The PhD exchange program was a key component of the Trans-SEC capacity building strategy and offered Tanzanian PhDs the opportunity for a research stay in Germany. The implementation of the PhD exchange program strengthened the Tanzanian-German research and development network and improved the knowledge transfer between international partners. Within the exchange program, Tanzanian PhDs were invited to choose a German research institution for a one to two month research stay in Germany which allowed a flow of ideas and research approaches as well as joint scientific publications and further project applications. Furthermore, opportunities for oral or poster presentations of project results at international conferences (Tropentag 2015, Berlin) were offered for Tanzanian PhDs.

The PhD exchange program mirrored the interdisciplinary character of the Trans-SEC project as Tanzanian PhD students from multiple disciplines participated in 2015. The following research topics were addressed during the research stay and further developed/evaluated with corresponding German supervisors:

• Impact of household centered nutrition education merged with home gardening on food consumption patterns, nutrient intake and nutritional status of children and their caregivers in rural Tanzania.
• Analysis of gender issues on food security upgrading strategies
• Optimizing model for the renewable energy hybrid system involving anaerobic digestion of animal wastes (nutrient cycling), wind and solar energy harnessing for smallholder farmers and households
• Analysis of the role of multistakeholder platforms in the promotion of agricultural innovations for the food value chains in Tanzania
• Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus micro-dosing on maize-pigeonpea intercrops grown under different soil moisture management practices.
• Analysis of productivity and welfare effects of fertilizer micro-dosing (MD) for upgrading the maize and millet value chains in Tanzania.
• Analysis of proper pearl millet -groundnuts cropping pattern with emphasis on nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer dosage and water management practices