Manifold scientific contributions of RELOAD research network at Tropentag Conference 2017
Under the conference theme “Future Agriculture: Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts”, RELOAD members shared their research results with the scientific community at the Tropentag conference, which took place from 20-22 September 2017 in Bonn.
Robert Gumisiriza and Joseph Hawumba from Makerere University, Uganda, together with Prof Oliver Hensel from Kassel University, presented options to use banana waste for bioenergy. Emmanuel Wokulira Miyingo, also from Makerere University, together with Oliver Hensel and Barbara Sturm (University of Kassel), shared their work on optimization of energy, water and biomass use for pineapple processing in Uganda. Technical aspects of beef drying were explored by Eunice Mewa, Michael Okoth and Catherine Kunyanga, all from University of Nairobi.
Nutritional quality was a focus of work done on traditional meat products of a pastoral community in northern Kenya by Buke Dabasso and colleagues from the National Museums of Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology; and on processed child food from starchy grains in Ethiopia (Sirawdink Fikreyesus Forsido and colleagues from Jimma University together with Oliver Hensel (University of Kassel).
Further presentations included work conducted on the functioning of pastoral community groups in Kenya, based on research done by Raphael Arasio, Brigitte Kaufmann, David Otieno and Oliver Wasonga from Nairobi University in cooperation with the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL); and on stratified cattle production systems, based on work done by Bulle Hallo Dabasso, Oliver Wasonga Patrick Irungu and Brigitte Kaufmann (University of Nairobi and DITSL).
Other research teams from DITSL and Egerton University in Kenya worked on reducing post-harvest losses in smallholder dairy and pastoral camel milk production (Olivier Kashongwe, Joseph Matofari, Bockline Bebe and Christian Hülsebusch) and collaborative learning in multi-stakeholder processes in a small-scale dairy chain in Kenya (Ann-Kristin von Saurma-Jeltsch, Margareta Lelea and Brigitte Kaufmann, DITSL and University of Kassel).
The Book of Abstracts of Tropentag 2017 offers more detailed information on the above-mentioned presentations (search for authors’ names).
