Grace Mwaura's blog

Goodbye Berlin, Welcome Vienna!

Grace Mwaura — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 22:24:38 +0000

It is time to say goodbye from the Student Reporters. We had a great time learning and reporting for Tropentag 2015. Check out our closing video with highlights of the closing plenary and ceremony. Keep checking the Tropentag website for details of the next Tropentag in Vienna, and for the students, look out for the call to become a student reporter. It is a worthwhile experience!

One Woman's Different Story of Tropentag

Grace Mwaura — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 19:41:51 +0000

Did you leave Tropentag wondering if tropical agriculture is still your future career? Well, you were in the right place, because the student reporters caught up with one woman whose career path might just inspire you. Dr. Ajantha Perera, an Assistant Professor at Fiji National University, and the only one from Oceania participating at the Tropentag conference this year answered a few questions about her career and her motivation to fly thousands of miles for Tropentag. Continue...

Gender Conversations at Tropentag

Grace Mwaura — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:47:56 +0000

Brave Ndisale, FAO

In our earlier post, we highlighted the subject of gender and land tenure as discussed by the Tropentag keynote speaker, Brave Ndisale. A gathering of researchers and development practitioners also presented research posters addressing issues of gender and land tenure, value chains, and collective action drawing from case studies in Nigeria, Sudan, Ecuador, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana. Continue...

The Tropentag of Controversies

Grace Mwaura — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:43:25 +0000

A heightened debate marked the opening of the Tropentag conference with scholars, researchers, and development organizations confronting the complexity of addressing food insecurity, climate vulnerabilities, and gender disparities.

Thomas Pogge, a Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, contested the current methods used by organizations, such as the FAO, to measure food insecurity and hunger, thereby informing the international commitments to address world’s hunger and food insecurity.

Thomas Pogge

Pogge argued that, because such organizations are government-funded, methods for measuring and setting targets, maybe politically influenced, and thus interfere with the reality of food security while moving the goal posts of commitments, such as the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. Another controversy raised by Pogge was with FAO’s definition of food security, which considers energy availability but fails to address the deficiency of other nutrients.

Continue...