ZIL - Swiss Centre for International Agriculture

The Swiss Centre for International Agriculture (ZIL) is an association based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich established in 1993.

ZIL's mission is to initiate, support, and coordinate collaborative research by its members and partners that will enable resource-poor farmers in low-income countries to achieve sustainable improvements of their livelihoods. This includes the mobilisation of Swiss research capacity and the promotion of awareness about the role of agricultural and food science in meeting the human and environmental challenges of low-income countries.

The Centre has achieved national and international recognition as facilitator and convener of internationally relevant agricultural research in Switzerland. Its research focus over the last ten years has been on cassava, integrated pest management (IPM), legumes, and smallholder milk production and marketing. Its current programme is dedicated to "Livestock systems research in support of poor people".

The results of the Centre's research have been documented in numerous publications, most in refereed scientific journals. ZIL has produced training materials and organised training workshops attended by many scientists and policy makers. The Centre continuosly supports PhD candidates in development relevant themes.

ZIL is jointly funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the ETH Zurich.

As of 1 July 2007, the Swiss Centre for International Agriculture (ZIL) has merged with the Network for International Development and Cooperation (NIDECO) to create the North-South Centre of the ETH Zurich. This Centre of Competence aims at promoting research and education in the field of international development and cooperation and will be the main contact point for North-South related matters in favour of globally accessible knowledge for sustainable development at the ETH Zurich.