Project details

Cascading use of agricultural, agro-industrial and urban organic wastes – “green-COW”

In mid-2022, the German Research Foundation (DFG) invited interested scientists from sub-Saharan Africa and Germany to identify common interests in the field of agriculture and to cooperatively develop new projects within the framework of the African-German Science Exchange.

In this context, led by the IfLS and in close cooperation with partners from Germany, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the project idea of cascading the use of organic waste emerged.

In East Africa, and especially in rural areas, the agricultural sector is the leading employer, industry and processing generally rely heavily on primary agricultural products. While synthetic fertilisers continue to be used due to low soil fertility, organic waste from agriculture, processing and municipalities is usually burned - reuse, e.g. as compost, hardly ever takes place. Therefore, we want to develop applied approaches and strategies to establish a sustainable circular use of organic waste and thus close nutrient cycles. In this regard, the aim of the grant is to develop project ideas. For this purpose and among other things, green-COW includes exchange trips to Tanzania and Germany. This seed funding aims to develop project ideas in this regard.

green-COW is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under project number 528631271.

Partner: 
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany
Geisenheim University, Geisenheim, Germany
Great Lakes University, Kisumu, Kenya
Chuka University, Chuka, Kenya
Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Wollo University, Wollo, Ethiopia
Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Arusha, Tanzania
University of Dar-es-Salaam, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
Busitema University, Tororo, Uganda