Ministers of the 10 West African WASCAL member states met in Berlin today with Germany's Federal Minister for Education and Research (BMBF), Ms. Johanna Wanka, to discuss the future of the Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).

"Alternative Nobel" Prize winner Hans Herren talked about the opportunities of organic agriculture and the need for changing global food systems. He emphasized that it is time to put ideas into action.

The International Program in Agricultural Development Studies (IPADS) of the University of Tokyo and ZEF are embarking on a strategic partnership in research and education as well as of exchange of students and staff.

That's outrageous, says Joachim von Braun, Director of the Center for Development Research. Instead of arguing about the distribution of refugees only, opportunities and challenges of migration should be further emphasized.

Six award-winning farmers of the WASCAL Innovation Contest presented their agricultural farmer innovations at the Farmer Innovation Fair for West Africa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa, on May 15-16, 2015.

ZEF-senior researcher Claus Hansen appeals in a new Policy Brief to international community to step up humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine's escalating humanitarian crisis.

Dr. Fan's talk at ZEF on May 18, 2015 dealt with the so-called MICs (Middle Income Countries). Close to half of the world's hungry live in five MIC countries, whereas at the same time overweight and obesity are rising in these countries. The IFPRI Global Food Policy Report 2014-2015 reveals strategies that can help overcome hunger and malnutrition in MICs and beyond.

This world fair has the theme: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. About 150 countries have their pavilions, including many emerging economy countries. Von Braun is a member of the EXPO's scientific steering committee. He was also involved in one of the international dialogue sessions starting on May 8 about “Towards a Research Agenda for Global Food and Nutrition Security”.

The "German-Bolivian Partnership for integrating biodiversity measures in environmental impact assessments" intends to improve biodiversity accounting in Bolivian environmental impact assessments - with the overall aim of strengthening the science-policy interface.

ZEF-researcher Mekbib Haile tells about his research on price volatility in Ethiopia and explains why small-scale farmers have to bear a double burden.

ZEF-researcher Arda Bilgen tells what kind of challenges he faced while conducting research on a sensitive issue in a sensitive area in his home country Turkey.

ZEF-researcher Oliver K. Kirui explains in this article in ZEF news no. 31 why it is not only urgent but also worth the effort to invest in combating land degradation in Eastern Africa.

In terms of improved access to safe drinking water, the world has been able to achieve the MDGs targets to a large extent. However, a number of countries are still lagging extremely behind. This ZEF research reveals the background and underlying causes.

What can small-scale forest plantations contribute to combating land degradation in arid regions such as Uzbekistan? ZEF junior researcher Holm Voigt tells about his research on the issue.

The classical academic approach to geographical "areas" as an object of research is under increasing scrutiny. In this contribution to ZEF news no. 31, authors Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Katja Mielke explain why this is the case and what alternative approaches are currently being discussed and developed.

In her editorial to the ZEF news former ZEF-director Anna-Katharina Hornidge reflects on what mobility means in nowadays world and its implications for interdisciplinary research.

Read about the latest research conducted at ZEF in ZEF news no. 31 (April 2015). Its focus is on "Water and environment in a mobile world". Topics include Crossroads Studies, Safe drinking water and MDGs as well as Land degradation in Eastern Africa.

Interim ZEF-Director Anna-Katharina Hornidge has been appointed full professor at the University of Bremen and the Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT) in Germany's North as of May 1, 2015.

On April 17, 2015, six PhD students from six different West African countries celebrated their graduation in Dakar, Senegal. The official ceremony was attended by high-ranking Senegalese officials and the German Ambassador and broadcast on national tv. The students are part of the WASCAL Graduate Research Program in Climate Change Economics at the University Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) Dakar, Senegal.

NutriHAF is part of a new research initiative of the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) to fight hunger and malnutrition in Ethiopia and Madagascar. Four research initiatives will be supported with a total amount of 4.5 million Euros for the next three years.