If Tropentag were a buffet, the workshops were the dessert table: colorful, varied, and impossible to taste all at once. With 26 sessions spread across three days, participants found themselves dashing between rooms, juggling ideas as diverse as biodiversity, AI, gender equity, and soil health. But one thing tied them all together each workshop carried a spark of transformation.

The climate resilience and sustainability crew had us tapping our feet to the rhythm of resilience. From tipping points in the Amazon to sustainable solutions in Africa, these workshops showed that agriculture isn’t just surviving change it’s also about learning to dance with it.

Meanwhile, the biodiversity bunch reminded us that beans, palms, and forests are more than commodities, they’re ecosystems of possibility. Coffee and cocoa farmers balancing livelihoods with conservation, agroforestry scaling up, and the macaúba palm stepping onto the global stage all painted a vibrant picture of nature as both teacher and partner.

At the food security hall, we were served tough questions about malnutrition, creative recipes for diversifying African diets, and strategies to keep soils fertile. It was a reminder that food security is about more than calories but about choice, culture, and fairness at every level.

The gender and equity sessions stole hearts by centering women and girls. With humor, honesty, and vision, participants called for leadership tables big enough for every voice. Because when women lead, agriculture doesn’t just grow, it flourishes.

Innovation also strutted onto the stage, with workshops on AI forecasts, data-driven land systems, and even a CGIAR serious game. Yes, farming met gaming, and it was both fun and serious. Add to that lessons on better science photos and policy bridges, and suddenly the future of agriculture looked a lot more creative. 

Finally, the knowledge and cooperation track urged us to look inward: whose knowledge do we value, and how do we share it? From decolonising agricultural research to building doctoral capacity in East Africa, these workshops reminded us that ideas, like seeds, grow best when planted in many soils.

By the end, it was clear: no single workshop held “the” answer. Instead, the magic lay in the mosaic, 26 pieces that, together, formed a bigger picture of how agriculture can adapt, include, innovate, and thrive.

So if you couldn’t make it to all the workshops (and let’s be honest, nobody could), don’t worry. What matters is the energy they generated: ideas buzzing through hallways, debates spilling into coffee breaks, and collaborations taking root across continents. That’s the real legacy of Tropentag workshops, seeds of change, already germinating.