Working with smallholder farmers in Nepal, Pramila Thapa has seen the importance in combining development and research activities. Originally from Nepal, she is finishing her first year of a master’s degree in Sustainable International Agriculture at Gottingen University in Germany. Her first degree was also in Agriculture. Now focusing on agribusiness, she has previous experience in integrated pest management and market access, crafting success stories for her work with a national Nepalese NGO. As a student reporter, she hopes to link scientific outcomes and the dissemination of findings to on-the-ground realities. Through participation in the Tropentag conference, she also hopes to improve her own understanding of the range of research taking place around the world related to tropical and semi-tropical agriculture, in order to bring back lessons for her own country.