Danilo Crispim Massuela shares a compelling revelation about the potentials of Hemp as a socio-economic driver via his oral presentation at the #Tropentag2019.



The legality of hemp production continues to be a subject of global contention, as it varies widely across different countries. Danilo’s oral presentation takes us on a mental journey to the Quilombola Communities of the Brazilian São Francisco Valley, where hemp production should not be considered an option but a matter of necessity. This region is the highest producer of Cannabis in the country but rural poverty, hunger, social inequalities and food insecurity are the realities on the ground. This community are literarily so rich, yet so poor.

S.Oladokun and F. Martinelli
Student Reporter at the Tropentag 2019 Conference, Kassel, Germany

This study aimed to question the long-standing premise that “scientists are boring”. We hypothesize that given the right conditions, place and time; the fun in scientist can be unleashed.

The study location was the Bio-Restaurant Weissenstein, at the University of Kassel, venue of the conference dinner of the 2019 Tropentag Annual Conference. The program started at 19:45h with live music from the stables of FitzPassing. The FitzPassing live band consist of Vincent Wolf (guitar) and Lisa Karkos (singer), who are inspired by the works of the great jazz musicians Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Other local experimental conditions include; an indoor temperature of 18C and 50% humidity. At least seven types of intercontinental buffet service were available, with a supply of drinks ranging from red wine, beers, fruit and fizzy drinks. Dessert was described to be as much as the desert sand. The study population in attendance was 560. A mixed model approach involving the use of photography evidence and sample interview was used to test study hypothesis.

Approximately 239 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa could be free from micronutrient deficiency, if only they chew on the nutrient laden sap of the tasty insects around them. Nils Nölle poster at the #Tropentag 2019 highlights this and more.



While the potential of insects to serve as alternative protein sources is already gaining reasonable traction, Nils Nölle, a student of the University of Hohenheim, chose to sail uncharted waters. His objective was to investigate the potentials of edible insects to combat hidden hunger, a less researched area. Using target edible insect species that included long-horned grasshopper, edible cricket, shea butter caterpillar, cabbage tree emperor moth and Zambezi emperor moth from Kenya and Uganda; samples were analysed for provitamins (vitamin B2 and carotenoids) and dietary minerals.

The leaves we trample on may very much bring the end to plastic paper bags used in shopping. Ms Barbara Götz, PhD student at the University of Bonn got to share her research work with #Tropentag2019 audience.



People always say the solutions to problems lies within; we only need to look inward to project them outward. I guess this is not just a cliché, Ms. Barbara Götz has taken a step backward to project forward sustainable solution to plastic pollution. By digging deep into the potential of leaves; common food packaging material that has been well used over centuries in Africa, she might be using old ways to solve the problem of the present and as well the future. Microbiologist by academic background, she was and is still concerned about issues pertaining to #zerowaste, #antimicrobialresistance, #zerohunger and #sustainability. She is also enthusiastic about travelling and learning other cultures. Little did she know that her passions were setting her up for something worthwhile.

Shocking! You think? This was the reality shared by Jacques Wery, the Deputy Director and Director of Research of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Egypt; a keynote speaker at this year’s Tropentag.

Two outstanding master theses on the theme of food security were centre stage at the Tropentag 2019 opening ceremony.



Hundreds of people at the #Tropentag2019 stood still to reward academic hard-work, dedication and innovation, as the 21st edition of the Hans H. Ruthenberg - Graduate Award was given out. This prestigious award, instituted in honour of the famous German Agriculturist- Prof. Dr. Hans-Hartwig Ruthenberg, has been awarded to 54 recipients since 1999 for outstanding scholarly work on food security.

30 youths from over 15 countries gathered to proffer youthful solutions to global agriculture challenges at the Tropentag 2019.


The 21st edition of the largest gathering on tropical and subtropical agriculture, Tropentag, kick-started today with a pre-conference workshop titled “Supporting youth in agriculture and research: Role of youth-based organisations”. This session was facilitated by two #YouthinAg centred organisation; YPARD and Agrinatura. With global youth membership over 16,000 and support from FAO and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, YPARD has been providing #YouthinAg support and mentorship for the past 11 years. The Agrinatura also plays the same role with the support received from major European research and education stakeholders. If you would agree with me, the session was facilitated by competent hands.

Meet the Brazilian saving her forests.


Not all heroes wear capes they say, it is certainly not every day you meet dream chasers; this is what Tropentag associated with, telling the special stories of those trying to save our planet.

It was an exciting experience getting to meet the young Miss Feranada Martinelli, one of the student reporters at the Tropentag 2019. She is on a mission to save the depleting natural resources of South-eastern Brazil, a biome believed to contain more biodiversity than the famous Brazilian Amazon. This passion was borne out of a childhood love for plants and animals. This in turn led to her earning a bachelor of Biology from the University of Viçosa, where she continuously questioned the status quo. Why am I thinking about birds and tree species, when I can not ascertain their availability tomorrow? After all, questions and not answers create knowledge.

On graduation, she got to pursue her passion by working with Conservation International.