Areas of Research
Areas of Research
The Departments belonging to the Centre for International Rural Development pursue a variety of objectives. The research conducted by them is, accordingly, of great diversity. The Centre strives for inter-disciplinary integration of its research programmes along with its mandate. Priority is given to research on sustainable resource use in rural tropical and subtropical areas. The Centre primarly supports inter-disciplinary research projects.
Current Research Projects (Selection)
Further Research is carried out on:
- Water management, rural engineering, soil protection, ecophysics;
- Post-harvest technology, processing, use and recycling of organic materials, technology of sustainable energy, non-chemical weed control;
- "Evergreen crop rotations" for soil protection and prevention of nutrient loss, comprehensive use of crops (food, sustainable raw materials, nitrogen cycle);
- Complex production systems in the Tropics and Subtropics, yield stability, salt tolerance, crop diversity, bio-indicators of sustainability;
- Organic farming, compost technology, nutritive substance mobilization and cycles, nutrition ecology;
- Socio-cultural factors in rural development;
- The impact of social and institutional settings on the use of sustainable rural resources;
- Inter-cultural communication/communication of (expert) knowledge;
- Participatory approaches to research, planning and extension in rural development;
- Agricultural policy parameters of rural resource use and of technology development and their sustainability;
- Breeding of appropriate animal species, use of animals in environmental protection;
- Farming System Research (FSR).