Swiss News
24.05..2013 
PhD Fellowship Program 'Bridiging Plant Science and Policy'
The BRIDGES program is funded by the EU Research Framework Programme FP7/People - Marie Curie Actions and is coordinated by the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center. It offers talented early stage researchers (not having resided in Switzerland for the last 3 years) 14 PhD projects in the most challenging areas of plant sciences.
Deadline for applications: 1 July 2013
17.05..2013
Call for proposals: Science communication projects
The funding scheme Agora of the Swiss National Science Foundation aims to intensify the dialogue between science and society by enabling researchers of all disciplines to communicate with the public. Deadline for submissions: 15 August 2013
17.05..2013
Maag - Preis für Berner Pflanzen-Forscher Zerihun Tadele PDF, 187 KB
Dr. Zerihun Tadele, an Ethiopian researcher working at the Institute of Plant Sciences of the University of Bern, has won the 2013 Dr. Rudolf Maag Prize for his efforts in breeding more robust tef, a vital cereal for Ethiopia.
14.05..2013
Call: Post doc Fellowship Programme in Plant Sciences PDF, 350 KB
The programme is open to experienced researchers in all fields of research in plant sciences and aims to establish a training and qualification framework, which complements the present postdoctoral training in plant sciences with an international competitive dimension.
Deadline for applications: 24 June 2013
07.05.2013
Call for papers: 4th International Conference on Organic Agriculture Sciences (ICOAS)
The call for papers on the topic "Targeting Global Sustainability – Food Security,
Biodiversity and Climate Change" is now open. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2013
01.05.2013
Innovative cooperation to promote tropical products 
press release by the Swiss Federal Council on the allocation of CHF 30 million to a strategic partnership of SECO with the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) with the aim to support public-private cooperation for sustainable cultivation of tropical products
30.04.2013
"Learning Events" Programme for Researchers from Developing Countries
KFPE invites Researchers from Developing Countries and their Swiss partners to present proposals for Learning Events. The deadline for the first call is 1 June 2013.
26.04.2013
Call for proposals: SCOPES 2013-2016
The SCOPES programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation aims to boost scientific co-operation with Eastern Europe. The current call is open for: Conference Grants, Joint Research Projects, Preparatory Grants and Valorisation Grants. Deadline: 20.09.2013
23.04.2013
Education for change
call for articles for the September issue of the journal "Farming Matters"
with afocus on the role of education in changing the mindsets of rural communities. Deadline: 1 June 2013.
22.04.2013
Training Program: Management of Development Projects
EPFL offers a Certificate of Advanced Studies targeted at university graduates who want to learn to manage projects in an international and multicultural context. The program is held in three parts between 30 September 2013 and 15 June 2014.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2013
19.04.2013
Talk doesn’t cook rice!
information by Swissaid about a successfull
project in Myanmar that supported the build-up of communal rice banks thereby increasing food security and self confidence of farmers
12.04.2013
Umsatz mit Fairtrade-Produkten 2012 um 14,3 Prozent gestiegen
article in der Schweizerbauer on the increased sales of fair trade products in Switzerland
12.04.2013
Seeking new development and sustainability goals
new website by the Swiss Administration on Switzerland's participation in the search for universally valid development and sustainability goals for the post-2015 period.
12.04.2013
«Brot statt Benzin!» – Petition nimmt erste Hürde
information by Alliance Sud
about a favourable vote by the Swiss Parliament for stronger criteria for reduced taxes on biofuels
09.04.2013
CABI and IPPC unite for trade and food security progress
CABI will dedicate £40,000 towards collaboration activities with IPPC in 2013. Coordinator of the IPPC Secretariat, Craig Fedchock and CABI’s CEO Trevor Nicholls and Director of CABI Europe-Switzerland Ulrich Kuhlmann have met to outline the long-term strategy which this new funding will support.
05.04.2013
Call for Applications: Summer School on Sustainable Agriculture and World Food System
The ETH Zurich World Food System Center offers a Summer School from August 11th – 25th 2013. Students will live, work, and learn on a pioneering organic farm during the harvest season and discuss sustainable world food systems.
Deadline for applications: 26 April 2013
05.04.2013
SCOPES – new phase in partnerships with Eastern Europe
The SCOPES programme (Scientific co-operation between Eastern Europe and Switzerland), financed by SNSF and SDC, will be continued until 2016, there will be calls for Joint Research Projects (JRPs) and Institutional Partnerships (IPs) in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
05.04.2013
Nachwachsende agrarische Rohstoffe - Aktivitäten des SECO
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO presents its activities in the area of agricultural commodities and developing countries
02.04.2013
Tackling hunger with a red herring? Farm productivity and gender equality
article in the Guardian published in the context of the Series International Development Journalism competition.The theme is sponsored by Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.
22.03.2013
UNO: Vom Agrarrohstoff-Boom profitieren nur wenige
article in Bauern Zeitung about an UNCTAD Forum showing that
the marked increase in commodity prices leads to higher export earning of developing countries but at the same time drives over 40 Million people into extreme poverty.
15.03.2013
Gender and Sustainable Development in Mountains - Call for Papers PDF, 120 KB
The journal Mountain Research and Development (MRD) calls for papers on the subject of Gender and Sustainable Development in Mountains.
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 April 2013
15.03.2013
New platform established to advance research within organic sector
joint press release by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR)
about the formation of a new group to advance organic agriculture research
15.03.2013
Umstrittene Pflanzenpatente
press release by Berne Declaration and Swissaid criticising the plans of the European Patent Agency to issue various patents on conventionally bred plants.
08.03.2013
Switzerland and FAO step up their collaboration in the fight against hunger
press release by the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
on the visit of FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva to Switzerland and on the Swiss contributions to FAO initiatives
08.03.2013
SDC Agriculture and Food Security Network - Newsletter published
The March issue of the A+FS Network Newsletter provides an overview of SDC's Agriculture and Food Security Portfolio 2009-2011 and information about the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure, farmers' reactions to climate change, SDC and genetically modified organisms, new SDC projects and much more.
08.03.2013
Max Havelaar bricht mit Fairtrade-Grundprinzip
article by Handelszeitung about the decision by Max Havelaar to give in the future also a label to products whose raw materials are only partly produced according to fair trade standards.
05.03.2013
Rohe Ostern: EvB-Studie zeigt Menschenrechtsmängel in Schweizer Schoggi
media release by Berne Declaration on its new analysis of the social responsibility of the main Swiss chocolate producers
01.03.2013
Prometeo Project: Ecuador Looks for Excellent Researchers
This initiative seeks to promote education, scientific research, innovation and technological development in all strategic areas of Ecuador by attracting experienced Ecuadorian and foreign researchers to the country who will develop research projects.
25.02.2013
Team Leader – CGIAR Independent Evaluation Arrangement
Call for Expression of Interest for Evaluation of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. The call is open until 30.03.2013.
19.02.2013
Marketing organic products in Africa – New training video
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) presents a Video “Marketing organic products in Africa – How to become an entrepreneur”. The tool can help small farmers implementing organic farming, improving sustainability and expanding market opportunities.
15.02.2013
SNIS Award for the best thesis in international studies at a Swiss University
PhD theses with a wide range of academic disciplines can be submitted.
Deadline for submissions: 8 April 2013
15.02.2013
Sustainable soil governance and large scale land acquisitions originating in Switzerland
A joint research project of CDE, World Trade Institute (WTI) and Agroscope with this title has been approved for the National Research Programme "Sustainable Use of Soil as a Resource" .
15.02.2013
Ohne Land kein Brot
This year's campaign of the Swiss NGOs Fastenopfer, Brot für alle and Partner sein is directed against legalized land grab and supports the right to food of the local population.
12.02..2013
Rice intensification in West Africa
The Syngenta Foundation develops a rice intensification initiative to reduce food insecurity in West Africa. A public private partnership with different investors and the government of Ghana aims to build up competitive rice value chains.
08.02..2013
Innovative New Low-Cost Livestock Insurance Protects Dairy Cows PDF, 1012 KB
Press release by Syngenta Foundation et al. about the launch of a new livestock insurance initiative to protect small dairy farmers in Kenya against major losses resulting from the deaths of their cattle.
05.02..2013
BEEBOOK: Standardmethoden für Bienenforschung
The standard work on honey bee research is published by
Vincent Dietemann, Peter Neumann and Jamie Ellis.
01.02..2013
"Café de Colombia": erstes GGA-Gesuch für ausländische Bezeichnung
The Federal Office for Agriculture has published the application to register "Café de Colombia" as the first foreign protected designation of origin in the Swiss Offical Gazette of Commerce
30.01.2013
Call for proposals - Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology (ISCB)
ISCB invites Pre-Proposals in Bio-Sciences and relevant Socio-Economics Areas for three-year projects organised as networks and contributing to food security in India.
Deadline for submissions: 1 April 2013
19.01.2013
ERAfrica - Joint Call for Collaborative Projects, PDF 162 KB
With the aim to create long-term research collaboration between European countries and Africa
this joint call supports collaborative research, innovation and capacity building projects. Deadline for submissions: 15 April 2013
14.01.2013
International Post doc Fellowship Programme in Plant Sciences, PDF 349.4 KB
PLANT FELLOWS is a new international post doc fellowship programme in the field of plant sciences. The programme is open to applicants from all over the world and all research fields in plant sciences are eligible.
Deadline for the first call: 31 January 2013
11.01.2013
Media training for researchers: Course schedule 2013
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) supports practice-oriented media training courses for scientists. During the two-day course, researchers will learn how to deal with representatives of the media.
21.12.2012
International prize for the SDC’s Papa Andina project
information by SDC on the Papa Andina project that was honored with a prize for successfully improving market access for small Andean farmers and making more out of the biodiversity of their crops.
21.12.2012
Master of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Water Resources at ETH Zurich
full-time twelve month study programme giving an integrated vision of sustainable water resources management, with a focus on technical training and high level research.
Application inquiries for 2013/2014 are now being accepted.
21.12.2012
New project on organic sector development in Ukraine
information by FiBL on a new project to support organic agriculture in Uraine, as part of GIZ’s on‐going Economic and Employment Promotion Program
14.12.2012
Vegetables and value at 10,000 feet
Video and text explaining the Syngenta Foundation project "Qori Chacra" aiming to integrate Peruvian smallholders into the value chain supplying local restaurants and hotels, with a special focus on high-quality vegetables for McDonald’s in the high Andean city of Cusco.
07.12.2012
Call for proposals: Joint Research Projects with South Africa
The Swiss National Science Foundation calls for proposals for three-year joint research projects between researchers based in Switzerland and in South Africa; thematic areas are - among other - Biotechnology and Nanotechnology / Greentech and Cleantech
Deadline for submissions:
28.02.2013
07.12.2012
Change Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil Production
The Berne Declaration together with IUF calls for
fundamental changes to the proposed «Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil Production» which would still permit the use of highly toxic pesticides
23.11.2012
Scientists eye nanotechnologies to boost crop yields
Fertilizer delivered by nanotechnologies may improve farm productivity and reduce at the same time the risk of water contamination. A Swiss-funded study, however points out that the risk must be considered.
23.11.2012
Urin ist zu schade zum Runterspülen
article in Tagesanzeiger about a Swiss research project aiming to produce fertilizer from urine
that is now being tested in South Africa
23.11.2012
Call for papers: Land Acquisition in Mountains
the peer reviewed journal Mountain Research and Development (MRD) is looking for papers about the specific characteristics, processes, extent, and impacts of large-scale land acquisition taking place in mountains.
Deadline for submissions: 15 February 2013
19.11.2012
Kein Brot für die Börse
article in NZZ with a comment of Tina Goethe(Swissaid) on her view on trade of food commodities speculation.
14.11.2012
India leads WTO bid to permit subsidies for food stockpiling
article in Swissinfo about a proposal by developing countries to change World Trade Organization rules to lift the limit on subsidised food stockpiling to support poor farmers.
12.11.2012
Europe and Africa agree joint research funding
European and African countries have agreed to fund collaborative research projects in the New Year targeting various research projects in the following sectors: agriculture, health, climate change and energy.
02.11.2012
Call for Projects - Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS)
SNIS offers project grants for pluri-disciplinary research teams in all areas of international studies. Special theme for 2013 "Global issues in a time of high volatility".
Deadline for submissions: 16 January 2013
02.11.2012
Meteo Schweiz unterstützt Peru
article in NZZ about a new collaboration between the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss
and peruvian authorities with the aim to improve meteorological services in Peru (see also press release by MeteoSwiss)
02.11.2012
Barrieren für Bioprodukte aus Entwicklungsländern
article in NZZ about the difficulties of organic producers in developing countries to export to Switzerland, especially if their products compete with local Swiss products.
22.10.2012
Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods
Recently the book "Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods", edited by Niels Halberg, ICROFS, and Adrian Müller, FiBL was published by Routledge.
22.10.2012
Plattform Dialogue4change lanciert
on a newly launched platform for the exchange of ideas and alternative approaches to development issues
18.10.2012
Lebensmittel wegwerfen. Das ist dumm
press release by SDC and the Federal Office for Agriculture on an awarness raising event in Bern about the global problem of food waste and food loss
14.10.2012
Ein Molliser, der weltweit gefragt ist
an article in the newspaper Suedostschweiz.ch on a Swiss extension worker, Fritz Brugger, who works on small scale insurances in case of dough in rural Kenia.
12.10.2012
Automated Weather Stations Drive Groundbreaking Low-cost Micro-insurance Plan for Rwanda’s Farmers PDF, 752 KB
press release by Syngenta Foundation et al. about the introduction of the micro insurance project "Kilimo Salama" in Rwanda, shielding small scale farmers from significant financial losses when the weather damages their crops.
12.10.2012
Post-harvest management - SDC's past and current activities
A comprehensive new section of the SDC Agriculture and Food Security Network website informs about the POSTCOSECHA program in Central America and about SDC's new post-harvest programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
12.10.2012
Ernährungshilfe-Übereinkommen unterzeichnet
press release by the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture
about the signing of a new agreement on food aid
05.10.2012
Abfallvertilgende Larve wird zu Tierfutter
report by Swiss Television about a project by FiBL aiming to use the tropical larva Hermetia as an alternative to soya flour
for animal feed
05.10.2012
CDE Annual Report 2011 now online PDF, 5167 KB
under the title "Global change and its impacts on sustainable development" the Centre for Environment and Development (CDE) of the University of Bern has published its annual report highlighting some of its research activities around the world.
01.10.2012
Syngenta Photography Award: Rural - Urban
Call for photographs; the closing date is January 15th 2013.
27.09.2012
New African cassava resists devastating viruses
article in ETH Life about ETH plant scientists who have developed a new African cassava preferred by consumers and farmers that is resistant to the two major virus diseases in Africa
27.09.2012
New data on the biofuel ecobalance - Most biofuels are not "green"
press release by Empa / FOEN about a new study led by Empa giving an up-to-date picture of the ecobalance of various biofuels and their production processes. Only a few are overall more environmentally friendly than petrol.
26.10.2012
Superabsorber gegen Wasserknappheit
Article published in the NZZ on the research of a water absorber made from Polyacrylat and its possibility to be insert to soils in order to increase the water holding capacity of soils.
24.09.2012
Im Dienst der Menschheit: Meilensteine der Schweizer Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
A book portraying the history of the Swiss development efforts is published.
Announcement of the formation of the Animal Husbandry Alliance
On the occasion of the Organic Animal Husbandry Conference held in Hamburg (12-14 September), the formation of the Animal Husbandry Alliance under the umbrella of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was announced by Mr Otto Schmid, a scientist working at fibl.
17.09.2012
Real partnerships help smallholders feed the world PDF, 253.6 KB
The Syngenta Foundation interviewed Jean-Marcel Ribaut, Director of the CGIAR Generation Challenge Programme (GCP), who is an expert in building productive strategic partnerships.
14.09.2012
Securing land rights – a step toward eradicating hunger and poverty
Article by SDC about its support of the utilization of the new Voluntary Guidelines on Land Governance
14.09.2012
Call for Articles: "Linking farmers to markets"
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is looking for articles to be published in the New Agriculturist. The topic for the next edition is "Linking farmers to markets". Stories and projects from around the world, whether at local, national, regional or international scale can be submitted.
10.09.2012
Call for Proposals for the second thematic research modul of the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development
The pre-proposals with the thematic of Employment in the context of sustainable development should be submited until 31st of January 2013.
04.09.2012
CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework Action Plan - Your Feedback
The SRF Action Plan will influence the current and future direction of research within the CGIAR. From 3 to 30 September stakholders are able to provide feedback on the document.
04.09.2012
YPARD E-Discussions on Capacity Development
From 3 to 14 September 2012 the Young Professionals' Platform for Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD) is organising 3 e-discussions related to capacity development in agricultural research for development. Inputs are welcome.
03.09.2012
Publication of the newsletter Nr 110 of the Center for Peacebuilding (KOFF) PDF, 639.9 KB
the issues focus' is dedicated to water and landholding conflicts.
31.08.2012
Thailand: Entwicklung des Biolandbaus dank Partnerschaft mit FiBL
Information by FiBL about its partnership with authorities in Thailand to further develop organic production methods in the country.
31.08.2012
AgPartnerXChange - Online platform to foster public private partnerships
The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture together with GATD has launched an online platform that supports agricultural public private partnerships that add value for smallholders.
31.08.2012
Sawiris Scholarships - Call for concept notes / project proposals
Under the theme "Improving the livelihoods of poor people in developing countries by combining scientific research with direct implementation of results" two doctoral scholarships will be granted. Deadline for submission of concept notes: 31 October 2012
24.08.2012
International Conference on Research for Development - Podcasts of Keynotes
The 3rd ICRD on Research for Global Transformation took place from 20-22 August 2012 in Bern, Switzerland. It was the NCCR North-South's final major event, showcasing what the 12-year programme has achieved since its launch in 2001. Podcasts of 11 keynote speeches are available online. See also the Draft Research Agenda prepared for the conference.
24.08.2012
Neue Wege in der Entwicklungshilfe
The Swiss radio show "Echo der Zeit "
discusses research cooperation between Switzerland and developing countries using the example of animal health projects.
20.08.2012
One great thing about foundations is that they don't hang their flags everywhere
PDF, 403,4 KB
Interview by Syngenta Foundation with CGIAR Consortium Board member Lynn Haight
20.08.2012
Swiss Annual Development Cooperation Conference – effectiveness at the centre of debate
Press release on the Swiss Annual Development Cooperation Conference (SDC-SECO), that was held on Friday 17 August 2012 in Bern
02.08.2012
Gestion stratégique de projets de développement
Intensive training on management of development projects provided by the Graduate Instiute in Geneva and based on concrete experiences.
30.07.2012
Call for papers on "Water Governance in Mountains" PDF, 138 KB
The Journal "Mountain Research and Development (MRD)" looks for well-validated policy- and practice-oriented insights for supporting improved water governance in mountain systems, or papers that analyze water governance and its implications on the water system in mountain areas. Deadline for submissions: 15.11. 2012
12.07.2012
Ensuring food production in developing markets
Summary and presentations
of the "Risk Talk on food security in emerging markets" which took place at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue on 5 July 2012
05.07.2012
SDC Agriculture and Food Security Network - Newsletter 07/2012
Latest news on the successful F2F Meeting 2012, on mobile banking & agricultural services, the World Bank Land & Poverty Conference, on the new SDC postharvest programme in Africa, an interview with Courtney Paisley from YPARD and much more.
03.07.2012
FiBL berechnet Ökofussabdruck für Lebensmittel
FiBl Austria developed a model to assess the climatical impact of food products along the value chain from the production to the retail business.
30.06.2012
Organic Market Development in Ukraine
media release by Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) on the launch of the Swiss project “Organic Market Development in Ukraine”
28.06.2012
Switzerland to increase its aid to fight rural poverty
press release by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on
a decision by the Swiss Goverment to increase its support to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
28.06.2012
Prix CSRS 2013 pour la recherche scientifique en partenariat PDF, 138 KB
Research prize offered by Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS) with financial support by Fonds Eremitage Basel for research in West Africa on food security and nutrition and other areas. Deadline for submissions: 31 December 2012
26.06.2012
Nachhaltige Landwirtschaft in Namibia: Universität Basel erhält Forschungsstipendium von der Syngenta Stiftung
press release by the University of Basel about the donation of a scholarship by the Syngenta Foundation. The scholarship enables a Namibian scientist to do research on soil fertility in that country.
21.06.2012
Rio+20: "Sustainable dinner" for a change of direction in food production
press release by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs about a special dinner for representatives of the entire food production chain organized at Rio de Janeiro by SDC, Biovision and the Millennium Institute
14.06.2012
Debating the food security question
Video (in german) of a debate about export subsidies on agricultural goods, volatile food prices and ways to improve food security, organized by the World Trade Institute and NCCR Trade Regulation.
14.06.2012
FiBL and IFOAM announce Global Organic Research Network
news by FiBL about the launch in 2013 of an IFOAM Global Organic Research Network that will focus on fostering research capacity in developing countries where food security is critical.
14.06.2012
Wassergespräch 2012: Welchen Wert hat das Wasser?
Videos einer ETH Veranstaltung mit Präsentationen von
Peter Brabeck (Nestlé), Peter Niggli (Alliance Sud), Janet Hering (Eawag) und einer Podiumsdiskussion.
11.06.2012
Nachhaltigkeitsziele für die ganze Welt
NZZ article on what we can expect from the Conference Rio+20
11.06.2012
Messages from well known Swiss on Rio+20
From 11 to 19 June 2012, in a series of video messages on the Swiss internet platform www.rio20.ch, a number of famous Swiss people will be giving their views on Rio+20.
07.06.2012
Research and knowledge transfer between Switzerland and Slovenia
information by FiBL about its involvement in two small projects in Slovenia, one on organic school gardens and one on on-farm research on organic farms
04.06.2012
Annual Report on Swiss International Cooperation in 2011
press release on the joint publication of this report by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
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, Latest update: 24.05.2013