The annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management and rural development (TROPENTAG) is jointly organised by the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Göttingen, Hohenheim, Kassel-Witzenhausen, Hamburg, ZALF e.V., ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (Czech Republic), BOKU Vienna (Austria) and the Council for Tropical and Subtropical Research (ATSAF e.V) in co-operation with the GIZ Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (BEAF).

Tropentag 2017 will be organised by the University of Bonn, Germany. The conference venue will be in Bonn. All students, Ph.D. students, scientists, extension workers, decision makers, politicians and practical farmers, interested and engaged in agricultural research and rural development in transition and developing countries are invited to participate and to contribute.

Tropentag 2017 conference stays under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dr. Gerd Müller.

The Tropentag is a development-oriented and interdisciplinary conference. It addresses issues of resource management, environment, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, nutrition and related sciences in the context of rural development, sustainable resource use and poverty alleviation worldwide.

The Tropentag 2017 conference theme: Future Agriculture: Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts

Agricultural systems in developing countries are currently undergoing drastic changes. System-immanent attributes such as visions, aspirations, cultural specifics and production factor availability shape the response of land users to growing external pressures such as climate change, market demands, land degradation, emerging diseases and policies. In addition to such social-ecological transitions, substantial bio-cultural shifts occur and are imposed by centrally-planned establishments of large-scale intensification corridors and protection zones, or are associated with infrastructure development and urbanisation processes. The wide array of resulting response pathways and land use or production strategies may include intensification, diversification, and specialisation, but can also lead to abandonment of land, migration and conflicts. What are the implications of such developments and change processes for food security, resource base quality, rural well-being, and in general for the future of agriculture? These questions and related topics will be addressed in plenary presentations and key note lectures in thematic sessions.

For more information and to register, visit the TROPENTAG website.