World Food System Center announces support of new cross-disciplinary food system research projects

The ETH Zurich World Food System Center (WFSC) is pleased to announce three new cross-disciplinary, food system research projects funded through the Center’s competitive Research Programs. The WFSC was established at ETH Zurich based on the belief that the real-world solutions needed to tackle the challenges our food system faces require collaboration from global and local stakeholders across the entire food value chain. In order to do this, we support multi- and transdisciplinary approaches to addressing these challenges through research, education, and outreach activities that contribute to sustainable food and nutrition security.

The three new cross-disciplinary postdoctoral research projects are awarded over 800,000 CHF through the 2018 Call of the World Food System Center’s Coop Research Program. In total, the Center’s two research programs have funded 33 cross-disciplinary and solution-oriented research projects with nearly 8.8 million CHF since 2012.

The three new projects, which will launch by summer, individually strive to innovate solutions to (1) design sustainable cocoa production systems, (2) diversify agroecosystems, and (3) provide alternative sustainable sources of iron for human nutrition. The new research by investigators at ETH Zurich as well as partners at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the James Hutton Institute, the Swiss Distance University of Applied Science (FFHS), and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) focuses on a range of produce, including cocoa, beans, and insects.

One project will evaluate different cocoa agroforestry practices to develop a guide for a model agroforestry system that offers a sustainable alternative to the cocoa monocultures grown in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Another new project looks at agroecosystem diversification as a way to sustainably intensify organic bean production in Macedonia. The third study focuses on the analysis of the nutritional potential of insect based foods, mainly focusing on iron bioavailability.

All projects were subject to a rigorous evaluation by an independent academic panel with additional external reviews and an assessment process that takes into account scientific excellence and relevance to the programs. The final funding decisions lie with the ETH Zurich VP for Research and Corporate Relations.