Clifood block seminar 6: Agro-ecosystems

The Block Seminar 6 of the CLIFOOD SDG Graduate School on “Agro-Ecosystems” was conducted from 10th September to 12th October 2019. It was developed using blended learning concept and started with e-learning phase from September 10th 2019 to October 6th 2019. The on-site phase was conducted at the Hawassa University from October 7th to October 12th 2019.

Focused on Agro-Ecosystems, the Block Seminar tackled 4 sub-themes:

Sub-theme I: Agrobiodiversity

Sub-theme II: Agroecosystems and their dynamics

Sub theme III: Sustainable Land Management

Sub-theme IV: Pest Management

The second part of the Block Seminar at Hawassa University was opened by the scientific leaders: Dr. Tesfaye Abebe Amdie / CLIFOOD Scientific leader Hawassa University, Associate Professor at School of Plant and Horticultural Sciences, College of Agriculture, Hawassa University and PD Dr. Frank Rasche / Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute), University of Hohenheim.

The Block Seminar program included contributions from prominent agro-ecosystems researches from Hawassa University and the University of Hohenheim and was additionally enriched by inputs from several external actors from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute – EBI, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Ethiopia, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)), Tanzania.

Two invited experts have given their lectures via video-conference, which was the very first experience for the College of Agriculture of Hawassa University:

• Land Use Change Impact Assessment (LUCIA) on Ecosystem Services by Prof. Dr. Georg Cadisch / Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute), University of Hohenheim
• Fungal diseases by Prof. Altus Viljoen / Department of Agri Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

In addition, CLIFOOD PhD scholars were given the opportunity to present the results of their group work conducted within e-learning phase and discuss their own research work. The expert presentations, case studies and status reports by PhD scholars, provided a valuable scientific input and served an interdisciplinary framework for interactive exchange among participants.

Further highlights of the block seminar were the Official Day on October 10 with the welcome speeches from the Vice-President of Hawassa University, Scientific leaders and key note speeches and the Field trip on October 11.

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.