Many of my activities are related to the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), Cornell`s program for poverty alleviation and sustainable rural development for developing countries which I direct. Most of my research focuses on tropical farming systems, with an emphasis on Africa and Asia. The centerpiece of my research is an interdisciplinary project on the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in the densely populated Kenyan highlands. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation`s Biocomplexity program for Coupled Natural and Human Systems. We have been working with a team of economists, soil scientists and rural sociologists to develop a dynamic bioeconomic model of smallholder crop-livestock systems. Understanding how farmers respond to decreases in soil fertility resulting in reduced crop and animal productivity is an important step in poverty reduction. Our collaborators on this project are the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute and the International Center for Research in Agroforestry. We have been involved in the development of the livestock component of the model and have been exploring the roles of animals in nutrient cycling and maintenance of soil fertility in areas with severe soil degradation. In addition, I have been involved in the West Africa Water Initiative (Mali, Niger and Ghana) that includes an interdisciplinary approach to improving water quality and the efficiency with which water is used. This project represents a novel collaboration between NGOs, foundations, industrial trade associations, universities and a service club. We are working on community forestry projects and university strengthening in Afghanistan. CIIFAD also has initiated an M.P.S. project in International Agriculture and Rural Development in integrated watershed management for twenty Ethiopian students in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. For more details on these projects, see the CIIFAD website (http://ciifad.cornell.edu).