Tropentag 2019 - Student blog - Student Reporter 2015

Stoking the Fire

Rachel Friedman — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 23:33:46 +0000

“We are going to have a controversial discussion, but a respectful one.”

I had been waiting for some conflict and controversy...for nearly three days. It was decidedly inconspicuous at a conference bearing those very words in its title. But now, here was conference organizer Stefan Sieber promising that controversy in the closing keynotes and plenary. The speakers, and their topics of choice, followed one of the most fundamental debates in the fields of agriculture and rural development - pitting the core philosophies around technology dissemination and institutional support versus grassroots innovation and social movements against one another.

Some Expert Opinions: Chatting with the IITA

Rachel Friedman — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 05:45:57 +0000

“We are placing research within development...These models are new, but I think they are working.” Bernard Vanlauwe from IITA argued during his closing keynote. Emerging mechanisms to approach agricultural research and how to link it to on-the-ground application were themes across the Centre’s research.
Each year at Tropentag, one of the research centres of the CGIAR* is featured as a means of forging collaboration and furthering research for development. This year, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) filled that role, and works through partnerships and with farmers to improve food security and livelihoods. As the focal organization, IITA brought along a dozen or so experts, some of whom spared a moment to impart a few words of wisdom. Continue...

One Woman's Different Story of Tropentag

Grace Mwaura — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 19:41:51 +0000

Did you leave Tropentag wondering if tropical agriculture is still your future career? Well, you were in the right place, because the student reporters caught up with one woman whose career path might just inspire you. Dr. Ajantha Perera, an Assistant Professor at Fiji National University, and the only one from Oceania participating at the Tropentag conference this year answered a few questions about her career and her motivation to fly thousands of miles for Tropentag. Continue...

The Importance of a Cow

Michela — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 16:19:42 +0000

Who has attended the oral session "Cattle diseases in dairy herds in Tanzania” by Silvia Alonso, from the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, got maybe the testimony that taking a closer look at the livestock sector in Tanzania – but not only in Tanzania – can bring some evidence about its potential benefits and wide social impacts. Continue...

Reducing Transaction Cost helps Rural Farmers!

Regie — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:42:57 +0000

A poster about "Transaction Costs in Indigenous Vegetable Marketing: Evidence from Rural and Peri-Urban Areas in Kenya" was presented on the second day of the Tropentag 2015 in Berlin. The person behind this valuable topic is from Leibniz Universität Hannover. He is Christopher Kiprono (27) and he is competing for this year's Value Chain poster. Continue...

Room for Growth

Suzanne Myada — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:41:45 +0000

If there is one thing that all of the presenters at the Tropentag 2015 guided poster session V on "Value Chain Analysis and Marketing II" agree on, it is the truth that there is a lot of room for growth, development and advancement in various stages of the value chain and in marketing of agricultural products in the tropics. Continue...

Awarding for Excellence in Agricultural Research

Rachel Friedman — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:32:30 +0000

Every year, the Stiftung Fiat Panis awards a number of prizes to PhD and masters students in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for exemplary theses related to food security. Professor Dr. Hans-Hartwig Ruthenberg, after whom the award is named, was a tropical and subtropical agronomist from Germany. Tropentag hosts the award ceremony, to acknowledge bright young minds, innovation, and excellence. This year’s three recipients demonstrate the interdisciplinarity of the topic of food security, drawing together health and nutrition, climate and weather, and ecology. Ramona Molitor: “Testing the fetal origins hypothesis: The case of rainfall shocks in India”, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Dominic Meise: “Food Security in Stung Treng, Cambodia - An Empirical Assessment”. Leibniz Universität Hannover Sarah Fischer: “The baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) in southern Kenya - A study on status, distribution, use, and importance in Taita-Taveta County”, Universität Hohenheim **Photo coming shortly

New All-time Record of Tropentag Participants

Philip Testroet — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:28:36 +0000

We just reached over 1000 participants here at Tropentag 2015 in Berlin! This is a new all-time record. Last year in Prague there were 686 participants from 66 countries. Next year the Tropentag host will be Vienna, Austria. See all statistics at ATSAF homepage here

Morning Cuppa: The Agroforestry Behind Our Coffee Breaks

Rachel Friedman — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 07:10:42 +0000

At conferences, we live for coffee breaks. They are the times when we take a breather from presentation after presentation, the places where we meet new people and reconnect with old colleagues, and of course the spot to refuel. For many of us, that sustenance of choice is coffee, and (at least in my book) chocolate-covered biscuits are the best complement. That’s all pretty standard for organized events. But what makes the coffee breaks at a meeting like Tropentag unique is the array of experts present to relay the story behind the coffee, tea, biscuits, and fruit.
So as I wandered around posters this morning, it struck me that these studies are not merely relevant to those specific geographies or ecosystems and to the local people and communities. There are also ties not very far removed from life outside of our study sites. And yet, we don’t always or even often think about what lies beyond the mug when sipping at a conference venue. Continue...

Can Science Truly Solve Conflicts?

Suzanne Myada — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:41:11 +0000

We all agree that science can do a lot of good. Everyday we see and experience its positive impacts in various facets such as healthcare, nutrition and technology. In Tropentag 2015's session tagged "Cooperation and Conflict Management", a wide range of research and studies showing the role of science were presented and discussed. The audience is a big part of all sessions in Tropentag Continue...