This year’s Tropentag conference was successfully completed and Agrinatura was there. Tropentag 2019 Filling gaps and removing traps for sustainable resources development took place in Kassel, Germany from Wednesday 18th September to Friday 20th September.
Tropentag is an annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource TROPENTAG management and rural development (TROPENTAG) 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).
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 worldwide.
Conference started by opening speech by Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey – President, University of Kassel briefly introducing history of Kassel university – ” in 1981 we create the first professorship for organic agriculture. The originally small plant developed to big well knows research centre”. He also mentioned how ” Cooperation means to look to solution to global key issues”.
This year Tropentag hosted guests from more than 80 countries. The first plenary session was chaired by Eva Schlecht (University of Kassel and the University of Gottingen) and keynote speakers were Tony Rinuado Principal Natural Resources Advisor – World Vision Australia with a presentation titled Getting your assumptions right. Sharing his experience about deforestation and dry areas in Niger. Dr. Carla D. Martin Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute (FCCI) and Jaques Wery Deputy Director General and Director of Research, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
Chairperson, ICARDA Chair of Trustees Prof. Dr. Margaret Thalwitz welcomed participants by introducing ICARDA work (crop, water and soil management and livestock) in dry areas.
Linking young people to the research mentioned by Chairperson ATSAF Prof. Dr. Folkard Asch. ATSAF is bringing young people to present and to meet other scientist and communicate their research.
Agrinatura was also kindly invited for an informal lunch organised by BEAF (Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development) with special guest ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) to meet with scientists from international agricultural research centres, their collaborators at German research organisations, alumni and individuals otherwise connected to international agricultural research.
As usually Agrinatura was offering Travel Grants and this year’s awardees were presenting their work in four different areas in poster sessions and one in an oral session. Awarded students presented their posters Plant genetic resources, Socio-economic aspects of tree-based systems, Value chains and markets, Crops and cropping systems and Plant protection and plant health sessions and one oral presentation were given within the Value chains and markets session.
All abstracts are available here.
This year Agrinatura together with Ypard organised workshop Supporting youth in agriculture and research: Role of youth-based organisations. This workshop was mainly focused on current realities of youth in agriculture their motivation, constrains and future perspective.
