The conference was nearly over, and it was time to celebrate. I walked around the room and asked a few silly questions (and some serious), many of which were collected from around the room. Enjoy!

What livestock animal would you be? Why?

A grass-fed milk cow in an agroforestry system in Columbia. –S.S.

A bull in a cattle herd in Switzerland. I could go everywhere in the pastures in the mountains. It would be a Demeter farm so I would hopefully live longer.-Dr. Christoph Reiber, Uni Hohenheim

I would be a rabbit because I am so fertile. –Anonymous

What’s the difference between a crocodile and an alligator?

The teeth…the size in general, the ecosystem… -Baldur Janz, IMK-IFU

One you see in a while, and the other later.- Jessica Lloyd (the creator of the joke), Uni Hohenheim

When you started (MSc. or PhD) what did you think you would be after?

Hmmm, nothing exciting, a professor teaching at the academy. I didn’t expect to be in agriculture. Back then I was only focused on biology. -Dr. Alejandro Pieters, Venezuelan Instititute for Scientific Research

Qui est ce qui est jaunes et qui attend?

Prof. Folkard Asch shared with us his impression about how global problems increased the interest in development-oriented research and raised the number of young researchers in agricultural studies.

The chairman of ATSAF expects researchers to be engage in networking and showing their results during Tropentag 2016.

We interviewed Prof. Dr. Bernhard Freyer, head of the department of Organic Farming System at BOKU University, and head of the local organizing committee before the beginning of the opening session. He shared with us the role of Tropentag in the North-South exchange of knowledge and the expected discussion in the several organized workshops and the exceptionally large poster presentation.

Interview to Prof. Freyer

Besides Tropentag 2016, “AgroFoods and Human Values: Toward Sustainable Foodscapes & Landscapes” in 2013, “Perspektiven sozialer und ökonomischer Gerechtigkeit Perspektiven sozialer und ökonomischer Gerechtigkeit - Auf den Spuren eines Wegbereiters: 150 Jahre Rudolf Steiner” in 2011, “Building sustainable rural futures. The added value of systems approaches in times of change and uncertainty / Transdisciplinarity as a framework for integrating science and stakeholders perspectives into development processes” in 2010, and “9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau” in 2007 are only some of the several conferences he arranged and have been the chairperson of during his career.

Just one day before the Tropentag 2011 conference in Bonn, Prof. Dr. Asch of the University of Hohenheim and Chair of ATSAF, pointed out his main ambitions for this year's conference. He encourages especially the opportunities for young scientists to get in touch with colleagues, get feedback on their research and find out about jobs.