Tropentag

 20 - 22 September 2017. Bonn, Germany. Tropentag 2017: Future Agriculture: Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts.

The annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management and rural development (TROPENTAG) was jointly organised by the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Göttingen, Hohenheim, Kassel-Witzenhausen, Hamburg, ZALF e.V., ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (Czech Republic), BOKU Vienna (Austria) and the

Council for Tropical and Subtropical Research (ATSAF e.V) in co-operation with the GIZ Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (BEAF).

It was attended by 825 participants from 58 countries.

The Tropentag is a development-oriented and interdisciplinary conference. It addresses issues of resource management, environment, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, nutrition and related sciences in the context of rural development, sustainable resource use and poverty alleviation

H.E.M Monty Jones

worldwide.

Agricultural systems in developing countries are currently undergoing drastic changes. What are the implications of such developments and change processes for food security, resource base quality, rural well-being, and in general for the future of agriculture? These questions and related topics were addressed in plenary presentations and key note lectures in thematic sessions.

Extract of the programme
Wednesday, September 20th

Workshop 8: The economics of improving seed systems of small scale farmers in developing countries

The purpose of the workshop was to come to a good understanding of the difficulties small-scale farmers face with the current trends in seed systems and to determine which opportunities they have to address these challenges.

Elisha O.Gogo Egerton Univ
Godfrey Nambafu Kenyatta Univ
Erick Maina, Egerton Univ

• Seed business vs. seed tradition: Commercial vs. subsistence crops, What are the economically most important quality deficiencies of seed presently used by small farmers? Under which conditions (crops, farming systems) are formal and informal systems and combinations profitable? How can you build and improve on farmers' present seed systems?
• Varietal portfolio: High yielding varieties vs. varieties adapted to present (often low) production intensity, homogenous crops vs. high genetic variability? How can small farmers get access to new varieties? Is a formally organized seed value chain a condition for this? Is dependency from supplier of seed a serious risk?
• Food security : What is the impact of the shift in seed systems on food security? How important is agro-biodiversity regarding food security?
• Seed policies: Role of quality and certification of seed. Formal vs. informal seed systems. How can policies support good quality seed for farmers? How can we best take into account farmers’ practices? How to ensure that seed is available and affordable to small-holder farmers?
• Influence of output markets on seed systems: How do output markets and market orientation of farmers shape the prevailing seed system in different crops? How do output markets influence the varietal portfolio of farmers?

Konrad Adler JLI
Christine Schwake, MRI

Crop biotic stresses
Postersession:

Juliet Akello, IITA Zambia

Awareness and Perception about the Occurrence, Causes and Consequences of Aflatoxin Contamination and the Willingness to Pay of Aflatoxin Control in Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo 

Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Influence of Farming Systems on Aflatoxin Contamination of Groundnut Crops under Field Conditions in Zambia

Dorothea Link, Christine Schwake (MRI)
Juliet Akello

Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Networking on Aflatoxin Reduction in the Food Value Chain - AflaNet (Kenya) 
Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Aflatoxin Distribution in Crop Products from Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Thursday, September 21st
Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts

• Formal and Informal Potato Seed Supply Systems Analyses in Rwanda Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Knowledge systems
Oral presentations session:

• Integration of Local and Academic Knowledge to Enhance Agroecological Production of African Indigenous Vegetables (Kenya) Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Agricultural and food technology
Oral presentations

• Vacuum Storage to Protect Durable Stored Products at Different Moisture Contents  Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Value chains
Oral presentations session:

• Value Chain Governance of African Indigenous Vegetables: Smallholders Participation in Kenya Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Posters:

• Enhancing Skill-Sharing within Multi-Stakeholder Processes: An Example from the Small-Scale Dairy Chain in Kenya  Web-Version (html)
• Sustainable Intensification Pathways for Dairy Farming in Kenya Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf) — poster (pdf)

Thursday, September 21st
BMEL session

Chair: Henning Knipschild, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), International Cooperation and Global Food Security
Diversified Agriculture for a Balanced Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa – Projects Supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, BMEL Abstract (ID 1108 ): Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

• How to Make Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Work? Experiences of the NutriHAF Project in SW-Ethiopia  Abstract (ID 202 ): Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)
• Urban Agriculture in Mozambique and South Africa. First Evidence from a Complex Research Project  Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)
• Food Security in Rural Zambia: Integrating Traditional Fruit and Vegetable Crops in Smallholder Agroforestry Systems Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)
• Improving Community Health-Nutrition Linkages through Solar Energy Based Fish and Crop Integrated Value Chains Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)



Kick-Off meeting for the project "Ich liebe Fisch" 

• Improving Agricultural Extension to Promote Nutrition-Sensitive Innovation: Insights from a Randomised Experiment in Kenya Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)

Thursday, September 21st

GIZ session

Put Agricultural Research into Use to Accelerate the Impact on Income and Productivity for Farmers

 From l to r: CHRISTINA KETTER, TILAHUN AMEDE,
ANDREA WILHELMI-SOMé, MARC BERNARD:

• (Example Benin) : Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)
• Innovations Don't Fly – Engaging Young Professionals as Service Providers to Accelerate Adoption and Impact at Large Scale : Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)
• Enhancing Resilience of Communities in Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Systems by Using Water-Spreading Weirs as a Rainwater Management Strategy (Example Ethiopia) Web-Version (html) — Print Version (pdf)