The capacity to produce sufficient and healthy food to feed its population has become a central issue in most of the middle and low income nations. Food insecurity and poverty go together in most cases. The poor are also the vulnerable. In a study conducted in the highlands of Ethiopia, it was found that the variables (such as education level, age, etc) that play a significant factor in leading to poverty where different from those affecting vulnerability. Nevertheless, the most vulnerable are those caught in the vicious circle of poverty. It was inferred from a research conducted in Tajikistan that the heterogeneity of the effect of food crisis across different household segments (like rural, urban etc) needs to be considered at policy level to create solutions that truly have an impact. Agricultural Development – The Poverty Exit Strategy

A student initiative called FRESH (acronym for Food Revitalisation & Eco-Gastronomic Society of Hohenheim) have been working for almost two years to suggest, fundraise and conceptualize a new course module on the Ethics of Food & Nutrition Security. Among the other actions of FRESH are a very fertile organic student garden in campus and leading the dialogue for more regional, more seasonal and more ethical food in the University canteen. This is the first module of this nature in Germany, where students not only request, but are also actively involved in its design and facilitation. The course is now in the study programme of the University of Hohenheim and since Monday, September 27, open for registrations.

Agriculture science for most people has this name of being bad, of being about pollution, about large-scale, about the destruction of the environment. That is not necessary. We need more science and not less. And we need good science. But there is something we must do. It's not enough to say "Let's get more bold science into agriculture." We ourselves must go back, and think about our own food chain. We need to think differently about our science as a whole. Every meal we eat contains ingredients from all across the world. Everything makes us so privileged, that we can eat this food, that we don't struggle every day. And that, evolutionarily-speaking, is unique. We've never had that before. This is why it's time for agricutural scientists to stand for responsible agriculture and food consumption, as they are crucial to world stability. Enjoy the talk of Louise Fresco, a powerful thinker and sustainability advisor, on feeding the whole world. She says environmentally sound mass production will feed the world, yet leaving a role for small scalers and traditional methods.

Over a glass of wine and around a table is where bonds are usually established and ideas are born. The Canteen of the University of Zurich hosted the conference dinner of Tropentag 2010. After a full day of intensive discussions on the future of agriculture, food and nutrition, climate change and natural resources participants were able to enjoy a relaxing moment of interacting and networking. Yet another typical “Mensa-Food”: queues of people with trays on hand, three menus of Swiss beef with vegetables, a mushroom curry over couscous and an Asian Wok, all-year-round-salad and 3-CHF-beer marked this Tropentag’s culinary gathering. Food is what links us in Agricultural Sciences. The food we eat, how we eat it and where we source it from has an apparent effect on the ecosystems, the economies and culture somewhere in the world. A future challenge in combating world hunger, promoting food and nutrition security and food justice is to uphold some basic ethical principles of sustainability and implement them into science, education, agriculture, politics, industry, society as well as into our own eating habits. Whether it is in our personal lives or in our university canteens. Or is it something that can be forgotten over a glass of Calvados on the banks of Limmat?

OLUYEDE C. AJAYI: What has Path Dependence got to do with Smallholder Farmers' Decision to Adopt Agricultural Technologies? Lessons from Côte d'Ivoire As the farmers' technology choices are not only determined on geographic and soil characteristics, but also on historical interventions and policies, old habits of the farmers can not just be changed by new technologies. It's important to compare standard practices like the pesticide use in the cotton sector of Côte d'Ivoire with new options: not only the potential of new technologies should be faced, but also incentives to change. ATAHARUL HUQ CHOWDHURY: Learning through Moving Pictures: Farmer-to-Farmer Video to Stimulate Farmers' Innovations about Botanical and Alternative Pest Management Practices in Bangladesh Atarahul Huq Chowdhury, BOKU Vienna (www.cdr.boku.ac), presents his research on learning through videos in Bangladesh