ETHZ - ETH Zurich
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Sustainable Agroecosystem Group
- Switzerland, Zurich
LFH B4, Universitätsstrasse 2 8092 Zurich, Switzerland - +233553797877
- www.sae.ethz.ch
Profile
Christian Andres
Researcher at ETH Zurich, Founder and President of Obrobibini Peace Complex (OPC), Farmer in Ghana
Short bio
Christian earned his MSc degree in Agro-Ecosystem Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) with a multiply awarded thesis on sustainable yam production in Ivory Coast. In his professional career, he integrates various disciplines into single projects, applying systems’ research approaches to try and solve real-life problems of smallholders in the tropics. Christian has published several book chapters as well as research, review and opinion papers in high-quality books and journals on various topics around sustainable agriculture in the tropics. Besides yam-based production systems in West Africa, he mainly studied cotton-based systems in India, and cocoa-based systems in Latin America, where he compared the agronomic, economic and ecological performance of organic vs. conventional production systems. His current focus is on sustainable cocoa production systems. Christian is involved in several projects around this topic, which are located in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast-Asia.
Description of research
My main research interest is the sustainability of tropical crop production systems. I have worked within this topic in different countries since 2008. During the time of my studies, I worked on yam (Dioscorea spp.) in Ivory Coast (BSc thesis in 2008-09, MSc thesis in 2010-11). From 2011 to 2016, I studied the comparative agronomic, economic and ecological performance of organic vs. conventional production systems in India (cotton-based systems) and Bolivia (cocoa systems) at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). From 2015 to 2018, I pursued my PhD project on the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) in Ghana, and served as the Scientific Secretary of the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI). Currently, I am working on the biophysical and socio-economic feasibility of agroforestry systems with cocoa and oil palm in West Africa (Ghana and Ivory Coast), and at the linkages between organic agriculture and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
- Peer-reviewed articles
Niether, W., Jacobi, J., Blaser, W.J., Andres, C., Armengot, L. (2020) Cocoa agroforestry systems versus
monocultures: a multi-dimensional meta-analysis. Environmental Research Letters 15: 104085. doi:
10.1088/1748-9326/abb053
Cicek, H., Bhullar, G.S., Mandloi, L.S., Andres, C., Riar, A.S. (2020) Partial Acidulation of Rock Phosphate for
Increased Productivity in Organic and Smallholder Farming. Sustainability 12: 607. doi: 10.3390/su12020607
Andres, C., Hoerler, R., Home, R., Jörin, J., Dzahini-Obiatey, H.K., Ameyaw, G.A., Domfeh, O.K., Blaser, W.J.,
Gattinger, A., Offei, S.K., Six, J. (2018) Social network to inform and prevent the spread of cocoa swollen shoot
virus disease in Ghana. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 38: 53. doi: 10.1007/s13593-018-0538-y
Niether, W., Armengot, L., Andres, C., Schneider, M., Gerold, G. (2018) Shade trees and tree pruning alter
throughfall and microclimate in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production systems. Annals of Forest Science 75:
38. doi: 10.1007/s13595-018-0723-9
Andres, C., Blaser, W.J., Dzahini-Obiatey, H.K., Ameyaw, G.A., Domfeh, O.K., Awiagah, M.A., Gattinger, A.,
Schneider, M., Offei, S.K., Six, J. (2018) Agroforestry systems can mitigate the severity of cocoa swollen shoot
virus disease. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 252:83-92. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2017.09.031
Niggli, U., Andres, C.*, Willer, H., Baker, B.P. (2017) Building a global platform for organic farming research,
innovation and technology transfer. Organic Agriculture. doi: 10.1007/s13165-017-0191-9
Andres, C., Gattinger, A., Dzahini-Obiatey, H.K., Blaser, W.J., Offei, S.K., Six, J. (2017) Combatting Cocoa
Swollen Shoot Virus Disease: What do we know? Crop Protection, 98, 76-84.
Gramlich, A., Tandy, S., Andres, C., Chincheros, J., Armengot, L., Schneider, M., Schulin, R. (2017) Cadmium
Uptake by Cocoa Trees in Agroforestry and Monoculture Systems under Conventional and Organic Management.
Science of the Total Environment 580, 677 – 686.
Armengot, L., Barbieri, P., Andres, C., Milz, J., Schneider, M. (2016) Cacao agroforestry systems have higher
return on labor compared to full-sun monocultures. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 36: 70.
doi:10.1007/s13593-016-0406-6
Schneider, M., Andres, C.*, Trujillo, G., Alcon, F., Amurrio, P., Perez, E, Weibel, F., Milz, J. (2016) Cocoa and
total system yields of organic and conventional agroforestry vs. monoculture systems in a long-term field trial in
Bolivia. Experimental Agriculture 53, 351-374. doi: 10.1017/S0014479716000417.
Andres, C., Bhullar, G.S.* (2016) Sustainable Intensification of Tropical Agro-Ecosystems: Need and Potentials.
Frontiers in Environmental Science 4: 5. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2016.00005
Jacobi, J., Andres, C., Schneider, M., Pillco, M., Calizaya, P., Rist, S. (2014) Carbon stocks, tree diversity, and
the role of organic certification in different cocoa production systems in Alto Beni, Bolivia. Agroforestry Systems
88: 1117. doi: 10.1007/s10457-013-9643-8
Forster, D., Andres, C.*, Verma, R., Zundel, C., Messmer, M.M., Mäder, P. (2013) Yield and Economic
Performance of Organic and Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems – Results from a Field Trial in India.
PLoS ONE 8(12): e81039, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081039.
- Books
Rahmann, G., Andres, C., Yadav, A.K., Ardakani, M.R., Babalad, H.B., Devakumar, N., Goel, S.L., Olowe, V.,
Ravisankar, N., Saini, J.P., Soto, G., Willer, H. (Eds.) (2017) Innovative Research for Organic 3.0 - Proceedings
of the Scientific Track. Volume 1. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Braunschweig, 1, Thünen report, Nr. 54,
S. 1-511. Proceedings zu: Organic World Congress 2017, Delhi, India, 9-11 November 2017.
Rahmann, G., Andres, C., Yadav, A.K., Ardakani, M.R., Babalad, H.B., Devakumar, N., Goel, S.L., Olowe, V.,
Ravisankar, N., Saini, J.P., Soto, G. Willer, H. (Eds.) (2017) Innovative Research for Organic 3.0 - Proceedings of
the Scientific Track . Volume 2. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Braunschweig, 2, Thünen report, Nr. 54, S.
512-808. Proceedings zu: Organic World Congress 2017, Delhi, India, 9-11 November 2017.
- Book chapters
Andres, C.*, AdeOluwa, O.O., Bhullar, G.S. (2017), Yam (Dioscorea spp.). In: Thomas, B., Murray, B. G. and
Murphy, D. J. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences, Vol 3, Waltham, MA: Academic Press, 2017, pp.
435–441.
Andres, C.*, Comoé, H., Beerli, A., Schneider, M., Rist, S., Jacobi, J. (2016) Cocoa in monoculture and dynamic
agroforestry. In: Lichtfouse, E. (Ed.) Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 19, 121-153, Springer International
Publishing, Switzerland.
Andres, C.*, Mandloi, L.S., Bhullar, G.S. (2015) Sustaining the supply of organic White Gold: The case of
SysCom innovation platforms in India. In: Dror, I., Cadilhon, J.-J., Schut, M., Misiko. M., Maheshwari, S. (Eds.)
Innovation Platforms for Agricultural Development: Evaluating the mature innovation platforms landscape.
Routledge, London, UK.
- Strategic documents
Niggli, U., Andres, C.*, Willer, H., Baker, B.P. (2017) A Global Vision and Strategy for Organic Farming Research
– Condensed version. Version February, 2017, TIPI – Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM – Organics
International, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland
Institute
Research Areas
graph LR
RA4[Agronomy & cropping systems]:::RA4 --> TO32{{Agroforestry systems}}
classDef RA4 fill:#3394a9,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW228(abiotic stress)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW168(Adoption)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW122(agro-ecological zones)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW102(Agroforestry systems)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW174(Biodiversity)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW227(biotic stress)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW143(Ecosystem services)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW42(Girth)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW62(Multi-locational trials)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW65(Organic)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW214(organic farming)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW145(Organic matter management)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW119(Resilience)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW193(shade management)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW150(Soil amendments)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW141(Soil health)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW140(Soils)
TO32{{Agroforestry systems}} --> KW207(yield)
RA4[Agronomy & cropping systems]:::RA4 --> TO79{{Climate}}
classDef RA4 fill:#3394a9,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
TO79{{Climate}} --> KW131(Adaptation)
TO79{{Climate}} --> KW120(climate change)
TO79{{Climate}} --> KW132(mitigation)
RA9[Socio-economics]:::RA9 --> TO63{{Diversification}}
classDef RA9 fill:#5ebb87,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
TO63{{Diversification}} --> KW125(Cocoa farmers)
TO63{{Diversification}} --> KW137(Cost Benefit Analysis)
TO63{{Diversification}} --> KW185(income diversification)
TO63{{Diversification}} --> KW136(Stakeholder engagement)
classDef default fill:#f4f4f4,stroke:#919091