The sustainability of human food systems is examined in this course from a complex systems perspective, focusing on agricultural systems in Australia and internationally at local, national and global scales. Historical, social and political perspectives on farming systems and soil management techniques in agriculture form part of an interdisciplinary approach to food sustainability that brings together the socio-political reality of agricultural management and development with the ecological functioning of healthy landscapes. You will explore topics including rural livelihoods, sustainability, food security, adaptation, conservation agriculture, ecological processes involving soils, crop plants and livestock, and the design and implementation of improved farming systems. A range of land management issues are addressed, including soil conservation, restoration and rehabilitation; alternative farming and grazing systems; and sustainable intensification strategies. Production issues are integrated into the broader social, cultural and economic contexts of family farming and agri-business, consumer demand and marketing, international trade and rural policy. Examples are drawn from Australia and a range of other countries that may include Indonesia, the Philippines, Syria, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India.
The course includes field visits to farm and food industry enterprises designed to provide first-hand experience and application of your learning; attendance on field trips is a course requirement.
In the second half of the course you will choose one of two concurrent workshop streams, focusing either on socio-cultural or on biophysical aspects of sustainable agricultural systems. These streams lead respectively to human ecology and environmental studies, or to natural resource management and environmental science. Both streams have practical components that develop skills and reinforce understanding, and a systems framework ensures that links are drawn between the two streams.
This course is co-taught with undergraduate students but assessed separately.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Apply key concepts in human ecology and natural resource management to agricultural farming systems, and communicate planned outcomes to a range of audiences in effective written and oral form.
- Understand and explain key agricultural systems concepts and perspectives at regional, national and global scales.
- Critically examine complex agricultural systems using a range of frameworks and tools.
- Collect, analyse, interpret and present land and soil resource data (including remotely sensed data and published literature) from a range of scales in the landscape to produce land use and land management suitability scenarios.
- Identify and argue constraints and opportunities for future sustainable agricultural systems.
Other Information
If you do not meet the requisites for this course, it may be possible to receive a permission code. If you are prompted for a permission code on ISIS, please request one online via the following form.
Indicative Assessment
- Oral presentation (15) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Field report: critical examination of one component from field visits, 1500 words (30) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Opinion piece: the opportunities of future agricultural systems, 700 words, various formats (15) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Major field research report: integrate and synthesise learning, 4000 words (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:
- Face-to face component which may consist of 2 x 1 hour lecture plus 1 x 2 hour tutorial per week.
- Approximately 82 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.
Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Inherent Requirements
To be determined
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Dyball, R and Newell, B (2015) Understanding Human Ecology. RoutledgeMcKenzie, N et al. (2004) Australian Soils and Landscapes. CSIRO Publishing
Preliminary Reading
Charman, PV and Murphy, BW (eds) (2000) Soils: Their Properties & Management (2nd edition), Oxford University Press, MelbourneJordan, CF (1998) Working with Nature, Harwood Academic Publishers
Assumed Knowledge
ENVS6020 Human Ecology and/or ENVS6218 Environmental Science Field School are strongly recommended.Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $4110 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $5880 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6793 | 26 Jul 2021 | 02 Aug 2021 | 14 Sep 2021 | 29 Oct 2021 | In Person | N/A |