Who should manage the forest, the people or the forest corporation? In Indonesia, State Forest Corporation (SFC) has been granted by the authority to manage the teak forest on Java Island. There is currently an emerging conflict about the usage of teak forest between the corporation and the villagers. Over 30 years, the teak forest in Java has been controlled by the SFC and the only way that the community can have access is through the Collaborative Forest Management Program (CFMP). “The general impression is nothing really changed in Java” - Wiene Andriyana told the audience during the parallel plenary sessions on natural resources management. (Continue...)

“Agroecology is a science discipline; it is also an agricultural practice and is even a social movement, with believers and non-believers”. (Continue...)

Conservation agriculture (CA) has been advocated by many scientists as the solution for sustainable agricultural production. Indeed, finding of many research project support it and it can also be seen at Poster Sessions of Tropentag2014, where successful examples were given: applying no-tillage farming had a positive influence for Acrisols in Brazil, mulching application in Kenya provided better water retention or combination of technics increased yields in Mexico. However, a case study from R. Romero-Perezgrovas says, that on 6% of increase in soil fertility on the one hand, farmer would get 50% weeds in his field. (Continue...)

Welcome to Tropentag 2014

“Are we going to talk about nationality or internationality?” asked Michal Lošťák, Vice-Rector of CULS, as he welcomed the crowded assembly to Tropentag yesterday. Taking the conference theme of ‘gaps’ to be ‘bridged,’ he focused on gaps between perspectives from different cultures. “A scientific community operates across borders,” he continued, “[it is] interesting to hear how African students agree or disagree with European students.” While I agree that points of conflict are intellectually illuminating, for me something was missing in all the introductory speeches at the Plenary session yesterday. (Continue...)

“It’s about making livestock systems more sustainable,” Jimmy Smith said about the research undertaken by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Speaking at the Tropentag conference this year in Prague, Smith stressed that smallholder livestock producers can meet the growing demand of animal products in developing countries. What is required, however, is a system transformation. In order to be sustainable, such a transformation would result increased productivity with limited resources, or in Smith’s words, “producing more with less.” (Continue...) Blog post by Pramila Thapa and Rachel Friedman

This year’s Tropentag is taking place at Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic. Over 800 participants from 70 different countries composed of students, professors, researchers and private individuals attending the said conference. I had have been asking about that myself why a lot of people are interested to attend said conference. So I end up with the question has this something to do with the place because it’s Prague or the idea of conference itself?