This blog entry shares the stories of 15 ETH students who participated in a two-week field project to Southern Ethiopia from Nov. 16 to Dec. 1, 2019. The field project was co-organized with Arba Minch University (Ethiopia; 29 participating students) and KU Leuven (Belgium; 21 participating students). The field project is an integral part of the ETH MSc class “Tropical cropping systems, soils and livelihoods” (lecturers: Johan Six and Anett Hofmann, Sustainable Agroecosystems group), offered in the master programs “Agroecosystem Sciences” and “Environmental Sciences” at D-USYS. The class guides students in analyzing and comprehending tropical agroecosystems and food systems. During the field project students gained practical knowledge of field methods, diagnostic tools and survey methods by working in small international student teams that were immersed in seven rural towns. Students had the opportunity to be in direct contact with farmers and local representatives through interviews and field surveys on farms and were supported by 23 university staff members from all three participating universities. The task for the student teams was to assess the state of food and energy security in the seven towns where they stayed. The results were presented at Arba Minch University at the end of the field project.
Read More