Fertiberia promotes agronomic research with the 28th edition of its Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis
- The competition recognises theses awarded the highest honours and defended at universities in Spain and Portugal, and maintains a total endowment of €30,000, ranking among Europe’s most highly endowed awards for agronomic research.
- The call for entries distinguishes work on fertilisation, soils and soil amendments, as well as research linked to other areas of agricultural activity.
- The submission period will remain open until 30 May 2026.
Madrid, 17th February 2026. Fertiberia announces the 28th edition of the “Fertiberia Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Agricultural Topics”, an initiative aimed at fostering research talent and highlighting the value of scientific knowledge applied to the development of the agri-food sector.
Established as an annual award in 1996, it is organised in collaboration with the Official Association of Agronomists of the Centre and Canary Islands (COIACC) and the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), and has become one of the leading calls for agronomic research in the Iberian sphere.
- Submitted theses must be directly related to fertilisation, soils and soil amendments, although the jury may also consider research linked to other areas of agricultural activity.
The evaluation will take into account the potential impact of the results, their applicability, implications for Spanish and European agriculture, and the degree of innovation.
Theses defended at universities in Spain and Portugal may be submitted, with no nationality restrictions and with no requirement to assign or restrict rights over the awarded work. The theses will be assessed by a jury of recognised academic and professional standing, which will be announced when the decision is made public. As an academic requirement, the highest grade is mandatory: “sobresaliente cum laude” for theses submitted in Spain and “aprovado com distinção” for those submitted in Portugal. Candidate doctoral theses must also have been defended during the 2024/2025 academic year.
The submission deadline will remain open until 30 May 2026. The rules of the award can be downloaded from the Grupo Fertiberia website.
The total endowment amounts to €30,000. The winning thesis will receive a prize of €22,000, with €14,000 awarded to the author and €8,000 to the supervisor responsible for academic oversight. In addition, an honourable mention (accésit) may be awarded, endowed with €8,000 (€5,000 for the author and €3,000 for the supervisor), which may be granted ex aequo; in the case of co-supervision, the amount allocated to the supervisor(s) will be split equally.
Interested applicants must send a USB copy of the doctoral thesis as defended, together with the published works linked to it, a curriculum vitae, certification from the institution confirming the grade awarded, and the completed and signed data protection document, to:
- Fertiberia (Calle Agustín de Foxá, 27, Floors 8–11, 28036 Madrid), indicating the reference “Premio FERTIBERIA” on the envelope.
Twenty-eight editions supporting research talent in the agricultural sector
Since its creation, the Fertiberia Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Agricultural Topics has strengthened, edition after edition, its commitment to research and the sector’s development. Across these 28 calls, the competition has already assessed close to 500 doctoral theses from universities and research centres in Spain and Portugal and has allocated to this recognition a cumulative endowment close to one million euros, helping to foster scientific talent and research capacity in the field of agronomy.
