The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) funds transdisciplinary research on sustainable land management in order to improve livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. The research funded by the BMBF lays the foundation for identifying climate-adapted, resource-saving and, above all, implementable solutions and instruments for sustainable land use in sub-Saharan Africa. The insights gained together with regional partners from science, administration, politics and business should flow directly into training and further education measures on site in order to improve livelihoods there in the long term and to support the creation of jobs. In particular, the further development of digital formats, such as smart farming, consulting apps, e-learning, decision support systems, plays a decisive role in the sustainable development of rural areas in Africa, which takes into account the ecological, economic and social aspects in equal measure.

The new funding measure will make an important contribution to closing the research gaps identified internationally and nationally. In doing so, it also contributes to achieving the international goal of global "land degradation neutrality" by 2030.

Since October 2022, through the funding measure, four regional research and development projects and an accompanying project are supported.

This is the First Status Seminar held in hybrid form (first day only) and online 26-28 April 2023.

The goals of the Status Seminar include to:

• get to know each other,
• identify opportunities for collaboration,
• highlight the services INTERFACES offers,
• inform the donor about progress and
• generally increase our knowledge base.

Participation at the Status Seminar is open to and free of charge for all project staff, partners and PhD students.