Projects

Ongoing

• Global Grain-Value-Chain Project (2011-2013)

    Ananlysis of future changes and their driving forces of the global grain sector

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• Facors influencing household nutritional status in relation to increasing food prices in Sri Lanka

Completed 

• PhD - Project within the ETH North South Center Project: Reversing soil degradation by tropical legume trees using GIS analysis (2007-2010)
• Theme of the dissertation:

  Analyses of farmers actions based on the strategic and operational decision field. How do aims and obejctive on the strategic level influence decisions? What are the challenges and chances on the operational level? How do household endowments as well as monetary and physical resources influence farmer's action? 

  Determination of factors affecting smallholder decisions to incorporate sustainable production practices depending on their objectives, strategies and household characteristics as well as the actual and perceived benefits of a particular sustainable production practice like the introduction of Gliricidia sepium.

  Analysis of economic performance of smallholder farm households and their senitivity to changes in the macroeconomic environment

  Methods:

  • Interviews on perception and knowledge on soil quality and degradation 
  • A one year lasting survey on production and consumption patterns as well as flows of cash and goods within the households and their environment
  • Experimental utility assessment interview
  • System dynamics modelling of different smallholder farm household types (MA - households with market oriented agricultural production, BO - business-oriented households, OF - off-farm labor-oriented households, SS - self-sufficiency-oriented households)

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• Different projects on behalf of Swiss food processing companies (2006 / 2007)
• The global Cotton market - future developments and challenges (2010)