Tropentag 2019 - Student blog blogs

Anything birds eat, human can eats!

Ahmed — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 11:25:21 +0000

“May be, I would try insects, but caterpillars mmh!” one person was heard in the gathering......................

Did you know that insects and caterpillars are also food for human? My grandmother once told me “anything birds eat, human can eats! “According to Christian Ratompoarison and others findings, there are about 65 edible insects identified in Madagascar. Strange?

Insects and caterpillars were considered as food for poor households or communities during the famines. Surprisingly, the trend is now changing worldwide. In Tropentag 2019, number of researchers presented their research findings about edible insects and caterpillars in Africa and Asia. Edible insects and caterpillars form sustainable ecosystem between environments and nutrition. Case studies from Madagascar, Myanmar, Kenya and Uganda were presented during the poster sessions in Tropentag 2019.

Policy briefs would simplify science: are policymakers and scientists ready?...

Ahmed — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 13:41:14 +0000

Science and other knowledge are not used effectively in the policymaking process. Most of the time, there is a disconnect between scientists and politicians, they contradict each other due to different values related to their involvement in the science-policy interface.

Immaculate N. Maina- County Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Nakuru County, Kenya was among the keynote speaker who gave a great speech on Scientific knowledge transfer and the Science-Policy Interface: Bridging the Gaps and Overcoming the Traps ” Scientists need opportunities to engage with policy makers. For instance, the Tropentag conference could be one of the platforms. Having open dialogues can enhance the knowledge hence understanding in the policymaking process. The academic research findings are to be consumables to the community not just end in conferences and publications.” - Immaculate N. Maina

The Most Sustainable Tropentag Ever

lloyd — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 08:08:43 +0000

Sustainability is founded on the three pillars: economics, environmentalism and social consciousness. The efforts to create a more sustainable conference at this year’s Tropentag cannot be unnoted.

Empowering the next generation of food security innovators

Martinelli — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 07:48:00 +0000

“This is the most connected generation of our entire history”, said Bianca Costa, an inspiring Brazilian student I met (from many others!) today at Tropentag. In a fun interview in Portuguese, she explained that this is the reason why Though for Food believes young entrepreneurs will change the world, or rather, the food production world.

As an ambassador of this NGO, Bianca came to Tropentag to tell young innovators that their ideas have value. More precisely, $10,000. Thought for Food awards young entrepreneurs working for food security, not only in Germany but all over the world. Interested? So be prepared: the TFF Challenge opens on October 16th. The best ideas will receive access to digital labs, mentoring programs and network opportunities, besides the final prize: $2500, $5000 and $10,000 to kick off their projects.

Certified coffee, good for the planet?

Martinelli — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 07:35:27 +0000

You crave coffee, go to the market and must choose between two options: fairtrade organic versus non-certified coffee. The first option costs few cents more, but as the conscious consumer you are, you decide to choose the first one. You go home happy with your coffee and satisfied for your positive impact in the world. Right?

Not so fast, consumer. Research findings from the Division of Bioeconomics at KU Leuven showed that Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) for food production, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, might not deliver all the benefits they promise. By looking at economic and ecological indicators in two coffee producer countries, Ethiopia and Uganda, they discovered that VSS do bring positive effects but, for each benefit they bring, a drawback is generated: the famous trade-offs!

Hemp: grow it, not burn it!

Oladokun — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 16:23:12 +0000

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.

Biological and economical battle of legumes and cereals..

Ahmed — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 14:23:26 +0000

In the recent past decades, most funding programs and agricultural subsidies from both government and donors have been focused on cash crops such as cereals, to overcome food security rather than nutrition security. Less had been done to promote and empower legume farmers. The debate was raised during the ICARDA workshop session to get the opinions whether The intensification of cereals will make legumes economically unattractive to farmers!. “People don’t eat only cereals, they eat cereals products with legumes therefore, I think the demand will increase at the same pace”…”As cereals will be more in the markets, the price will be lower and the price of legumes will boom”… What do you think?!

Surprisingly, legumes are imported from Canada to Algeria! The similar trend had been observed in Morocco. Algeria's and Morocco’s main crops are cereals, mainly wheat and barley. Why not crop rotation? It's possible past crop failure due to diseases and pests and labour demand could be the traps for this trend in Algeria and Morocco. However, more evidence is needed.

Fearing Climate change? Farmers are the future…..

Ahmed — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 09:59:52 +0000

“Under climate change environment it is real hard to forecast the future, farmers are the future”. The statement was given by Maik Veste from FarmImpact project in South Africa.

CLIENT II is an International Partnerships for Sustainable Innovation" project funded by Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and aims to promote international partnerships in the fields of climate, environment and energy. German experts and partners in Africa and Asia come and work together to achieve the project goals.

Can Scientist have fun? Case study: #Tropentag2019 Conference Dinner

Oladokun — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 08:48:42 +0000

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.

“I’m sorry for your loss. May I check your pig?”

Martinelli — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 07:06:20 +0000

Does it sound cruel? If you said yes, researchers from Friedrich-Loeffler Institute agree with you. They had to go back to after-ebola-outbreak regions to perform a sorology research and here is what they went through.

All of us remember of the 2014-2016 ebola outbreak in West Africa. It was the largest in history leaving more than 10 thousand deaths behind. Although people are not in such high risk anymore, livestock animals such pigs and sheep might still be vulnerable to the disease and threaten local food security. That is why scientists funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) decided to go back to those most affected areas in past and collect animal samples. How would you feel however if a stranger asks to check your animals out after losing a beloved one from the same disease?