"It will require the commitment of scientists and scientific methods throughout the world ... to bring the benefits of science to all."
(Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations)

Research in the fight against hunger and poverty

By 2025 there will be some two billion more people on Earth than there are today, the majority of them in developing countries. To feed this extra population, we shall need to produce around 50 percent more food on an area which is no larger, or even smaller than it is today as a result of erosion and climatic change.

The GIZ (former GTZ) project “Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development” (BEAF), supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provides valuable help in achieving these goals. An example of the research carried out:

Trees for a better income

For 20 years, the Vietnamese government has been promoting the reforestation of deforested and degraded areas. The aim is to enable people who live in rural areas to earn money through sustainable forest management. But little of the boom in the Vietnamese woodworking industry has trickled down to small forest owners because the quality of the wood is only good enough to produce wood chips. The exporting furniture industry requires certified wood, some of which is imported. Together with forest owners, industry and government, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is working out solutions such as a simplified certification process and a market-oriented combination of trees in a mixed stand. The research is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).