Sustainable Agriculture Module Krista Jacobsen 30 March 2011

Learning Outcomes After completing a core path in this module, students should be able to… – Provide a nuanced definition of sustainable agriculture, with examples of the economic, environmental and social factors influencing sustainable food production. – Describe an example of a community producing food using sustainable agricultural practices. – Understand sustainability as site-specific, dependent on place-based factors.

Approach: ‘ core paths’ or multiple entry points Case study communities Transitioning traditions: Organic vegetable farming in Appalachia Maintaining agrarian traditions: Traditional dairy production in Pays Basque (Basque country), France Finding new markets: Fair trade coffee farming in Indonesia Economic Profitability The “3 pillars” Environmental Stewardship Social Responsibility

Components Components of each section (cell of graph, “a module?”) – Narrative Background Issues/story One “farmer story” in each cell Photos You tube videos? – Supporting materials appendices for new materials useful websites Assessment questions One-page or less intro to that “path.” – EX 1: What does economic profitability mean in sustainable agriculture? – EX 2: Basics on Indonesian geography and community of study – Maybe a pre-test for students?

Example of a ‘path’: Basque farmers Intro – Overview of geography important 3 pillars issues Treaty of Rome creates EC6- France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg join Criteria for membership… United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark join Greece joins Spain and Portugal join East and West Germany unite Austria, Finland and Sweden join (EU15) Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvie, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta join (EU 25) Bulgaria and Romania join (EU 27) 27 countries in 2005 (including Bulgaria & Romania

Basque example: Introduction Overview of Ag in the EU Average agricultural land use ~40%

Basque example: Introduction Overview of economic framework/issues – The EU generally accounts for about percent of the world's agricultural exports and imports. – The EU-27 is one of the most important trading partners and competitors of the United States in world agricultural markets. – European agricultural policy has long had a major impact on world agricultural markets, and the EU is one of the key participants in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on agricultural trade.

Basque example: Introduction Overview of social/policy issues - EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – CAP is the only sector of the EU with common policy that is agreed upon by all member nations. – Proposed by the European Commission, agreed to by agricultural ministers in the member countries, and reviewed by European Parliament. – What is it? Farm policy aimed to promote: – Common prices – Common financing – Community preference

Basque example: Introduction Brief intro on the CAP (supplementary resources for more complete detail) – The primary objectives of CAP – Main policy instruments Agricultural price supports Direct payments to farmers – Significance of the CAP The only common policy in EU A large portion of EU spending – 45% of EU spending in

Basque example: Introduction Courtesy of Meredith Welch-Devine

Basque example: Economic module – diversification to maintain tradition Courtesy of Meredith Welch-Devine Agrotourism Value-added cooperatives Local branding

Basque example: Social module Courtesy of Meredith Welch-Devine Technology adoption Intergenerational involvement

Basque example: Environmental module Biodiversity Conservation policy – Local, state (French) and EU level policy Nutrient management issues Courtesy of Meredith Welch-Devine

Additional resources