Hosting discussions on farming systems for the future

The Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) offers an annual Award for graduates and scientists of a Swiss institution who work in agricultural research for development. On the evening of 04 December 2019, the World Food System Center hosted the award ceremony at ETH Zurich.

Janine Steinmann won the SFIAR Master Thesis Award for her ETH Zurich thesis completed with WFSC member Prof. Emmanuel Frossard. The work is entitled “Effect of Natural and Mucuna pruriens fallow on soil properties and crop performance in Dioscorea alata (water yam) based systems in Liliyo and Tieningboué (Côte d’Ivoire) and Léo (Burkina Faso).” The research is part of the larger YAMSYS project, focusing on current issues facing yam farmers and seeks to develop soil and crop management options, so as to sustainably improve yam yields, food security, and the income of all the actors along the yam value chain in West Africa. The project recently was awarded the CSRS-Eremitage Award for Scientific Research in Partnership

The SysCom team of FiBL won the SFIAR Team Award for their project “Long-term farming systems comparisons in the tropics - What is the contribution of organic agriculture to sustainable development?”

The ceremony concluded with a panel discussion on Farming systems for the future with awardees Monika Schneer (FiBL) and Janine Steinmann as well as Christian Frutiger (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) and Martijn Sonnevelt (WFSC) with Paul Castle moderating (Syngenta Foundation).

Congratulations to the awardees, and we hope all enjoyed the discussions.