production and economic returns for Fiji under the supervision of Dr. Ilisoni Leweniqila, Dr. Hirdesh Sachan, Dr. Deeksha Krishna (FNU), and Dr. Francis Ogbonnaya from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia.

Ms. Ashmita Prasad, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Evaluating the effects of bitter ginger on physiological responses, behaviour, growth performance, blood status, and gut health of broiler chickens under the supervision of Dr. Archibold Bakare (FNU), Dr. Ashika Devi (FNU), Dr. Kosar Gharib-Naseri from the University of New England (UNE), Australia and Dr. Anthony Keyburn from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Ms. Alissa Offa, Masters by Research under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Transformation pathways for Pacific coastal food systems under the supervision of Dr. Ravinesh Ram (FNU) and Dr. Federico Davila from University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia.

Ms. Salote Berwick, Masters by Research under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Evaluating growth, yield, quality, and economic viability of wild and commercial turmeric cultivars in Fiji under the supervision of Dr. Hirdesh Sachan (FNU) and Dr. Francis Ogbonnaya from (GRDC, Australia).

Mr. John Chief, Masters by Research under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Comparison of organic, inorganic, and integrated nutrient amendments in enhancing soil health and productivity using eggplant in the Ra Province, Fiji of Dr. Hirdesh Sachan, Dr. Deeksha Krishna (FNU) and Dr. Christopher Guppy (UNE, Australia).

Ms. Jasnita Ali, Masters by Research under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Influence of governance, policy and rural to urban migration of people on the fisheries sector of Fiji under the supervision of Dr. Ravinesh Ram (FNU) and Prof. Kate Barclay (UTS, Australia).

Mr. Ashneel Kumar, Masters by Research under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Improving soil nutrient availability and crop productivity using organic amendments in degraded tropical soil of Western Viti Levu, Fiji under the supervision of Dr. Hirdesh Sachan (FNU) and Dr. Christopher Guppy (UNE, Australia).

Mr. Erol Harley, Master of Science in Agriculture under the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF), to research into Utilization of high dietary copra and palm kernel-based diets with different levels of enzyme supplementation on performance of broilers under the supervision of Dr. Ashika Devi, Dr. Archibold Bakare (FNU) and Dr. Kosar Gharib-Naseri (UNE, Australia).

The ACIAR and Research Office congratulate the recipients in this round and look forward to supporting them in their studies. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof Paul Iji, expressed his gratitude for this continued support by the ACIAR, and looks forward to more support into the future. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Unaisi Nabobo-Baba, also thanked the ACIAR, particularly for maintaining gender balance in the awards, which currently support more than 20 students at FNU. The new contract will support close to 40 new awards in the coming five years.

Ms. Varsha Dutt
ACIAR Graduate and Scholarships Officer
Research Office, FNU.