

Follow us on Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

GERMANY: Training experts to deal with food issues Tweet Researchers at the University of Hohenheim's Food Security Center (FSC) are developing food security strategies. Hohenheim is among five winners of the Exceed - Excellence for Development - competition.



Around a fifth of the world's population are living on less than a dollar a day, and a billion people are suffering hunger. Extreme poverty and hunger are linked to further deficiencies such as the lack of access to drinking water, healthcare and education.



The aim of the Hohenheim Food Security Center and its international partners is to develop food security strategies in interdisciplinary projects. This affects Millennium Development Goal 1, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as MDGs 3 and 7, women's equality and sustainable food production.



Hohenheim's partners are universities and university networks in Tanzania, Uganda, Thailand, the Philippines and Costa Rica.



"Until around 20 years ago, food production worldwide was increasing considerably, at around 2% to 3% a year," explains Manfred Zeller, professor of rural development and FSC coordinator.



As a result of this, however, the industrialised countries were investing less and less in long-term agricultural research projects and in promoting agriculture in developing countries. In contrast, other development areas accelerated significantly, such as primary education or the health sector.



And this was where the money was going, as well as in combating crises. The number of international crises has increased over the last 20 years and Zeller says that addressing disasters such as the 2004 tsunami sometimes appears to be more attractive to politicians than investing in agricultural projects with a long-term impact, success being more immediate and promising a better media response.



But the 2008 food crisis showed where the shortcomings were. Zeller believes that while countries such as China or Vietnam will succeed in achieving Millennium Goal 1, halving hunger between 1990 and 2015, India and many African countries, where numbers of starving people are on the increase, are going to fail.



After decades of growth, problems have long made themselves felt in production, not only in distribution. There are a large number of reasons for this.



Take water, for example. Whereas the world's total amount of water remains constant, demand has risen owing to population growth, urbanisation and growth in income in developed regions.



People living in Germany use an average of 200 to 300 litres a day, compared with a mere 10 to 15 litres in Ethiopia. Owing to increasing demand in many parts of the world, either water prices rise or certain groups of the population, often the poor, are given less access to ever scarcer water not only for human consumption but also to irrigate agricultural land.



What can a peasant in a drought-stricken area of West Africa do whose livestock is perishing and who does not know how to obtain the water to meet his family's day-to-day needs? "These people can be given help towards self-help," Zeller explains. "For instance, there are methods to gather and retain water, either for crops or for the kitchen garden. Irrigation systems can be optimised to save water and use it more efficiently, or drought-resistant plants can be grown."



Zeller says that in Hohenheim, work is in progress on what is known as deficit irrigation in which plants are only provided with water in certain growth periods.



Experiments are being carried out with mangoes. Cultivated plants can also be irrigated in parts, for example by giving water only to part of the root or half the plant. The dry stress thus caused has the astonishing effect that while yield declines, quality will improve, which allows fruit to then be sold at a better price - and water is saved into the bargain.



International networking is important to the FSC. After studying agricultural science in Bonn and doing a PhD in agricultural business management, Zeller himself worked in the US for seven years and in Madagascar and Malawi for almost four years.



The FSC is involved in North-South partnerships that are being extended and South-South cooperation schemes to boost research and teaching in developing countries. There are seven master's courses in English relating to agriculture, food and sustainability.



A Young Excellence School will be officially launched shortly. The school is a doctoral course in English that students can apply for from all over the world. The FSC offers excellent doctoral students from developing countries grants that are funded by the DAAD via the Exceed programme.



In most African countries, but also in Asia and Latin America, there is an extreme scarcity of experts in the field of agricultural science and dietetics. Again and again, this scarcity results in wrong decisions or an insufficient and time-consuming implementation of development projects.



In addition to their own specialised research, the doctoral students of the Young Excellence School obtain interdisciplinary training in the context of modules which, alongside soft skills, address the chief thematic fields of food security: sustainable food production, access to and use of food in poorer households, distribution issues and aspects of how the human body makes use of food.



On returning to their home countries, they can work as executive staff in ministries and civil society organisations as well as in research and teaching.



The school is one of the measures with which Hohenheim wishes to strengthen its partner institutions in developing countries. Summer schools and courses represent a further initiative, such as the further education programme at a partner institution in Thailand that is planned for 2010.



This programme addresses MSc and PhD students from all over Southeast Asia who are to learn operational measurement methods for poverty. Estimating poverty levels is very important for social welfare programmes that specially address poor people, such as waiving of school fees and handing out of food.



Adipala Ekwamu, a professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and one of the FSC cooperation partners, is coordinator of the RUFORUM, a regional network in southern, eastern and central Africa, that consists of more than 20 universities and seeks to build capacities in agricultural research, teaching and policy and project consulting.



On the situation in Africa, he says: "Food security is the biggest problem here. The majority of people only have limited access to food, so that the governments have prioritised food security.



"We need help. We trust in experience gathered in Hohenheim regarding food security, although we also want to work together with other partners. For example, the Asian countries have made more progress than the African ones. Or take Costa Rica, which has had enormous success in the field of food security. Such partners can help us to address the problem."



Costa Rica really is doing well, especially in comparison with its neighbours: The average life expectancy for men is 74.1 years, and 79.3 years for women, among the highest levels in Latin America.



At 96%, the literacy rate is also one of the highest in the continent. In recent years, the country's chief source of income has been tourism. With its diversity of plant and animal species, and thanks to its going easy on its natural resources, the country is attractive to visitors from abroad.



The government invests a lot of money in health and education - money that other countries spend on their military forces. For as Victor Jimenez, professor of plant biotechnology at the University of Costa Rica and another FSC cooperation partner, explains, the country has had no military forces since 1948.



"Some years ago, we celebrated our hundredth anniversary as a democracy," he says, "and over all these years, we have lived in peace with our neighbours."



Students and teaching staff are exchanged both with Germany and with Chile; PhD and master's programmes as well as research projects are developed jointly. This is very important because well-trained academics from Costa Rica (and other countries) go to the neighbouring countries to help there.



For example, specialists from Costa Rica are examining cacti with the red dragon fruit, the so-called pitaya, to obtain pigments to colour food that are used in Europe for dairy products or baby-food.



Jimenez says this is certainly better than using artificial substances. By selling the pigments to industry, in Nicaragua, for instance, higher prices can be obtained than by selling the fresh fruit on the local market.



Traditionally, not many students come to the universities of Costa Rica from its neighbouring states since the cost of living is too high in this small country. This is why the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has been running regional programmes for some years to fund studies for young people throughout Central America at specially recognised faculties at universities in Costa Rica.



"This makes sense," says Jimenez. "On completing their training, the academics return to their country, where they support the development effort."



* Think-tanks to implement the United Nations Millennium Development Goals are being created at five German universities and their partner institutions in the south. The five universities - the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Universities of Hohenheim, Munich and Kassel and Cologne University of Applied Sciences - are the winners of a competition run by the German Academic Exchange Service as part of the programme Exceed - Excellence for Development - with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ.



Provided with EUR5 million (US$7 million) per institution over five years, the scientists and scholars are developing international networks focusing on the various goals. The centres feature an interdisciplinary approach and seek to support networks bringing together researchers from various countries in north-south and south-south collaborative programmes.



* Journalist Stephan Weidt prepared this article on behalf of DAAD for German publisher Lemmens Medien Researchers at the University of Hohenheim's Food Security Center (FSC) are developing food security strategies. Hohenheim is among five winners of the Exceed - Excellence for Development - competition.Around a fifth of the world's population are living on less than a dollar a day, and a billion people are suffering hunger. Extreme poverty and hunger are linked to further deficiencies such as the lack of access to drinking water, healthcare and education.The aim of the Hohenheim Food Security Center and its international partners is to develop food security strategies in interdisciplinary projects. This affects Millennium Development Goal 1, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as MDGs 3 and 7, women's equality and sustainable food production.Hohenheim's partners are universities and university networks in Tanzania, Uganda, Thailand, the Philippines and Costa Rica."Until around 20 years ago, food production worldwide was increasing considerably, at around 2% to 3% a year," explains Manfred Zeller, professor of rural development and FSC coordinator.As a result of this, however, the industrialised countries were investing less and less in long-term agricultural research projects and in promoting agriculture in developing countries. In contrast, other development areas accelerated significantly, such as primary education or the health sector.And this was where the money was going, as well as in combating crises. The number of international crises has increased over the last 20 years and Zeller says that addressing disasters such as the 2004 tsunami sometimes appears to be more attractive to politicians than investing in agricultural projects with a long-term impact, success being more immediate and promising a better media response.But the 2008 food crisis showed where the shortcomings were. Zeller believes that while countries such as China or Vietnam will succeed in achieving Millennium Goal 1, halving hunger between 1990 and 2015, India and many African countries, where numbers of starving people are on the increase, are going to fail.After decades of growth, problems have long made themselves felt in production, not only in distribution. There are a large number of reasons for this.Take water, for example. Whereas the world's total amount of water remains constant, demand has risen owing to population growth, urbanisation and growth in income in developed regions.People living in Germany use an average of 200 to 300 litres a day, compared with a mere 10 to 15 litres in Ethiopia. Owing to increasing demand in many parts of the world, either water prices rise or certain groups of the population, often the poor, are given less access to ever scarcer water not only for human consumption but also to irrigate agricultural land.What can a peasant in a drought-stricken area of West Africa do whose livestock is perishing and who does not know how to obtain the water to meet his family's day-to-day needs? "These people can be given help towards self-help," Zeller explains. "For instance, there are methods to gather and retain water, either for crops or for the kitchen garden. Irrigation systems can be optimised to save water and use it more efficiently, or drought-resistant plants can be grown."Zeller says that in Hohenheim, work is in progress on what is known as deficit irrigation in which plants are only provided with water in certain growth periods.Experiments are being carried out with mangoes. Cultivated plants can also be irrigated in parts, for example by giving water only to part of the root or half the plant. The dry stress thus caused has the astonishing effect that while yield declines, quality will improve, which allows fruit to then be sold at a better price - and water is saved into the bargain.International networking is important to the FSC. After studying agricultural science in Bonn and doing a PhD in agricultural business management, Zeller himself worked in the US for seven years and in Madagascar and Malawi for almost four years.The FSC is involved in North-South partnerships that are being extended and South-South cooperation schemes to boost research and teaching in developing countries. There are seven master's courses in English relating to agriculture, food and sustainability.A Young Excellence School will be officially launched shortly. The school is a doctoral course in English that students can apply for from all over the world. The FSC offers excellent doctoral students from developing countries grants that are funded by the DAAD via the Exceed programme.In most African countries, but also in Asia and Latin America, there is an extreme scarcity of experts in the field of agricultural science and dietetics. Again and again, this scarcity results in wrong decisions or an insufficient and time-consuming implementation of development projects.In addition to their own specialised research, the doctoral students of the Young Excellence School obtain interdisciplinary training in the context of modules which, alongside soft skills, address the chief thematic fields of food security: sustainable food production, access to and use of food in poorer households, distribution issues and aspects of how the human body makes use of food.On returning to their home countries, they can work as executive staff in ministries and civil society organisations as well as in research and teaching.The school is one of the measures with which Hohenheim wishes to strengthen its partner institutions in developing countries. Summer schools and courses represent a further initiative, such as the further education programme at a partner institution in Thailand that is planned for 2010.This programme addresses MSc and PhD students from all over Southeast Asia who are to learn operational measurement methods for poverty. Estimating poverty levels is very important for social welfare programmes that specially address poor people, such as waiving of school fees and handing out of food.Adipala Ekwamu, a professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and one of the FSC cooperation partners, is coordinator of the RUFORUM, a regional network in southern, eastern and central Africa, that consists of more than 20 universities and seeks to build capacities in agricultural research, teaching and policy and project consulting.On the situation in Africa, he says: "Food security is the biggest problem here. The majority of people only have limited access to food, so that the governments have prioritised food security."We need help. We trust in experience gathered in Hohenheim regarding food security, although we also want to work together with other partners. For example, the Asian countries have made more progress than the African ones. Or take Costa Rica, which has had enormous success in the field of food security. Such partners can help us to address the problem."Costa Rica really is doing well, especially in comparison with its neighbours: The average life expectancy for men is 74.1 years, and 79.3 years for women, among the highest levels in Latin America.At 96%, the literacy rate is also one of the highest in the continent. In recent years, the country's chief source of income has been tourism. With its diversity of plant and animal species, and thanks to its going easy on its natural resources, the country is attractive to visitors from abroad.The government invests a lot of money in health and education - money that other countries spend on their military forces. For as Victor Jimenez, professor of plant biotechnology at the University of Costa Rica and another FSC cooperation partner, explains, the country has had no military forces since 1948."Some years ago, we celebrated our hundredth anniversary as a democracy," he says, "and over all these years, we have lived in peace with our neighbours."Students and teaching staff are exchanged both with Germany and with Chile; PhD and master's programmes as well as research projects are developed jointly. This is very important because well-trained academics from Costa Rica (and other countries) go to the neighbouring countries to help there.For example, specialists from Costa Rica are examining cacti with the red dragon fruit, the so-called pitaya, to obtain pigments to colour food that are used in Europe for dairy products or baby-food.Jimenez says this is certainly better than using artificial substances. By selling the pigments to industry, in Nicaragua, for instance, higher prices can be obtained than by selling the fresh fruit on the local market.Traditionally, not many students come to the universities of Costa Rica from its neighbouring states since the cost of living is too high in this small country. This is why the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has been running regional programmes for some years to fund studies for young people throughout Central America at specially recognised faculties at universities in Costa Rica."This makes sense," says Jimenez. "On completing their training, the academics return to their country, where they support the development effort." Follow University World News on Facebook



Receive UWN's free weekly e-newsletters