Noragric staff and students are engaged in interdisciplinary studies on a wide range of issues concerned with poverty, livelihoods, gender, property rights, environmental management, conflict, peace building and post-conflict development.
Institutional cooperation
Noragric has agreements with more than 13 partners in Africa. One of the major institutional collaboration activities of Noragric is the Institutional Collaboration between Mekelle and Hawassa Universities in Ethiopia, on academic partnership for improving livelihoods, ongoing from 2002 to 2013. This project is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa.
The Department of Political Science and International Relations at Addis Ababa University is also a partner of Noragric.
Ethiopian PhD-students at Noragric
Two Ethiopian students successfully defended their dissertation in 2008; Boku Tache Dida and Ayele Tessema Jufare. In addition, three PhD-students, Hussein Jemma Sheymo, Abebe Seifu Welde Tsadik and Waktole Tiki Uma, are currently writing their dissertations at Noragric.
Roses from Africa
Noragric also has a study on trade, environment and development: Import of flowers from Africa to Norway. Very few African agricultural products have found their way to Norway. One exemption is roses. Roses from Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda) are exported to Norway in great numbers and show the potential one of the very few agricultural products from low income countries that have been able to really benefits of the zero-tariff system that Norway introduced for the least developed countries (LDC) in July 2002. Mester Grønn is an important reason why rose import from Africa to Norway has increased substantially during the last years; Mester Grønn successfully imports 98% of its roses from Africa. The rose production creates income opportunities that contribute to improving livelihoods of poor men and particularly women in Africa.
About Noragric
Established in 1986 as a centre at the Agricultural University of Norway (NLH), Noragric became the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the renamed Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) on 1 February 2005.
Noragric’s activities include research, education and assignments, focusing particularly on developing countries and countries with economies in transition, based on an interdisciplinary approach.