(Updated 19th May 2025)
Please be advised that a strike has been announced for Monday, 20 May, which may affect public transport services across Belgium, including trains, trams, and buses.
Train Travel
While there may be a reduced train service, getting from Brussels to Ghent should still be possible. We recommend the following route:
Zaventem Airport → Brussels Midi → Gent Sint Pieters Station
You can check real-time updates and train availability here: Belgian Train Website
Local Transport in Ghent
Local trams and buses operated by De Lijn may also face disruptions. Real-time updates are available here: De Lijn Website
If local public transport proves difficult, taxis and Ubers from Gent Sint Pieters station to the city centre are a reliable and affordable alternative, typically costing €10–15.
We encourage you to plan your journey and allow extra time for travel on Monday.
We look forward to seeing you soon in Ghent for the General Assembly.
Travel grants: At this year’s 4th Agrinatura Conference, four outstanding proposals will each receive special recognition in the form of a €500 travel grant, generously provided by Agrinatura EEIG. This initiative aims to support excellence in research and innovation for agrifood system transformation.
Please note that the grant is intended to support travel-related costs, and only applicants who genuinely require financial support will be considered during the selection process.
Recipients must be official members of Agrinatura and PhD students (the hosting country cannot participate). Selected awardees will be notified by email and, by accepting the scholarship, agree to have their proposal published on the Agrinatura website.
Venue:
Ghent University
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
Coupure Links 653, Ghent, Belgium
Conference time: 21-22 May 2025
The overarching theme of the conference is tailored towards the bioeconomy of tropical commodities. A bio-based economy relies on renewable biological resources, such as crops, forests, animals, and microorganisms, to produce food, feed, materials, and energy. Bio-based economy aims to reduce dependence on fossil resources, mitigate climate change, and foster sustainable development. As a result, it encompasses a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, health, and biotechnology.
Tropical commodity value chains are crucial in a bio-based economy. However, the ever-increasing demand for tropical commodities like maize, cassava, rice, cocoa, coffee, rubber, soy, oil palm, and cattle impacts tropical landscapes and drives forest degradation. In this respect, the forthcoming yet evolving European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to balance bio-based production and natural capital conservation. However, EUDR will only have an impact if also local and emerging markets are considered.
This conference serves as a multidisciplinary dialogue platform, drawing expertise from areas such as forest conservation and restoration, ecology, governance, entrepreneurship, policy, traceability, climate change, and sustainable agricultural intensification. It offers you a platform to showcase results and experience how science-policy interfaces should work.
Engage in cutting-edge discussions and collaborations aimed at creating deforestation-free and sustainable commodity value chains. Let’s shape a future where economic growth, social justice, and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. Be part of this pivotal dialogue at the Agrinatura General Assembly 2025 and contribute to the sustainable transformation of tropical agriculture, food systems, and trade.
Call for papers and important dates
Join us at the Agrinatura Conference, organized as part of the Agrinatura General Assembly 2025, where we welcome researchers, PhD students, development agencies, and policymakers from around the world.
Besides invited speakers and organized discussion sessions, the core of the conference will be the presentation of contributed papers that illustrate the contributions of member institutes, projects, and individual scientists to Sustainable development in the Global South. The conference aims to provide a forum for PhD students and post-doc researchers to present either orally or in poster sessions their work in the Global South targeting the sustainable value chains via collaborative solutions for responsible agri-food systems:
-Integrated soil, and water management; Nexus Water-Energy-Food
– Forestry and protected areas
– Nutrition, OneHealth
– Technological and institutional innovation
– Plant and animal production, including pests and diseases
– Agroecology, Agroforestry and Agrobiodiversity
– Food systems and sustainable transitions
– Development of sustainable value chains
– Policy and governance
To be eligible for an oral or poster presentation, please send an abstract (see template) of max. 1 page with the name of presenter and other authors, affiliations, introduction, problem statement, research plan and methodology, and (provisional) results to Secretary General Dr Mabel Hernandez at secretariat@agrinatura-eu.eu and Susanna Rokka (LUKE) (susanna.rokka@luke.fi) until April 4th 2025. Abstracts will be evaluated by the Conference Scientific Committee based on contribution to the topic of the conference, thematic area, scientific interest, novelty, and quality. Selected papers will be grouped by topic in thematic sessions for oral or poster presentation. Authors will be adverted by April 15th. Selected abstracts will be published in the abstract booklet that will be available at the conference and on the Agrinatura website.
An Agrinatura Best Paper and Poster award will be given based on the quality of the abstracts and the quality of the oral or poster presentation during the conference and be announced at the end of the conference. In the case of numerous quality contributions, the organizing committee will investigate the possibility of publishing a special journal issue or a book inviting the best contributions to send in a full paper after the conference.
Agrinatura is the European Alliance for Agricultural Knowledge for Development (https://agrinatura-eu.eu/).
Feel free to share this call with your respective colleagues, websites, etc.
We kindly ask all participants scheduled for an oral presentation to send us their final presentation files at least two days before their scheduled session. This will help us ensure that all technical aspects are prepared in advance and that the sessions run smoothly on the assigned day. Please send the file to secretariat@agrinatura-eu.eu
When sending your presentation, please use the following subject line format:
[number oral presentation] – Your Full Name
| Day 1
(21st May) |
||
| Time | Session Type | Presenter / Title |
| 14:00–14:30 | Keynote 1 | Eric Lambin – Evaluating Policies to Reverse Tropical Deforestation |
| 14:30–15:00 | Keynote 2 | Filippo Saracco (EU delegation DR Congo)-EU support to biodiversity in Central Africa: lessons from the field in building the current Landscape Programme in DR Congo in the framework of the “Global Gateway” |
| 15:30–17:00 | Oral Presentation 1 | Viktor Van de Velde et al. – Impacts of Repeated Forest Clearing on Cassava Yields in the Congo Basin |
| Oral Presentation 2 | Jeremy Berdy et al. – Rice Post-Harvest Challenges and Opportunities in Tshopo, DRC | |
| Oral Presentation 3 | Jacinta Nyaika et al. – Unlocking Safe Cassava Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Oral Presentation 4 | David Eryenyu et al. – Nutrient Use Strategy in Tropical Tree Species is Not Plastic | |
| Day 2
(22nd May) |
||
| 09:30–10:00 | Keynote 3 | Raphael Audoin Rouzeau – Leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility: Private Sector Strategies, Regulatory Impact, and Building Sustainable Agri-Food Value Chains in the Global South |
| 10:30–11:00 | Keynote 4 | Florence Mayega Nakayiwa– RUFORUM |
| 11:30–12:30 | Oral Presentation 5 | Weirich Neto et al. – Policy of Technical Assistance and Agroecological Transition in Brazil |
| Oral Presentation 6 | Simon Meister & Xiaohua Yu – Machine Learning and Food Price Predictors | |
| Oral Presentation 7 | Susanna Rokka et al. – Policies and Strategies for Promoting Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species in Burkina Faso and Niger | |
| 14:00–15:00 | ||
| Oral Presentation 8 | Mariame Maiga et al. – The CEA-FIRST Gender and Youth Strategy in Agricultural Research and Innovation | |
| Oral Presentation 9 | Menguy E. et al. – Adapting to Risks Through Crop Diversity: Farmers’ Perspectives | |
| Oral Presentation 10 | Thomas Bernet et al. – Agroecology Approaches Driving Supply and Demand in the Global South |
Each participant will have three minutes to explain their research. We kindly ask all participants presenting their research during the poster session to display their posters on the corresponding panel, which will be clearly marked with your assigned group code and poster code. Posters should be placed in the designated exhibition area (salon) allocated for the poster session. The exact location of the salon will be indicated at the venue. We recommend that posters be mounted either one day before or on the morning of 21st May, to ensure everything is in place ahead of the session.
Location 4th Conference et venue: Building E, Room “Oehoe” (presentations) and Agora (posters and registration)
| Title | Authors | |
| Group 1 (15:00 – 15:30) 21/05/2025 | Group 1: Forests, Biodiversity, Non-Timber Products & Ecosystem Services | |
| Group 1a | Long‐term vegetation and fire history of present‐day Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (De Wild.) J. Leonard monodominant forest in Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (Tshopo/DRC) | Alain Kadorho et al. |
| Group 1b | Kinshasa Province (Democratic Republic of Congo): Typology of Peri-Urban Ecosystems Providing Edible Insects | Célestin Adeito Mavunda et al. |
| Group 1c | Traditional Plant Knowledge: Beacons of hope during climate change storms among pastoralist communities in the Karamoja region, northeast Uganda | Emiel De Meyer |
| Group 1d | Wild edible plant use among rural Lango and Acholi communities in Northern Uganda | Emma Van den Heede et al. |
| Group 1e | A novel fertilization experiment to understand cation limitation in the Congo basin | Joseph Mande et al. |
| Group 1f | Growth Dynamics and Timber Yield Potential of Underutilized Tree Species in the Congo Basin | Mbusa Wasukundi et al. |
| Group 1g | Technological and calorific properties of Isoberlinia doka and Isoberlinia tomentosa timber: Potential for Sustainable Valorization | Samirath C. Nansounon et al. |
| Group 1h | Soil N₂O and N₂ denitrification fluxes from different forest types in the Congo Basin | Serge Alebadwa et al. |
| Group 1i | Effect of land use change on nutrient export through streams, along a gradient of deforestation in the Congo basin | Merveille B. Wombe et al. |
| Group 1j | Sustainable strategies for the future of Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Mull. Arg. cultivation in Africa: addressing environmental and economic challenges | Eli Mutwedu Mwishingo et al. |
Location 4th Conference: Agora (posters and registration)
| Group 2 (11:00 – 11:30) 22/05/2025 | Group 2 : Agricultural Value Chains, Rural Development, and Markets | |
| Group 2a | Functioning of cocoa value chain in DRC: SWOT diagnostic of last century in Tshopo province | Alain L. Katayi et al. |
| Group 2b | Farmer productivity and market participation in the South Kivu: The case of Cassava and beans in Kabare territory, DRCongo | Christian Mwemezi et al. |
| Group 2c | The role of domestic and international markets in the loss of nature across Brazil | Damares Lopes Afonso et al. |
| Group 2d | Adoption of agroforestry in organic coconut production – Insights from Côte d’Ivoire | Juliane Ebenhög & Thomas Bernet |
| Group 2e | Challenges For Improved Production And Value Share Along Honey Value Chain In Ethiopian Beekeeping | Mulubrihan Bayissa et al. |
| Group 2f | Household Farmers; Productive Business Through Social Entrepreneurship System | Ning Palupi et al. |
| Group 2g | Building climate resilience using improved cassava planting materials among stallholder cassava producers in Cameroon | ONONINO Jean Charles et al. |
| Group 2h | Bio-based Product Design, Development, and Utilization in the Global South | Sekabira Haruna et al. |
| Group 2i | Resilience and Adaptation for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in South of Brazil | Weirich Neto et al. |
| Group 2j | From Waste to Resource: Quality Characteristics and Utilization of Flesh and Peels from Vietnamese White Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Flour Production Using Foam Mat Drying for Value-Added Food Products | Rejean Marie F. Darroca et al. |
| Group 2k | Analysis of the cassava value chain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (VCA4D – MANIOC RDC) | Baudouin Michel et al. |
| Group 2l | Subnational mapping of food flows in the Brazilian food system | Gonzalez Nóbrega et al. |
Location 4th Conference: Agora (posters and registration)
| Group 3 (15:00 – 15:30) 22/05/2025 | Group 3: Innovation, Climate, Genetics & Environmental Technology | |
| Group 3a | Genetic composition affects Arabica coffee quality in southwestern Ethiopia | Bezawit Mekonnen et al. |
| Group 3b | RANAS (Risks, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, and Self-regulation) Research Approach Contribution on Household Waste Sorting at source in Bukavu City, Eastern DR Congo | Byamungu Kigangu et al. |
| Group 3c | Determinants of Multiple Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices Adoption Among Cassava Farmers in Southeast, Nigeria: A Multivariate Probit Approach | Eze, C. C., Apeh, C. C., & Ononogbo, C. |
| Group 3d | DNA barcoding for pest identification in tropical crops | Helena Romero et al. |
| Group 3e | Efficacy and endophytic potential of Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) for the biological control of cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) | Patient Niyibizi Gakuru et al. |
| Group 3f | Development and Characterization of Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) Flower Juice from Spray-Dried Powder | Rejean Marie F. Darroca et al. |
| Group 3g | Novel insights into the genetic structure and diversity of native Ugandan cattle breeds using whole genome sequence data | R. Okwasiimire et al. |
| Group 3h | Toward Nutritional Surveillance of Wildlife in One Health Systems: A System Dynamics Framework Across European and Tropical Landscapes | Stipan Čupić |
| Group 3i | Assessing the potential of deep-water seaweed cultivation along the Kenyan coast | Gladys Mwaka Holeh et al. |