For several years now, the section of Vegetable System Modelling has been active in various programmes to strengthen the cooperation between African and German scientists. The main aim is to transfer horticultural knowledge, methods and know-how for practical application under local conditions in Africa:

Current capacity building projects
SVePiT: Sustainable Vegetable Production in the Tropics

SVePiT – Sustainable Vegetable Production in the Tropics – is rooted in a collaborative project between the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany, and the Department of Horticulture of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.
The aim of this project is to support the sustainability of horticultural production in the tropics by
- promoting cooperation between scientists of East Africa and Germany
- organize workshops and meetings for scientific exchange
- developing sustainable production systems by promoting experiments
- transfering the results to the farmers
The project is sponsored by the Alumni Programme DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).
Volkswagen Foundation: Africa Initiative

The Institute for Horticultural Production Systems coordinates the fellows programne in the Natural Resources framework of Volkswagen Foundation's Africa Initiative. Seven postdoctoral fellows from five African countries were selected in 2018 and awarded a research grant to continue previous projects from the period 2014 to 2017 in the new phase from 2018 to 2020. All organizational aspects with respect to the project budget and joint workshops are coordinated by Prof. Hartmut Stützel head of the Vegetable Systems Modeling Section of the IGPS.
Versatile mentoring programme
The call "Resources, their Dynamics and Sustainability – Capacity Development in Comparative and Integrated Approaches" within the Africa Initiative embraces projects in the field of natural and biological resources which are independently developed and implemented by the African postdoctoral scientists. The program includes the selection of a mentor who provides advice and introduces the young scientists to international scientific networks. In addition, a German postdoctoral counterpart can be selected to participate in the project.
The fellows cover a broad range of disciplines in the natural sciences, ranging from Biology, Ecology, Geoscience and Mathematics to Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Entomology. This collaboration between Volkswagen Foundation and the institute started in 2010 and is currently in its third phase.