How do we create a healthy and sustainable diet for the growing world population? Agriculture is more than waving fields of wheat; our ability to grow food from existing natural resources – and without decimating those resources – is key to sustainably feeding the world. In this course, learn about food security worldwide, the effects of malnutrition, how we manage ecosystems that provide food resources and more.
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You’ll emerge from this course with a clear answer to the question: What can I do to make food consumption and production more sustainable?
This course is for:
- Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students in agriculture, economics, international development and other fields who are learning about the intersectional factors impacting agriculture and food production/consumption
- Nutritionists, agriculture professionals and other practitioners interested in the latest developments in the field
- Sustainable development practitioners – including those who work for international aid organizations and nonprofits in the realms of poverty, nutrition and agriculture – who want to understand the lifecycle of food production and food security
- Private actors, such as those engaging in or investing in social entrepreneurship and the support of local agriculture
What you'll learn
- How the field has developed and shifted over time, and how recent developments like advanced technology impact farming.
- What is food security? How do poverty, inequality and other factors affect the nutrition of not just individuals, but entire countries?
- All about regulations influencing production, trade and other aspects of agriculture.
- Examples from industries ranging from rice to livestock, and the experiences of smallholder farmers.
Course Syllabus
Module 1: The global challenges around food
1.1 Introduction to this MOOC
1.2 Global challenges around food
1.3 Case study 1: Rice
1.4 Case study 2: Smallholder farming
1.5 Case study 3: Livestock
1.6 Case study 4: Aquaculture
Module 2: Agriculture at the center of sustainable development
2.1 Emergence of modern agriculture
2.2 Risks under a Business-As-Usual scenario
2.3 Agriculture & the Sustainable Development Goals
Module 3: Food systems for nutritional security and better health
3.1 What is food security?
3.2 Nutrition and health
3.3 Consumption and diets
3.4 Food losses and waste
3.5 Socio-economic dynamics of food systems
3.6 Pathways towards food security
Module 4: Sustainable intensification of agricultural systems – Part 1
4.1 Sustainable agriculture intensification
4.2 The importance of productivity growth
4.3 Climate change adaptation and mitigation
4.4 Breeding and genetics
4.5 Nutrient management
4.6 Soil fertility management
Module 5: Sustainable intensification of agricultural systems – Part 2
5.1 Water management
5.2 Crop protection
5.3 Good agronomy
5.4 Sustainable livestock systems
5.5 & 5.6 Functional diversity I & II
Module 6: Rural development for poverty alleviation
6.1 Rural economies and urban linkages
6.2 Rural development
6.3 Markets and supply chains
6.4 International trade
6.5 Development enhancing investments
6.6 Food governance
Module 7: Action for change
7.1 Pathways to change
7.2 Monitoring change
7.3 Mechanisms to stimulate change
7.4 Investing in science
7.5 What can I do?
