AGS 789 Selected Topics (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods)

First Semester 2004

Course objectives: To enable students to understand and have a better perspective of sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods; to have developed analytical skills in assessing different types of farming systems; to have participated in class, field and interactive group experiences, and farmer dialogue that will increase student competence in analyzing and assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems.

Class meeting: Tuesday and Thursday 13:00- 14:30 pm at MCC Meeting Room 4. Farm visits will be organized either in the afternoon of the lecturer hours or in the weekends.

Instructor: Phrek Gypmantasiri (phrek@chiangmai.ac.th)

Course outlines:

Week 1. Understanding concepts

Sustainability, sustainable development, and agricultural sustainability

Week 2. The Globalizing decade of sustainable development

From the Rio Earth Summit to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development

Agenda 21 and program areas in sustainable agriculture and rural development

Week 3. Historical perspective

From Green Revolution, Farming Systems Research approach to sustainable agriculture initiatives

Week 4. Transforming sustainable agriculture by small farm holders

Farm visit to irrigated lowland rice based farming ecosystem

Week 5. Agro-ecological principles and practices in the transformation of sustainable agriculture

Weeks 6-7-8 Diversified farming systems and rural livelihoods

Slash and burn agriculture

Integrated rice based farming systems

Integration of aquaculture into crop-animal systems

Agroforestry systems

Peri-urban vegetable based farming systems

Organic agriculture

Weeks 9-10 Assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems

Multi-criteria, multiple scale performance scale

Performance indicators

Farm level indicators

Weeks 11-12 Knowledge-based community management of agroecosystems

Learning approach

Participatory approach in plant breeding and in situ conservation of genetic resources: the CGIAR system-wide program in PRGA experience

Farmer field school approach in integrated pest management: the Indonesian case

Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) with participatory learning and action research (PLAR): lessons from western Kenya

Week 13. Services and facilitation of learning in sustainable agriculture

Extension approaches

Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development (AKIS/RD)

Sustainable livelihoods

Week 14. Scaling up sustainable agricultural innovations

Week 15. Integrative research and sustainable agriculture

Course Evaluation: First test 20%, Second test 20%, Final examination 40% Assignment 20%