Nutrition & Agriculture
Human Faeces-derived Biochar for agriculture
The aim of the project is to develop an effective faeces-derived biochar soil amendment by enriching it with source-separated urine as well as organic compost. The project follows the premise that recovery and value-added utilisation of excreta through pyrolysis could provide a safe, decentralised, and simple to install excreta management facility for dry sanitation solutions in low- and middle-income countries while simultaneously closing the nutrient loop and improving soil quality. The application of biochar in agriculture has received extensive attention due to its potential in restoring soil health by improving soil structure, thus increasing microbial activity, bioavailable nutrients, and water and fertiliser retention capacity. Moreover, its porous, sponge-like structure can lead to effective nutrient absorption and slow nutrient release leading to decreased loss and more balanced nutrient fluxes, making it potentially a base for slow-release organic fertilisers. To date, little work has been done to assess the potential of biochar produced from human faeces, a currently underutilised organic source available in enormous volumes.
The study will employ Farmer Participatory Research (FPR) methodologies involving farmers throughout the process, ensuring the development of products that are suited socially, culturally, and practically to smallholder farmer conditions.
Focus Country: Guatemala
Contact: Prof. Johan Six
Partners: external pageMosan, Guatemala, external pageVivamos Mejor, Guatemala
ETH4D Grant: ETH4D Research Challenges Grant
Assessing the impacts of climate change on rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
Agricultural transformation is the top sustainable development priority for poverty eradication (SDG 1) and ensuring food security (SGD 2) in developing countries like Ethiopia. Climate change poses a significant challenge, impeding the achievement of these development goals. Success in these goals requires informed national and sub-national agricultural development plans, policies and decisions aimed at increasing productivity and ensuring a resilient rainfed agricultural system. This research aims to support such informed actions by providing a comprehensive data-driven understanding of the agro-environmental conditions within the context of climate change in Ethiopia. It investigates the climate-crop and climate-agroecological interactions that are relevant for climate risk, and water and soil management planning and actions in the face of a changing climate in Ethiopia through data analyses and modeling.
Focus Country: Ethiopia
Contact: Mosisa Wakjira, Prof. Peter Molnar, Prof. Johan Six
Partners: external pageWater and Land Resource Center, Ethiopia, external pageMinistry of Agriculture, Ethiopia, external pageProf. Nadav Peleg, Hydrometeorology and Surface Processes Group, University of Lausanne
ETH4D Grant: E4D Doctoral Scholarship