From 4 to 18 November 2025, a three-part public lecture series explores agroecology as a pathway to sustainable food systems. Each Tuesday (16:15–17:15 CET, via Zoom), experts from science, policy, and practice will discuss agroecological transformation and its role in addressing global food and environmental challenges. Speakers include Lutz Merbold (Agroscope), Johanna Jacobi (ETH Zurich), Daniel Seifert (Biovision), and Ruben Baert (agroecology.science).

This study investigated the performance of cocoa trees within an irrigated cocoa plantation situated in the semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil. Two treatments were compared: “full sun,” where cocoa trees were not shaded, and “shade,” where trees were covered with a shading net absorbing 30 % of the radiation. The findings highlight the potential of dendrometers to quantify this effect what can be used in future to optimize management practices. By doing so, more effective strategies can be developed to enhance cocoa yield and overall productivity in semi-arid regions.

Soil-dwelling insect pests may cause considerable damage to crops worldwide, and their belowground lifestyle makes them hard to control. Amongst the most promising control agents for subterranean pests are soilborne entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) such as Metarhizium brunneum. Albeit EPF can be highly pathogenic to their target pest species under laboratory conditions, their efcacy in the feld is often limited due to adverse environmental conditions. Here, we test for the first time if the efcacy of EPF can be improved when they are augmented with trap crops.