The promotion of composting for urban agriculture has great potential to mitigate global climate change. Composting reduces the uncontrolled decomposition of organic waste that contributes to green-house gas emissions and its use in agriculture helps sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Furthermore, urban agriculture shortens food chains, reduces transportation needs, and contributes to food security.
This project aims to examine the following issues:
The project’s interdisciplinary approach assesses compost-induced improvements of local soils and considers actors, social practices and relationships, institutions and changing material properties along the entire food-waste-farming chain starting – from food consumption and waste production, waste management and composting, to compost use in urban farming. To do so, the research team relies largely on interviews and focus groups, but also on laboratory analyses.
Furthermore, the project not only seeks to engage with key stakeholders in both countries, including urban farmers, planners and policymakers, but also to facilitate knowledge exchange across geographical contexts with the goal to develop policy recommendations for localizing and closing the food-waste-farming cycle in different contexts.
René Véron
Coordinator
University of Lausanne
Marlyne Sahakian
Co-Coordinator
University of Geneva
Rolande Christelle Makamté Kakeu-Tardy
Principal Member
University of Lausanne
Research Assistant
Principal Member
University of Geneva
Yemmafouo Aristide
Principal Member
University of Dschang, Cameroon
Moye Eric Kongnso
Principal Member
University of Dschang, Cameroon
Jean Grandjux
Principal Member
Urbaplan
To be Named
Principal Member
Urbaplan
Sagne Moumbe Joel
Principal Member
Environment – Research – Action Cameroon
Stephanie Grand
Associated Member
University of Lausanne
To be Named
Associated Member
International Association of Francophone Mayors
Swiss Network for
International Studies