CLIFOOD Block Seminar 5: Official Day

4 March 2019, University of Hohenheim, Germany

The highlight of the Block Seminar 5 was the public event on ‘Improving food and nutrition security’ on 4 March 2019. The official day was opened by CLIFOOD Scientific Leaders Prof. Dr. Jan Frank and Dr. Tesfaye Abebe Amdie and the dean of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim Prof. Dr. Ralf Vögele.

The keynotes, expert presentations, case studies and status reports by PhD scholars, all addressing the problems solving in the area of food and nutrition insecurity provided a valuable scientific input and served an interdisciplinary framework for interactive exchange among participants.

Issues of targeted plant nutrition (Prof. Dr. Ismail Cakmak, Sabanci-University, Istanbul), role of nutrition education (Dr. Wolfgang Stütz, University of Hohenheim) and health in nutrition security (Prof. Michael B. Krawinkel, Justus Liebig University Giessen) were addressed during the public session.

Recent developments, challenges and approaches in nutritional sector in Ethiopia were presented during the keynote on ‘Improving nutrition through multisector approaches: experience and challenges of Ethiopia’ by Prof. Tefera Belachew Lema from the Human Nutrition Unit, College of Public Health & Medical Sciences in Jimma University, Ethiopia. Gender issues of nutrition security were not left unattended as well. Dr. Friederike Bellin-Sesay, Consultant in the field of food and nutrition security, presented ‘The role of gender in food and nutrition security’.

Official dinner offered a platform for follow up discussions and networking.

This seminar is part of the qualification program for the SDG Graduate School CLIFOOD, it is the fifth of seven Block Seminars planned per generation of PhD Scholars between the Hawassa University (HU) in Ethiopia and the University of Hohenheim (UHOH) in Germany.