1. Sustainable Agriculture Module Krista Jacobsen 30 March 2011

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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?

5. Example of a ‘path’: Basque farmers Intro – Overview of geography important 3 pillars issues 1957 - Treaty of Rome creates EC6- France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg join Criteria for membership… 1973- United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark join 1981- Greece joins 1986- Spain and Portugal join 1989- East and West Germany unite 1995- Austria, Finland and Sweden join (EU15) 2004- Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvie, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta join (EU 25) 2007- Bulgaria and Romania join (EU 27) 27 countries in 2005 (including Bulgaria & Romania

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

7. Basque example: Introduction Overview of economic framework/issues – The EU generally accounts for about 15-20 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.

8. 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

9. 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 2008 http://capreform.eu

10. Basque example: Introduction Courtesy of Meredith Welch-Devine

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

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

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

14. Additional resources http://casestudies.lead.org/