It is not simple, as demonstrated in the third oral presentation session today. But the co-production and sharing of knowledge is an important approach to create awareness, improve social-economic conditions and find appropriate technologies in different places. The challenges and barriers are numerous, as Ms. Kristina Roesel from the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya and Dr. Tom Bischof from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences emphasized on their presentations: long distances, difficulty of communication, poorness of infra-structures and cultural differences. All of these make the co-working of partnership of universities a complex task. But the benefits are undeniable, and successful cases like the e-learning platform offered by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to the University of Lubjlana in Slovenia and the University of Agricultural Sciences in India, the RELOAD project from The University of Nairobi in partnership with University of Kassel (presented by Ms. Catherine Kunyianga) and the Mytox South, created at the University of Ghent between multiple universities in sub-Saharan Africa to reduce the risk of mycotoxins contamination in food (explained by Dr. Arnau Vidal from the University of Ghent). These programs show how it is possible to offer effective solutions to complex interdisciplinary problems. Ms. Camilla Adelle, from the University of Pretoria further unraveled the issues involved on trans-disciplinary research and production of knowledge, and the role of scientists on this mutual relation.

Yes, this idea is slowly being more accepted by western societies and becoming accessible to the increasingly growing population worldwide, as we could see in some of the presentations today! Traditionally used in Asian, Latin American and African cuisines, this practice has the potential to play an important role for nutrition security, helping to attend food demand and combat hunger. Due to the limited amount of agricultural land and natural resources, there is an urgent need to find other alternatives for protein sources than conventional meat products. In some places (e.g. Kenya and Uganda), it already constitutes 5–10% of protein intake of the rural and urban populace. Also, livestock production is a leading cause of anthropogenic-induced climate change; therefore more sustainable diets are needed.

Dr. Ramon L. Espinel from the Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, ESPOL-Guayaquil, in Ecuador, started our first plenary session doing a presentation about smallholder agriculture, biodiversity and food security. He explained the aspects involved on the small-scale agricultural production, mostly done by family members aiming to combine different species of vegetables and animals to build a resilient and complete ecosystem. “Conventional agriculture” (name questioned by an audience member, since it is more industrial than actual traditional agricultural methods), creates basically extensive monocultures with intensive technology and inputs, based on the principles of the Green Revolution. Dr. Espinel stated that the results obtained on his research supports the agroecological approach, which would give an opportunity for thousands of peasants to have a living and offer good quality food for the population around.

The Tropentag 2018 Student Reporters team have an introductionary video to present themselves!

Gabriel is an Agricultural Engineer from Brazil that just arrived in Belgium to start a MSc. Program in Nutrition and Rural Development at the University of Ghent. In the past years, he had some experiences with Sustainable Agriculture that significantly changed his way of understanding food production and the use of natural resources. He is looking forward to enjoy this opportunity of studying in Europe and learn about cultural and technical aspects of food production and consumption in a different continent. He is really excited to work as a Student Reporter at Tropentag as he believes this event covers a lot of the needs for enhancing agricultural production around the world, and it will be a great start for his young career abroad.