Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Ethnobotany
Prof. dr. ir. Patrick Van Damme
The Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agronomy and Ethnobotany studies the agronomy, ecophysiology and socio-economy of tropical and subtropical agricultural production systems (including agroforestry), and the diversity, use and conservation of (sub)tropical plants.
Since 1992, our research unit has been led by Prof. dr. ir. Patrick Van Damme. The research team further consists of a diverse mix of Belgian researchers, and PhD-students and post-docs from Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
We focus on research with relevance for sustainable and integrated economic, social and environmental-friendly development in (sub-)tropical countries. To that end, we apply a participatory research strategy in which a broad network of Belgian and tropical country governments, (inter)national NGOs, private sector and other rural development actors are consulted and involved.
Prof. Van Damme lectures and provides practical training for Bio-Engineers of the faculty, specializing in Agricultural Sciences and Land and Forest Management. Prof. Van Damme also is a lecturer at the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic).